Make a good first impression, and watch your sales skyrocket.
Packaging is an important consumer touch-point: Whether or not a customer notices, is attracted to, identifies with, and buys your product depends a good deal on presentation. “It has been proven in case study after case study, in product categories from computers to soda, that great design sells,” asserts brand designer Steve DuPuis in Package Design Workbook: The Art & Science of Successful Packaging.
“[M]ore companies are looking to a product’s package to deliver the brand message to consumers directly. After all, every package is seen by 100 percent of a brand’s consumers,” adds DuPuis.
One example of how packaging changes the perception—and, ultimately, enhances the experience—of a product was given by psychologist Paul Bloom in 2011, in his TedTalk about “The Origins of Pleasure”: wine, he says, is more enjoyable when poured from an expensive bottle. “If you believe you’re drinking the expensive stuff, it tastes better to you,” asserts Bloom, speaking of how an MRI scanner showed that the pleasure and reward centers in the brain activated in subjects who sipped what they were led to believe was luxury wine.
“You’re not [in the shop] to push a product—it has to stand out, and to speak for itself. You can’t hire a promo girl there, 24/7,” says Andrew L. Koteh, managing director of Bestpak Manufacturing Enterprises Inc., which designs bottles for cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food companies. “If you package it wrong, you might be spending millions on developing a product, advertising it, and one month on the shelf and it goes kaboom—you throw away your investment.”
If money is indeed going into developing packaging, money is also being made from improved packaging. Russell Vergara, managing partner of Vgrafiks Design + Branding Agency, admits that while success hinges on product quality, good packaging design can make the product more marketable. “Before, P3,000 lang ang product, but when we redesigned the packaging, they were able to sell it for P10,000... mas nagmukhang premium na.” Given the importance of packaging and how it influences consumer behavior, it’s best to ask yourself if you’re doing it right—starting with these commandments from our expert consultants.
#1 ALLOW YOUR BRAND PERSONALITY TO SHOW THROUGH
“Packaging should reflect the brand identity,” says designer and illustrator Dan Matutina, co-founder of Plus 63 Design Studio. Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will have the expected “finished” packaging that fits its corporate image, he points out, whereas small, homegrown coffee shops like Kape Maria, Yardstick, and Craft Coffee Revolution may appropriately use more modest, locally available materials like burlap, canvas, or brown paper, that signal “handmade, smaller batches, less corporate.”
Be careful of your messaging: if your choice of packaging doesn’t fit your brand, “puwede siyang maging sablay,” adds Matutina.
Vergara points out that you also need to be aware of your market—does your product look like it’s “pang-masa” or does it look premium? A client once told him point-blank, “Medyo parang too clean, too premium yung look, masa yung tina-target namin.”
THE FRUIT GARDEN BY LE POTAGER INC.
An upmarket product, not just any bottle would do for The Fruit Garden jams—they sourced the bottles from Europe after searching in vain for what they wanted locally. “We are very particular on material quality, color, perfect execution,” says founder Pierre Marmonier. One of their finds: the wave jar, which has the clever little feature of being stackable, each top part fitting neatly into the hollow bottom of another jar.
KAPE MARIA
Unseen in this unprepossessing kraft recycled paper packaging is an inner aluminum lining, with one-way degassing valve and sealable zip, which keeps the coffee fresh. The thick material is also less prone to looking crushed after handling. Keeping it friendly, the profile of a young Maria Clara was prominently situated and is meant to convey local pride. “We’re a new brand and so logo placement and size is important,” explains Maria Julia Sevilla, founder of Kape Maria.
#2 USE A DISTINCTIVE DESIGN ELEMENT
“If you can manufacture the actual bottle, it’s always best to do that, you can be very unique and distinct, dun sa bottle pa lang; if you see it, maalala mo agad,” says Matutina. “If you’re an SME, you can always compete in terms of how you do the graphic design of your packaging, through [distinctive] illustration, picking your colors—you can think of other ways.”
Bestpak’s Koteh notes that very few Filipino companies can afford to make their own molds unless the selling price is high enough to justify, say, spending P4 million on tooling for a minimum of 50,000 units annually. Direct printing on glass is an additional expense, as is coloring plastic bottles, with a minimum order for each.
His advice for those who choose plastics: “Choose a color and make it your own,” or use creative options that packaging manufacturers may be able to offer. “You can make it translucent, transparent, opaque, glittery, pearlized, or metalized. There’s spray-on, there’s frosted—10 years ago these were not available. Now, we give you an opportunity to make it uniquely yours.” You can also explore uniquely shaped caps or sticker labels. “It’s like a blank canvas, and you’re painting on your bottle to look totally different from the other guy.”
MANILLE LIQUEUR DE CALAMANSI BY DESTILERIA LIMTUACO
A happy discovery of antique stock allowed 162-year-old Destileria Limtuaco & Co. Inc. to create waves with Manille Liqueur de Calamansi. The transparent bottle showcases the warm, natural citrus color of the calamansi-infused vodka-based liqueur, while the bottle itself is very distinct. The styling is vintage, and uses details evocative of genteel Old Manila, including French country script on the cap and labels, callado embroidery details borrowed from the Filipino barong, and tasteful illustrations. Gift editions are sold with a matching cheesecloth bag or a tin canister.
Not surprisingly, the pretty packaging was well-received and orders exceeded expectations. The distillery has already recast the mold—increasing the size from the current 480ml to the standard 700ml—with a plan of exporting Manille Liqueur de Calamansi to the U.S., where demand for calamansi products is high.
But even if you’re a small manufacturer, that shouldn’t stop you from making memorable packaging. “If the only bottles available are standard bottles, let it not be a deterrent for you,” says Destileria Limtuaco President Olivia Limpe-Aw. “You can make up for it [with] nicer labels and nicer outer packaging, because you will still achieve a different look. It’s like a woman: you can dress up and accessorize—how you put it together will give you the style.”
#3 USE THE RIGHT MATERIAL
“Choice of material is my priority,” says Matutina. “It’s a matter of balancing costs and practicality, and most importantly, availability.”
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics, Koteh says, can be cheaper to produce than glass bottles. It does not leach harmful chemicals (unlike polyvinyl chloride or PVC), and is transparent, lightweight, shatter-resistant and recyclable.
However, Koteh says “nobody here wants to spend P100 million on the equipment to produce the [heat-resistant PET] bottle.”
Glass bottles are still preferred locally, despite more lightweight alternative packaging such as PET or laminated pouches that employ a leak-proof dispensing nozzle.
TANDUAY RHUM “LAPAD” BOTTLE
The slender lapad bottle, here used for Tanduay Rhum, is also the same bottle used for small variants of Gran Matador brandy and White Castle whiskey, among others.
“Glass bottles are the most stable containers for spirits. We would pack them in cartons—it’s very easily transportable,” says Olivia Limpe-Aw, president of Destileria Limtuaco, which produces White Castle.
“It’s very distinct in terms of form,” notes graphic designer Dan Matutina of Plus 63 Design Studio, adding that the greatest advantage of the flask shape is being easy to handle and to recycle, with sari-sari stores using the bottle to sell anything from cooking oil to gas.
#4 TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT
“You’ve got less than a second to get the shoppers’ attention. The product must tell the consumer what are the benefits of using or of buying [it],” says Koteh, which is easier said than done, given that a lot of information must be included. “I tell my clients, ‘It’s a nice bottle, but how do you put your information on it?’ There are too many grooves, too many ribs, how are you going to put the legal requirements on that?”
Vergara agrees that part of the challenge for the graphic artist is to balance brand imagery with regulatory requirements (e.g., using “fading” colors such as silver on white for government notices ensures the brand name isn’t visually overpowered).
Happy Skin Cosmetics, for one, reinforces its brand promise with a “Happy Skin Says” portion in their packaging, explaining the skin-care ingredient infused in the product. The idea behind their names, says co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez, is to be “witty but also intuitive—you know exactly what the benefit of our product is when you pick it up.”
Manille Liqueur de Calamansi not only communicates its alcohol content on its label, but also helpfully advises: “Best taken after meals, or as a drink to cleanse the palate.” A discreet little booklet provides the production history of the liqueur—how the calamansi is grown by Mindoro farmers and handpicked by the Mangyans, an indigenous community in Tugdaan. Restaurateurs and bartenders also get free recipes of food and cocktails to be made with the liqueur.
#5 GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS A SNEAK PEEK
Glass and transparent plastic bottles are prized for showing that the product is free from impurities. “Show your product. If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” says Koteh.
The “window display flap” is used to display the freshness of meat products—sometimes it is even superimposed on a graphic illustration of the animal, to educate the consumer on what kind of animal and which part of it is contained within. “It looks as nice—or even better-colored—than the picture [on the package],” says Superfish Pacific Salmon brand manager Juan Paolo M. Araneta.
CHEZ KARINE BAKERY
Window boxes showcase the product—colorful macarons—and whet the appetite. Each box also serves as a walking advertisement while being carried around. Chef Karen Yang-Chiang uses wax liners to avoid butter residue, and blister packaging to keep the macarons in place.
#6 MAKE IT EASY FOR BUYERS TO USE YOUR PRODUCT
Help customers use your product, and you’ve got an advantage over your competitors. Some examples: the classic pull-tab on a can, zip/reseal or peel/reseal options for foil, perforated paper for easy ripping, airless dispensing systems for cosmetics, microwaveable popcorn bags that become serving bowls, and individually wrapped single-serve items, among others. “Quality only comes about by continual focus on, and attention to, the people who matter: the customers,” writes user-centered design advocate Don Norman in The Design of Everyday Things.
HAPPY SKIN COSMETICS
Happy Skin Cosmetics prides itself in being “user-friendly.” The squeezable bottles and tubes have a pointed tip to better control the amount dispensed and keep it hygienic. Meanwhile, the Don’t Get Mad, Get Even Hydrating Powder Foundation, its packaging made in Korea, has a built-in acrylic cover flap to protect the powder from oil, dirt and grime, while keeping the mirror clean, too.
Ease of application is a must, as in the case of the double-ended “eyebrow duo” which has an eyebrow pencil at one tip and a liquid liner on the other. “We wanted our products to make makeup newbies feel like a pro,” says co-founder Rissa Mananquil-Trillo.
Their newest product, the Feeling Sculptacular Face Contour Kit, has “a cheat sheet… to aid them in using the product,” adds co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez, noting, “At the end of the day, a good packaging design shouldn’t just be all fluff and bright colors—it should genuinely be able to aid your consumers in getting more out of your product.”
#7 MAKE YOUR PRODUCT GIFT-WORTHY
You know you’ve done something right if your product is deemed good enough to be gifted. Luxury products particularly excel in creating packaging that literally makes the consumer go through layers, as though unwrapping a gift.
“Chocolates, the pricey ones, bibili ka lang for Valentine’s or anniversaries or gifts for people, dapat sosyal,” says Matutina.
The same principle applies to perfumes, he notes, and specialty items like tea from TWG Tea Company. “If you give it away na sobrang simple lang yun, ang mahal mahal, parang it doesn’t translate yung brand as special.”
THEO & PHILO ARTISAN CHOCOLATES
“We package the chocolates almost like they’re gift-wrapped,” says owner Philo Chua, who designed the graphics himself. “The natural matte look offers a more refined finish and feel. We also made use of special metallic inks so that the colors will be more saturated and, if you look close enough, there’s a subtle ‘sparkle’ with the way the ink reflects the light.”
#8 LOOK FOR SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES
Customers are now more aware of sustainable, “green” packaging options: material substitutes for plastic, reduced weight of packaging, refillable containers, and recyclables. “For me, the future is less material in packaging… as companies are trying to appease environmentalists,” says Matutina. Now you’ll see simpler packaging, designed with folding in mind rather than cutting. “Folding is more economical, because cutting means there’s paper wastage.”
Mass-market liquor brands may not have a choice but to recycle, says Limpe-Aw, as “they have to recycle to control the costs—the [market’s] purchasing power is low, so to keep your costs low, you have to reuse the bottle.”
Choice of materials affects recyclability, adds industrial designer Mark Victor Bautista, president of Design Development Industries Inc.: For example, aluminum, which retains its properties after use, is almost always recycled, whereas tin tends to rust; unbroken glass bottles can be cleaned and used again, while recycled plastic is best for outer packaging. Bautista indicates that regulating the use of plastic is fine, so long as the paper substitute is either recycled or sourced from farmed forests. However, paper bags tend to be not as hardy as plastic—unless the paper is strengthened with biodegradable plastic laminate, but he admits the costs may be prohibitive.
Koteh says that Bestpak is currently testing and will soon come out with biodegradable plastic containers. “The costs are going down—still about 30 percent to 40 percent higher, but it’s an improvement.”
MESSY BESSY
“Packaging gives products not only character but also credibility,” says Messy Bessy Cleaners Inc. founder Kristina “Krie” Reyes-Lopez. Given that its brand values are “earth-friendly, non-toxic, and biodegradable,” Messy Bessy encourages consumers to recycle. “Although plastic is not the most eco-friendly material, we still opted for this (for now) since it is the most affordable, and reusable as well. We’ve offset this choice with refills and a returned bottle policy,” notes Lopez. Even the logo is recycled—an old portrait Lopez painted years before the business materialized, deeming it a perfect fit for the brand’s mid-20th century design leanings in “reference to the pre-chemical era.” “There’s so much more room for improvement in terms of sustainable packaging—hopefully, as both our business and the industry grow, we’ll be able to have more access to better packaging.”
#9 BE DIFFERENT
Sometimes doing the unexpected pays off. Theo & Philo decided to stand out “by not following the normal chocolate design that you see in the supermarket aisle”—that is, avoiding the “usual, normal, everyday fonts” and “pictures and drawings of the ingredients” as the main focus. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think if you’re going to do that, it’s better if you show the ingredients in a more interesting way rather than just a straight-up picture of it,” says Philo Chua.
The brand has also managed to avoid too-literal or too-obvious “Philippine-made” styling, observes Matutina, opting for a modern look that is subtly Western, and yet brings in Filipino aspects to the design.
DELIMONDO
Delimondo by the JAKA Group offers a stark contrast to flashy attention-seekers on the grocery shelf. Rather than following the expected route—with photos of either cows or the product—Delimondo has names and descriptions in plain black or red text, on a stark-white background. The throwback style is reminiscent of army rations during WWII—which is appropriate, given that most Filipinos blame their corned beef fixation on the American GIs.
#10 HIRE PROFESSIONALS
With the influx of international brands, there’s growing appreciation for good graphic design in the Philippines. Vergara of Vgrafiks Design + Branding Agency notes, “Local brands now see that they have to improve communications and [customer] experience.”
He qualifies that the market is still growing, and the difference between local and international product packaging still delineated; but it is precisely because most Filipino companies cannot afford the technological advances in contemporary industrial design that graphic design becomes a competitive advantage. “You can’t invest so much in terms of industrial design, structure, and the quality of material, so turn to graphic design instead… Our advantage is that we have many good illustrators and designers.”
DON PAPA RUM BY BLEEDING HEART RUM CO.
Don Papa Rum has won gold prizes at packaging competitions, including the International Spirits Challenge (UK), the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition in 2013. The rum is made in small batches in Negros, but uses bottles imported from France, sealed by a cork from Portugal, and flourished with a label printed in Italy.
What catches the eye is the stunning illustration on the label. Portraying Negrense revolutionary Dionisio Magbuelas, better known as “Papa Isio,” the design is wrought by packaging and branding firm Stranger & Stranger, which has offices in New York and London. “It had to be stunning enough for one to reach out and grab the bottle for a better look,” says Monica Llamas, head of brand at Bleeding Heart Rum Co.
Originally published in the April 2014 issue of Entrepreneur Philippines.
Photos by Jason Quibilan.