Great packaging is of paramount importance in attracting customers unfamiliar with a specialty food product. An effectively designed container or label will educate, entice, and build trust with a potential customer. What makes packaging great? Here are five ways to make packaging design great and maximize its effectiveness. Make the most of every inch. Packaging designer Emily Charette of St. Augustine shares her expert advice.

1. Differentiate with Your Story.

For 1565 Artisan Coffee, Charette’s team worked to tell the story of St. Augustine’s culture and architecture in this local coffee company’s packaging. Why is your product special? What is the unique benefit you offer your customer? This is the basis of how your label should be designed to stand out in crowd. Every detail should tell the story of why you’re different and better than the rest.

2. Clear Information Hierarchy

For Fresch, We Are Charette used clear and concise messaging to convey key information first.
Understand what is most important for your customer to know in order to purchase your product. Make your primary message the most noticeable one on your pack, and let other messages become less important in the layout. When your text is all the same size, or disorganized, your message is likely to become lost in a blur of information overload.

3. Look for Color Opportunities.

We Are Charette helped Harvest Bay stand out on shelf by using bright jewel tones, that are less common in chocolate and coffee beverages.
Many types of foods have traditional color associations. Indulgent treats tend to be dark; nuts and grains are often neutral colors; healthy-lifestyle foods tend to be in greens or stark white. While using norms helps a product fit into a category, twisting the norms or going the opposite direction can help a brand make a bold, competitive statement.

4. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

Rick’s Salsa jar, caption: This food entrepreneur made a splash with a smart, simple label designed by Charette’s team. The brand is taking off in it’s home state of Texas.
Less is more when it comes to packaging design. When space is limited, as it so often is in packaging, it is important to reduce clutter and display only what is necessary. You should plan on your box or label telling part of the story, and support that design with plenty of informative collateral and a strong online presence.

5. Strive for Consistency and “Thematic Integrity.”

Mediterranean Organic images, caption: We Are Charette built a strong, consistent look for Mediterranean Organic by using the same color, illustration, and typography throughout the brand’s packaging and communications.
Start planning now to build your brand consistently across all your communications. That means the product your customer sees on shelves is the same look and feel that they see when they look at your website, social media, and sales collateral. Consistency builds trust, and trust is critical when it comes to selling unfamiliar products to new customers.

Need help creating packaging that’s clean, clear, and engaging? Emily Charette’s studio We Are Charette helps many food entrepreneurs build successful brands starting with simple logos and labels. Check out their stellar work at wearecharette.com or email Emily at emily@wearecharette.com.