Food and Grocery Retail Packaging: How To Keep It Fashionable and Functional

From a food subscription box to the to-go bag someone gets at the end of their restaurant visit, and beyond — regardless of your type of business, your packaging must be sturdy, sanitary, and functional to meet consumer expectations and industry standards. In addition to great functionality, your retail packaging’s design can be a powerful…

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Food and Grocery Retail Packaging: How To Keep It Fashionable and Functional

Whether you are a mom-and-pop shop, large chain, restaurant, or digitally-based food or grocery establishment, there are a few things your retail packaging must have to create a great consumer experience.

The Role Your Food Packaging Design Plays in the Consumer Experience

No one likes to receive their food subscription box to find their food has spoiled or have a bag break on them as they carry their groceries in from the store. This can create frustration, causing consumers to take their business elsewhere. No matter which way you cut it, high-quality food and grocery retail packaging is an absolute necessity.

In addition to ensuring food freshness, you want to take your retail packaging efforts one step further by fully integrating it into your brand experience. Use this powerful touchpoint as a way to boost brand awareness and build a loyal consumer base. How can you do this effectively? We will cover that next.

Harness the Power of Fully Custom, Creative Food Packaging

When it comes to food and grocery packaging, with the right packaging service provider, you can have it all: An on-trend, on-brand, high-quality solution that is functional, compliant, and appealing to consumers. Here are some ways you can create a memorable consumer experience.

Amplify Your Aesthetics

Looking at what is trending in retail packaging, there are a few ways you can boost your packaging’s visual appeal. It seems that bright colors, bold typography, and abstract, artistic designs have taken food and grocery packaging by storm. Incorporate your business name and logo to reinforce your brand. Consider your target consumers’ preferences as you brainstorm food packaging ideas to guarantee you are providing the best experience.

Go Sustainable

Consumers have become more aware of their environmental impact and are actively seeking opportunities to lower their carbon footprint — especially when it comes to the brands they buy from. Sustainable food and grocery packaging are on the rise and the U.S. has made moves to cut down on food and grocery waste as a whole. Some states have banned single-use plastic grocery bags altogether while others are charging a small fee for the use of paper or reusable packaging alternatives. Some establishments have opted for bags made from recycled paper, compostable materials, or biodegradable plastic.

With a big pet peeve of many consumers being over packaging, you want to take a minimalist approach when designing your packaging solution. Choose appropriately sized components and minimize the number of components you use. Not only does this appeal to your consumers’ sustainability wishes, but this approach can also help you cut long-term manufacturing and shipping costs.

While eliminating waste where you can is a big part of sustainable packaging, sometimes, that is not an option. In these cases, you can choose packaging made from recycled and/or recyclable or compostable/biodegradable materials, such as food-grade paper products or biodegradable plastic. Along with the packaging materials and components themselves, you want to consider your supply chain’s environmental impact — which is where partnering with the right packaging service provider can help.

Create Reusable Components

Provide consumers with reusable branded shopping bags and sell them in-store as an alternative to single-use plastic and paper bags. Elevate these reusable components by using polypropylene non-woven materials to create insulated reusable totes. Package food deliveries in plastic or glass containers that consumers can use to store and pack their own food in the future or even use for another purpose down the road. In addition to getting your brand in front of more people, you are giving consumers a way to support an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Use Protective, Safe, and Sanitary Packaging

Your consumers’ main concerns when it comes to their food and grocery products are safety and cleanliness. Use FDA-approved food contact substances, food-safe packaging materials, and sturdy components to ensure your products are protected. In some cases, such as food subscription boxes or delivery services, you may need to insulate your packaging to maintain the temperature of sensitive food items such as meat and dairy products, which is most efficiently done with ice packs and a specialized wool or fleece material.

This ensures your food is kept fresh, giving them an overall great experience. Make your consumers aware of the safety measures you take on your labels and interior packaging components such as branded leaflets or brochures to give them peace of mind. Be sure to look into food safety requirements and regulations, and discuss them with your vendor to ensure you remain compliant.

Partner With an Experienced Packaging Service Provider

Partnering with a credible, reliable packaging vendor is critical to your brand’s success and can save you many headaches along the way. Choose a packaging provider that understands your niche industry and unique business needs, goals, and criteria. They should be able to guide you through the packaging creation process, helping you create a solution that meets consumers’ needs, wants, and expectations and positions your brand in the best light.

Finding the right packaging vendor, however, can be challenging in and of itself. Factor in industry changes, consumer demands, and managing the ins and outs of your business, and it is safe to say your plate is pretty full. An end-to-end packaging partner can streamline your business processes and free up valuable time to focus on managing your other business needs.

At Edge2Edge, we specialize in custom food and grocery packaging solutions and can help you consistently deliver greatness to your consumer’s doorstep. With in-depth industry expertise and a diversified supplier network, we can be your partner in global logistics management, helping you seamlessly navigate supply chain disruptions — even with high-volume orders. When you partner with us, you get consultations led by our packaging strategy experts and advisors, live shipment tracking, graphic design support, and more, so that you never miss a beat.