Attract More Shoppers with Packaging Designed for the Senses

Brands are constantly challenged with finding new ways to stand out against competitors. To attract shoppers, brands commonly use verbal communication and visual tactics such as unique colors and graphics. When graphical elements and visual tactics are paired with senses like sound or the touch, packaging can be much more powerful at capturing attention and creating memorable brand experiences.

Why Multi-Sensory Works

Multi-sensory packaging boosts a consumer’s overall experience with a brand. Rather than focusing on verbal or visual elements to communicate, it offers a different level of brand communication. Harvard Business Review discussed the power of multi-sensory marketing in familiar scenarios like the how wine tastes better out of a wine glass rather than a water glass—simply because the wine glass allows you to savor the smell of the wine while consuming it.

When subtle sensory influences are added to a product or a package, people don’t think of them as marketing messaging–they perceive them in a different way. Cues like the use of wholesome ingredients or showing that a package is fully closed can be expressed in ways beyond verbal marketing.

To give you a taste of what’s out there, we’ll explore a few examples that are designed to target various senses.

Film They Can Feel

To help communicate brand values through the sense of touch, a variety of film and inks can be applied to packaging. Textured inks and films with a sand-like feel are often associated with natural or handmade products. For instance, by pairing burlap-like visual graphics along with a textured package made to feel like burlap, marketers can convey a product is organically grown or is pure and natural in a subtler way.

Closures That Click

Marketers can provide added assurance that packaging is fully reclosed with zippers that click when closed. This distinctive audible-tactile click cues the consumer that packaging is fully sealed and won’t go stale. When it comes to sound, the simple indication of a reclosable zipper’s click helps consumers associate the product with freshness and convenience. Read more about an audible-tactile closure solution.

Shocking Shapes

Of course, visual aesthetics are still critical to a brands’ success. Marketers and packaging engineers can find ways to stand out from competitors with boldly shaped flexible packages. Curvy shapes and skinnier, smaller formats add an element of surprise on the shelf, further attracting a shopper. Previously, uniquely shaped or small format flexible pouches could only be reclosed with a zipper. New innovations like the Fresh-Lock^® mini Slider now allow brands to add convenience to their bold packaging. Read more about it in our recent article. (link to contributed article)

Scents That Stand Out

The sense of smell is most proven by scientists to be linked with memory. Incorporating scents into packaging film and even closures can help make stronger consumer connections with a brand. Rick Custer, commercial director at Fresh-Lock^® by Presto Products shares, “Sensory cues such as audible and tactical closures along with scented designs are some recent closure innovations have been engineered to enhance consumer experiences.”

Think about frozen products for instance, since the product is frozen, it can’t necessarily be smelled upon opening. Innovative brands can add aromas to the closure or packaging seal to help infuse enjoyable and memorable experiences.

Explore Engaging Opportunities

Finding innovative ways to attract shoppers will forever be a task and challenge for brands and manufacturers. However, the new trend of multi-sensory marketing is backed by science. Forward-thinking packaging manufacturers and closure suppliers can help brands create truly stand-out options. If you’re looking to take your resealable packaging to the next level, let’s talk. Contact us at 800-265-0750 or online and mention this article to infuse multi-sensory, innovative reclosability options into your packaging.