Call Us Email Us

Is Your Packaging Design Barrier-Free?

hands opening a carton

How Barrier-Free Is Your Packaging?

Nothing is more annoying to consumers than trying to prepare a meal and being unable to open the packaging of an ingredient because it is not consumer-friendly. Unsurprisingly, “wrap rage” (opening packaging with a sharp tool) is a major cause of minor injuries among two thirds of consumers. Is your packaging design barrier-free, asks this article for Packaging Innovation.

Below we have summarised this article. Read time approx. 3 minutes.

Packaging design for the average consumer

Research shows that consumers tend to have the most difficulty with flat plastic trays (used for packaging cheese and cold meat slices), screw tops and food tins without easy-to-open ends. As the average consumer gets older, packaging should be adapted to cater for elderly people too. Older consumers often find today’s packaging to be illegible and/or difficult to understand.

The basics of barrier-free packaging

Consumers are adapting their purchasing behaviour, favouring easy-to-use. Making your packaging barrier-free is a must if you want keep up with competition. Barrier-free doesn’t have to be expensive, nor does it have to interfere with a great packaging design.

Tips for making your Food Cartons and Sleeves Easy to Use

A few tips to create a successful barrier-free packaging design;

  • Use a big font.
  • Use clear, contrasting colours.
  • Divide information into logical units.
  • Highlight important information (e.g. allergy advice)
  • Highlight the opening and closing openings.
  • Use an opening principle the consumer can intuitively understand.
  • Ask a focus group to try out the packaging.

At Dollard Packaging, we would also advise that you should think of barriers to using your packaging that can occur throughout the lifecycle of your packaging, such as:

  • Easy to Reclose : Is your packaging easy to re-close so that it is easy to keep the product fresh?
  • Easy to Store: Does your packaging lend itself to easy storage in a household cupboard (if the packaging is a strange shape that cannot be stacked or takes up too much space, this can create a barrier to ease of use)
  • Easy to Recycle: Is your packaging minimalist, easy to clean and fold into a recycling bin after it is fully used? Packaging that is none of the above is a barrier that prevents the consumer recycling or reusing it and maybe push an eco-conscious consumer to look for a competitor’s product that doesn’t have those barriers.
  • Plastic-Free Window Cartons: Will environmentally-aware consumers who are trying to avoid the purchasing products containing “single-use plastics” be put off buying your product if it is in a carton or sleeve with a plastic window patch? If yes, then ask us about our Eco-film for window cartons and sleeves. It is a film that is made from plants and doesn’t contain any plastic. Read More about the eco-film here.

If you would like advice on how to make your cartons or sleeves “barrier-free”, speak to us at Dollard Packaging on 01 -847 0044

You can read the original article here.

Search Posts

Categories