To innovate in the crowded space of consumer-packaged goods, companies spend countless hours of effort optimizing their products to make them more desirable to consumers. But what happens when they’ve made the stuff inside the package as good as can be? One strategy is to offer more of it, of course (Now With 30% More!). But that technique only goes so far and likely cuts into the bottom line in categories that already have razor-thin margins.
Here at Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy, we are seeing more and more packaged goods companies turning to innovating their packaging as much as the product inside in an effort to capture consumer demand. By understanding their consumers’ needs and behaviors, companies can add value to a product by creating a package that delivers a better experience. In some cases, in fact, you could even say that a new package can create a new product, one that meets a new need and is experienced by the consumer in an entirely new way.