What to Consider When Packaging Food Products

Packaging isn't just about protecting your product; it's a crucial element of your brand's story. How your customers interact with your packaging can significantly impact their overall experience. When your product is edible, there are specific food packaging considerations your company should be making.

Unboxing Experience

The first impression your customers have of your product is often the unboxing experience. Consider how easy it is for them to open the package, and whether the design enhances the overall presentation of your product. Food and beverage products always have the potential for mess, so thinking ahead about how your packaging can reduce the chances of chaos on your customer’s end will go a long way. For Frosty Rock, Viking created an innovative packaging design that allowed customers to easily access the cake from the side, preserving the delicate frosting.

Storage and Handling

How your packaging materials are stored and handled before reaching your customer is make or break–literally. If your packaging includes fragile elements such as a glass jar or paper bag, consider what packaging elements you can implement to make sure your product reaches the customer in one piece. For example, Finding Home Farms was utilizing messy and inefficient packing peanuts to protect their fragile bottles of syrup. Viking switched them from packing peanuts to a Sealed Air ProPad cushioning system, which was more efficient to use and to store.

Product Temperature

Many edible products require careful temperature regulation to be safely consumed. If your goods need to travel while also staying hot or cold, you’ll have to consider additional packaging add-ons for insulation. Some options from Viking include EPS Lined Boxes, SEALED AIR® Brand Insulated Box Liners, and Green Cell Foam Insulated Shipping Coolers.

Product Display

How your product is displayed on store shelves can influence its appeal to customers. Afterall, we all know our phones eat first! Your packaging should be designed to stand out and attract attention. Viking designed Hepworth Farms' packaging to be both eye-catching and environmentally friendly, so their produce stood out to shoppers!

Seasonality

If your product is seasonal, your packaging should reflect that. Beyond just holiday-themed packaging, if your product is in demand cyclically, you’ll need to keep that in mind when managing your packaging inventory. Here’s an expert tip: let Viking manage your inventory for you!

With our long-time clients at Prohibition Distillery, we delivered packaging on a tight holiday turnaround and helped them quickly pivot to hand sanitizer production during the COVID-19 pandemic.