When it comes to innovation in domestic food packaging, one has to mention that it is Nongfu Spring. Its products have won many Pentawards awards, known as the Oscars in packaging design. Nongfu Spring is nicknamed "design company" by netizens ". Not only that, Nongfu Mountain Spring's performance is still rising, from 5.2 billion in 2010 to 15 billion in 2016. However, not all companies have achieved this result. Some enterprises in the product innovation is not small, but also in the product and packaging efforts, but it is difficult to achieve similar performance returns.

Does packaging design innovation also have "first principles"? At present, few people seem to explore. Just as Reese went to explore the first principles of marketing, the Origin of Species inspired Reese and, as a result, created the book "The Origin of Brands" to explain the principles of brand birth. Packaging innovation, whether there are rules to follow?

Good design is lasting.

Dieter Rams, a representative of minimalism, said "Good design is durable".

How did our ancestors drink milk? No, maybe our grandparents never drank milk when they were young. Only now the prevalence of tetracycline pillows and tetracycline bags has made us accustomed to enjoying the taste of milk. "Tee Pillow", it may not be art, but it has really changed our lives and made it convenient for billions of people around the world for more than half a century. Isn't it in line with the idea that "good design is lasting?

When it comes to packaging design, for consumers, the first association is more "beauty", but "convenience" and "quality" are also indispensable, even before beauty, packaging design can never be separated from technology.

For brands, the ultimate goal should be both profitable and long-lasting. Long-term significance, both to enjoy a stable income, at the same time, long-term means that costs can be controlled (this seems to be the current all brands always have to consider the problem). The ultimate goal is not always easy to reach. Before we can summarize the method, we should first look at which products are successful in packaging design?

According to the principle of "both profitable and long-term", as a consumer, there may not be many brands that you appreciate and are willing to buy repeatedly in packaging design.

The illustration design is charming. The spring, summer, autumn and winter of Changbai Mountain tells us that the water comes from Changbai Mountain. The picture is full of fairy tales and implies purity. But the fundamental reason why I am willing to buy this product repeatedly is that its bottle cap moves me. This may be the first innovative bottle cap on a drinking bottle in China, which can be opened and closed with one hand, and there is no need to worry about the natural outflow of water when tilting or standing upside down, which greatly facilitates drinking in transit.

The first time I saw Evian Fruits & Plants through the Internet, it was adorable. Shape and color together convey a lovely and soft image. I don't know how many consumers, like me, have been captured only through such packaging. In addition to the art-filled new packaging that is fascinating, the long history of the brand (more than 200 years) and the Danone group behind it have strengthened consumers' trust in Evian.

Why is it a package, not a product? Because this package represents too many products, too many to mention.

The taste of "Earth Water" water itself is not unusual, but what is important is the technological sense of its packaging, the bottle shape of the surface, the comfortable hand feeling, and the performance of "ergonomic design and easy drinking in transit. When I learned about the humanized application of science behind a package, I felt more "forced" when drinking the water inside ".

Later, it was found that a large number of products on the market were using this package, including the coconut water Vita Coco, which was popular all over the world. At present, more than 50% of the coconut water on the market (the actual number may be higher) is in Tetra Pak packaging.

Hi! Milk

If you can only fix the design on the Tetra Pak drill, which is very limited, it may be that your imagination is not good enough. Hi from Mengniu! Milk has launched a brand tour based on this packaging! I haven't personally experienced it, but it was very touching at first sight. What do you think?

The above successful packaging design can summarize how packaging design acts on individual consumption decisions.

4 Elements of Building a Lasting Product

If the product is compared to the mutual attraction and trust between people, "starting from the value of appearance, trapped in talent, loyal to character" is a more appropriate metaphor. "Yan value" attracts the attention of consumers, the connotation wins the resonance of consumers, and the quality forms the stickiness of consumers.

First, the connotation of packaging depends on the connotation of the brand

Packaging design is the means and extension of the brand, which means that the connotation of packaging comes from the connotation of the brand.

The packaging design of any product cannot be independent of the brand itself. If the brand itself lacks connotation and does not have a "touching story", then the packaging is like a castle in the air, and no matter how good the design is, it becomes an independent work of art.

Why do you say "Guilin's landscape is the best in the world" and "the return of the five mountains does not look at the mountains"? It is the literati's pen and ink that gives the power of product culture and doubles the value of products. Culture plays a decisive role when products and functions compete on the same level.

Some people will retort that a certain product has achieved a substantial increase in sales with innovative packaging. I believe that this will have a certain stimulating effect. However, a product can continue to grow steadily, or maintain a stable sales position, need to rely on the brand, otherwise, packaging is only an independent marketing event, after the heat, sales will be extremely rapid decline.

Therefore, before optimizing the packaging design, priority should be given to shaping the connotation of the brand, and packaging can also play a role in strengthening the connotation. Whether the packaging itself can play a role in turning things around remains to be seen.

Second, the packaging design should have continuity

We see that there are many packaging designs that destroy their brand image in the market. When the text bottle is on fire, a large number of them are following the trend. When the fan economy prevails, many brands also add star or cartoon images to their packaging. These brands are like retail investors drifting with the flow in the stock market, chasing hot spots over and over again to make them lose their judgment. The brand has lost its personality, and even is constantly consuming its own brand image. A brand with a clear positioning will surely see the continuity of its design.

Christophe, designer of Evian Fruits & Plants and founder of BETC Design, shared FBIF2017: "Evian never involves things like vitamins. Evian does not consider whether things can bring energy or the magic of formula. Evian considers our purity. We have created the entire brand system. Even if some new elements are added, such as the three fruits on the package, these three fruits are still like three mountains when put together. The essence of Evian's pursuit has never changed. We design new product packaging, but still maintain a fresh and pure tone, we use transparent elements to show our purity."

I once saw a sentence in my circle of friends: "restraint is also a strategy." your product does not need to cater to everyone's needs.

Third, packaging design should reflect the quality of products

Satu Aalto, founder of Dotter Creative Group Oy, said when sharing the Spring Aqua case: "The packaging itself is not enough, and the quality of your own product is also very important. If you just do a beautiful job on the packaging, and then open it and find that the quality of the product is not satisfactory, this will actually disappoint consumers."

The same return to the product itself, the object of packaging design is the product. Never expect to solve all problems through packaging, even problems with your own products. But the material of the packaging is also very important. This is a problem we have seen on many products in China. Many products have very good designs, which are spread through the Internet and videos. Consumers are extremely excited, but after impulse purchase, they find that the packaging is presented. The effect is not satisfactory. Every failed attempt may hurt consumers' impression of the brand image, and may even be irreparable.

Under the premise that the difference of "contents" is not obvious, the aesthetic feeling of packaging design, the material and feel of packaging materials will affect consumers' judgment on product quality.

Fourth, continuous innovation to impress consumers at multiple points and establish emotional connections

Why do you go to see a movie? Perhaps we have rarely been able to be moved by advertising, but no one can stop the circle of friends "wave after wave" of sharing attacks.

Very few people will become loyal fans of Nongfu Spring because of its advertisement, packaging and experience, but the strengthening of its "innovative" image again and again makes consumers sticky.

Just like brand marketing, it will never do only one case, but will continue to launch. Coca-Cola's nickname bottle, lyrics bottle, sharing bottle and so on, all continue to tell us, "I can bring joy", customers are in many times of marketing to strengthen the impression of Coca-Cola.

Nielsen Lynn Xu emphasizes that "innovative elements should be added to every link". Brands may try to continuously optimize and upgrade the same product to bring more surprises to customers. Instead of treating all minor improvements as costs. The stickiness and time of consumers will definitely give unlimited returns to the "heart" brand.