Chocolatiers mainly depend on the taste and quality of their chocolate to allure and retain clients. However, chocolate packaging is also a factor that plays a vital role in how people experience a certain confectionary product. Not only does chocolate packaging protect the contents but it is also responsible for the first impression.
Do you want to know how to choose chocolate packaging that stands out? Keep on reading to learn more about the best practices in packaging and design for confectionery businesses.
What makes chocolate packaging so important for customers?
Chocolate packaging is the first thing people see. Think of it as a way to grab consumers’ attention. And since the first impression of your brand is utterly important, you should not compromise with packaging material quality and good chocolate box design.
That is especially true for customers who shop online and are not familiar with your confectionery products. Such people have to rely entirely on the content and appearance of chocolate bar boxes to make a purchase decision.
Also, product quality reflects in the packaging. For example, if you make luxury chocolate it does not make sense to present it in dull cheap-looking chocolate boxes. That is another reason to pay attention to materials, texture, construction, and design in chocolate packaging.
Steps for choosing the best packaging for your chocolate brand
Chocolate packaging is all about how people view your brand. That’s why you need to find a packaging solution that speaks to your clients, even if they have never tasted your sweet products. Here are the steps to follow when picking chocolate boxes and packaging suppliers:
Choose the right size
Chocolates and chocolate bars boxes come in various sizes. So the first thing you need to think about is to choose packaging that will perfectly fit your choco sweets. That’s right, you need a perfect fit for your chocolates. Not too big, not too small.
Too big of a box would leave the impression that your product is larger than it actually is. That is very deceiving to the customer and might leave you with lots of unsatisfied clients and bad reviews. Who wants that, right?
On the other hand, if you purchase chocolate packaging that is too small to fit your products, you would have wasted money on supplies you would not be able to use at all. Considering that packaging suppliers tend to customize their items, it is highly unlikely they will accept a return for a mistake on your side.
Customize your packaging
The next step after choosing the right size of chocolate packaging is personalization. If you sell chocolate, customizing the chocolate boxes is a must because it makes your brand unique and noticeable.
Customized chocolate packaging is always a good idea. It does involve a creative process with user experience in mind, though. When you go for a packaging style that is distinctive for your brand (especially if it is unusual), you also need to make sure clients can clearly understand how to unpack your product without ruining their experience.
Include visuals text that provokes interest and action
When it comes to chocolate packaging customization, design is also of high importance. The ultimate goal is for people to start recognizing your product by the packaging. So you should pay close attention to all the colors, visuals, and texts, and how well they work together.
Custom design of the chocolate packaging shows your company values and allows you to convey a message to existing and potential consumers. After all, how could people buy your chocolate if they cannot see the brand, nor the type of chocolate, product content, ingredients list, and so on?
Make sure to include your logo, brand colors, and provide essential information about the contents of the packaging. Visual elements should be coordinated with the chocolate brand aesthetics. The packaging text should be easy to read, catchy, and provoking interest.
Most good packaging suppliers for chocolate businesses offer the opportunity to have the chocolate bar boxes fully customized. So there would not be a need for you to search for another specific service to have your chocolate packaging branded.
Use materials according to seasonality
Using packaging materials smartly will save you lots of headaches and at least a few negative reviews. What we mean by using materials smartly is to consider the season when making chocolate packaging decisions.
Have in mind local weather and seasonal changes. The needs of your chocolate business might change with the temperatures, especially if you run your own shop. In summer, when the weather is hot, you need to protect chocolates from melting. During the winter months, you might need chocolate boxes that have good insulation to avoid cold damage.
Some important trends in food packaging
Sustainability
The modern-day consumer is very environmentally aware. That is why chocolate brands should be all about sustainability and eco-friendly packaging. Sustainable packaging promotes less use of natural resources for a lower price. And this trend is rapidly gaining more and more popularity in the food production industry.
Plastic, foil, and other nature pollutant materials are used less and less in confectionery products. Instead, brands start to turn to eco-aware packaging that is biodegradable, made of natural or recyclable materials such as rice paper, recycled paper, cardboard, etc.
By sticking to sustainable packaging you make a loud statement that your chocolate brand cares for the environment in the long term.
Storytelling
People love chocolate brands that they are able to connect with. So why not share your brand’s story?
You could add a small paragraph at the back of the chocolate packaging or launch limited-edition chocolate bar boxes clients could collect. The only thing you need to have in mind is to put out engaging and captivating content.
There is no need to write the story on the chocolate boxes, though. There are also other alternative ways to promote a chocolatier brand via storytelling! For example, you can incorporate interactive food packaging by adding a QR code element to your chocolate packaging design.
Customers can scan it and conveniently access your story on their mobile devices. The QR code could lead to a textual webpage, an interesting video, a captivating image, or a gallery for entertainment purposes. It could also lead to a lottery game or promotional content aimed at engaging clients.
