Is Windowed Packaging Right for Your Products?

The packaging of your product is the first contact that your customers have with your product and if your packaging fails, so does your product.

Much time, research and money is being invested in the science of packaging and seeing that we are human, our tastes tend to change like our fashion sense. Whatever was in today is out tomorrow.

The latest trend in packaging is windowed packaging. More and more manufacturers are opting for a windowed option as it gives the customer a glimpse of what they can expect.

It doesn’t expose the whole product, just enough to draw the attention of a potential client. However, windowed packaging is not recommended for all products. The question remains whether your product is right for windowed packaging.

Packaging challenges

Although there is a surge of manufacturers who are moving toward a windowed packaging strategy, there are many challenges with this method. One of the biggest challenges that windowed packaging poses is that it is difficult to manufacture. As a result, it becomes more expensive to produce.

Apart from the manufacturing costs, there are practical challenges as well. In recent years, products like tortilla chips, yogurt, and granola bars have been showing up in clear packaging more frequently. Truth be told, it looks appealing and gives the products sophistication. However, the product is on full display, with its imperfections and all.

Crisp packets and tortilla chips are of the most vulnerable products seeing that the crisps can break. Customers don’t want broken products, and unfortunately, if clear windowed packaging is used, it can show just enough breakage to deter the customer from buying your product.

Now that the products are visible, their recipes need to change to allow for the most alluring view. The fruit chunks in the yogurt need to be bigger and spices if the crisps need to be visible. There cannot be any crisp with a defect, or the product will not be sold.

The products aren’t just visible to customers, but they also get exposed to more sunlight which has a direct effect on the shelf life of certain products. Nuts are particularly tricky to work with because they oxidize easily. However, when the right combination of different clear films is fused together, the end product is well worth it.

Research has shown that health bars that are wrapped in windowed packaging appear healthier. The customers claim that the ingredients look fresher and less artificial. Their packaging alone gave them more appeal to customers.

Products that do well

Although windowed packaging and especially window stand out pouches are the newest craze in packaging, some products do especially well. People shop, and to a large degree, eat with their eyes. Therefore you need your products to look irresistible.

We live in a world that is ever more concerned with healthy living and healthy diets, and if you can market your products as being healthy and tasty, you have a winner. Larabar marketing manager, Julia Wing-Larson, noted that when you display simple and wholesome ingredients, it motivates a customer to buy the product because they eat with their eyes.

Other products tend to sell themselves, like honey or maple syrup. It would be hard to imagine these products in any other packaging than clear containers because of their color. When the light hits the golden amber liquid, it looks heavenly and draws people to it like a bug to a light.

Pastel colored macarons is another product that displays well with clear packaging. When it’s wrapped in clear cellophane, the soft pastel colors seem to be highlighted, and all that is needed to round off the picture is a label that is tied with a string to the open end.

If you want to sell the idea of organic freshness, then look no further than clear windowed packaging. When you display your organic milk, or fresh carrot juice in a clear bottle it builds customer confidence in your product. They feel that the product is laid bare for any scrutiny and making a bold statement like a clear reveal means that there is nothing to hide.

Products that don’t

Just like some products benefit from clear packaging, you should avoid clear windowed packaging if your product is of a fragile nature.

You need to be able to sketch the scenario of how your product is eventually going to land on the store’s shelf, or nowadays, the front door of the delivery address.

Your product is not that special that it gets its own transport. It is usually shared on a truck with hundreds of other products. The handlers might not be the most gentle of people, not to mention the staff that stock the shelves.

You want to display your product, not give the customer a shady film to look through. Certain products have, and when they are shaken in a clear package a bit, the film becomes unclear and dusty. This is not necessarily the message that you want to send to your customers. You don’t want them to guess what they are buying.

The same goes for products that can smear the film with oil. It gives that impression that your product is dirty and that the packaging is tainted.

Ultimately, you will need to decide whether to use clear windowed packaging or not. Your product will have the final say. The best way to go about your decision is to make a couple of samples and see which one displays the best. You’ll be able to determine whether your product suits a clear approach or whether the clear film will sabotage your product.