5 Reasons Resealable Packaging Will Make Consumers Love Your Brand

9/22/2016

People have been using forms of resealable packaging for more than a century. For instance, Mason jars and wine bottle corks have been around since the 1800s.

We’ve known reclosability is important to consumers for decades. A New York Times article from 1982 detailed a study indicating how shoppers viewed the lack of reclosable packaging as a “major problem.”

Today, flexible packaging is experiencing impressive growth, and there are a variety of options for making this type of consumer product packaging resealable.

If you’re still on the fence about whether investing in resealable packaging is worth it, consider your end users. They’ll appreciate it, and they’ll show their appreciation by becoming loyal to your brand.

Here are five reasons why customers love flexible packaging with resealable closures.

1. Resealable Packaging Extends Shelf Life

What consumers see as the biggest benefit of resealable packaging should be no surprise. People love how it can keep their food fresh, preserving it and potentially extending its shelf life.

Food products last longer and taste better when they come in a package that closes using a zipper or slider. Even on items that could have a substantial shelf life without a closure, such as chocolate, people still feel as though reclosability impacts the freshness of their food.

Closures like zippers and sliders are commonly found on products like deli meat and cheese. They are also ideal for standup pouches. However, consumers are starting to expect this convenience on all sorts of products. Reclosable packaging can keep cereal and chips crispy instead of becoming stale, prevent frozen food from getting freezer burn, and help keep dog food fresh.

2. Resealable Packaging Reduces Waste

Americans create a lot of waste. The EPA estimates the typical person generates about 4.9 pounds of waste per day.

At the same time, many people are becoming more aware of their impact on the environment and want their purchasing decisions to support their belief in cleaning up the planet. This is especially true among Millennial shoppers, who are now the nation’s fastest growing consumer group.

Resealable packaging not only means less food waste in a home, it can also reduce waste from secondary packaging like storage bags, foil, or plastic wrap.

Fresh-Lock^® also believes in reducing waste for a greener planet. That’s why we introduced our Zipper Spool Program, which allows manufacturers to easily reuse or recycle Fresh-Lock^® zipper spools. We do this without creating a cost burden for converters.

3. Resealable Packaging Adds Value

Don’t forget, your packaging is an essential part of your product. Improving the package can convince consumers that what you’re offering is worth their hard-earned dollars.

As the graph from Flexible Packaging magazine below indicates, resealability is the second-most important feature of flexible packaging. In fact, this brand value study suggests more than 10 percent of those surveyed view a resealable closure as “Absolutely Essential,” while nearly one-third view the feature as “Extremely Important.”

Interestingly, other positive factors of flexible packaging, like product life and being easy to open, can also be attributed to the right type of closure. This same study found the typical consumer is willing to pay 14 percent more for products in resealable packaging.

Flexible Packaging Brand Value Study

4. Resealable Packaging Sets Your Brand Apart from the Competition

If you’ve taken a walk through a supermarket lately, you know that consumers are facing an overwhelming amount of choices. People encounter so many varieties of nearly every type of consumer packaged goods it’s mind boggling.

So how does your brand get noticed amid all the noise?

A feature like reclosability could easily give your brand an edge over competitors’ products sitting next to yours on the shelf. Consumers may not be able to taste, smell, or feel the product inside the package until they buy it. However, when they notice a convenient closure, they know they’re getting specific benefits right away. A reclosable package is also a hint to consumers that there’s a higher quality product inside.

5. Resealable Packaging Makes a Homeowner’s Life Easier

Your customers are busy. We’re all busy. Sometimes small conveniences can save time and make a big difference.

Searching through the cupboard for a matching top to that plastic container and trying to find a chip-clip or twist-ties in the junk drawer can be frustrating. When a package has its own closure, there’s no need to search for anything.

Fresh-Lock^® makes resealable zippers with audible tactile sensory features. The Click ‘N Lock™ zipper makes a slight popping noise, which lets users know when a pouch is opened and makes them feel confident it is securely closed. That’s a simple way to make sure they seal in freshness and avoid spills.

Sliders are also a convenient option, especially because they could make your products even easier to seal than traditional press-to-close options. Packaging studies in the UK and Germany indicate consumers there prefer sliders by an overwhelming majority.

A New Benefit – Child-Resistant Flexible Packaging

Of course, there may be times a consumer doesn’t want a package to be easy to open. Sometimes consumer safety is an issue, especially when it concerns protecting children.

We’re proud to be the first to provide a child-resistant slider to the packaging industry.

In 2014, we launched the groundbreaking Child-Guard^® technology at Pack Expo International. Child-Guard^® has the potential to keep curious kids out of packages containing things that could be harmful. Watch the animation below to see how the closure works.

One of the most common applications for Child-Guard^® is laundry SUDs (soluble unit doses). Child-resistant closures have the potential to impact many other product types. Possibilities include lawn and garden, pool chemicals, nutraceuticals, and medicines that use flexible packaging. Review our child-resistant applications and learn more on our consumer-facing safety and education website, child-guard.com.

Keeping children safe is a very good reason for consumers to hold your brand in high regard.

We’re excited about this innovation as well as the potential for all our sliders and zippers to improve your brand’s image. Click here to view the complete line of Fresh-Lock and Slide-Rite offerings. You can download details on each product.