Product and packaging innovation is essential to keeping up with the continually growing and shifting petfood and treats market. According to the American Pet Products Association, pet owners discover new products by browsing store shelves or viewing television advertisements. Packaging can not only enhance shopping experiences but can also strengthen consumer loyalty; according to Weatherchem’s whitepaper on packaging trends studies have revealed that petfood packaging largely follows similar trends as human packaging for food; brand differentiation, enhancement and convenience all rank highly with consumers when selecting food or pet care products from specific brands.
What can you do to ensure that the packaging for your brand stands out on store shelves?
Today’s pet parents are sophisticated consumers with clear expectations about what they need from pet products and their packaging. You must communicate this clearly to them in a concise yet enthusiastic way that your product meets these requirements – one way is through packaging overhaul, but there are products out there to give your own petfood and treat packaging a competitive edge.
Kaytee Products, Inc. recently unveiled Nature’s Benefits – a natural food product specifically tailored for pet birds (parakeets, cockatiels and parrots) and small animals such as hamsters/gerbils, guinea pigs and rabbits). This granola-style line provides daily diets consisting of fruit and nuts paired with clusters of seeds and grains without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives according to Kaytee Products Inc. When designing packaging for Nature’s Benefits Directions Inc. used consumer emotional connections between humans and pets to further strengthen brand/consumer relationships between brand/consumer relationships and improve brand/consumer relationships between consumer/brand and brand/consumer relationships
“The design needed to communicate a sense of wholesomeness on various levels,” states Directions art director Aria Grant. “We wanted it to have a crunchy-granola feel while still being eco-friendly; yet acknowledge consumers’ relationship with their pets.” To achieve shelf impact, Grant recommends using visual cues that combine natural colors and elements with muted tones on Kraft paperboard material that give the Nature’s Benefits range an earthy organic aesthetic.
Directions was responsible for procuring carton material for their package from converter Great Northern Corp and their StrataGraph process. Great Northern has developed an innovative process utilizing UV inks and dry-trapping of inks and coatings to combine the quality of process printing with structural integrity of folding carton paperboard, all completely in-line. As noted by Great Northern, this results in consistent quality at reduced turnaround times. Cost-to-market efficiencies were realized through combining UV printing, coating, die cutting, and stripping into one continuous process. As a result, Nature’s Benefits carton is 100% recyclable and compostable while consumers may use it to give their pets something “to burrow in.” In fact, copy on the back suggests this may even work!
“Both buyers and retailers have expressed great enthusiasm about the unique look of the packaging and have expressed that it’s an excellent way to promote an all-natural product,” states Kay Thomson, senior marketing manager for Kaytee Pet Bird.
Now that you’ve seen how one company handled their packaging challenge, it is time to arm yourself with all of the latest technology and innovations for petfood and treat packaging.
1. Avery Dennison Flexis Air Valves are specifically designed to work with perishable products. Their air management valves provide proper airflow management in plastic packaging of perishables. Furthermore, these valves release excess air for moisture protection purposes by way of a membrane, baffle film and permanent adhesive attachment – visit averydennison.com for more details.
2. Bemis Clysar offers LTC shrink film, a thin-gauge clear heat-shrinkable polyolefin-based shrink film designed to combine strength, balanced shrink and clarity for optimal use in applications where material reduction is essential and it can run at speeds comparable to heavier-gauge films according to Bemis. Visit www.clysar.com for more information.
Mondi Consumer Bags & Films’ Hooded Top Slider Bag was developed with Pactiv for ease of filling and convenience in mind, including safety, functionality, marketing and marketing reach. The slider closure can only be accessed when part of outer packaging along a micro perforation is removed – www.mondigroup.com for more details!
4. Faerch Plast offers petfood packaging designed specifically for them. Crafted of AMPET material – lightweight yet stable -, Faerch Plast packaging can be tailored to desired shape and color while remaining stackable for storage purposes. Visit FaerchPlast.com to discover more!
Nordenia International’s FlexZiBox packaging is specially suited to handling volumes up to 55 pounds. This reclosable side-gusset bag comes equipped with a robust patch handle that is tearproof and resilient for ease of handling, according to Nordenia.com. For more information, visit nordenia.com
Peel Plastic’s MicroPerf technology allows for venting while simultaneously preventing contamination, according to the company. When venting food and petfood products, this means creating holes small enough for insects’ ovipositors; for hygroscopic items that will be stored outdoors or displayed publicly, venting through holes smaller than most problem insects is the preferred approach, according to Peel. www.peelplastics.com is also a resource.
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