Packaging refers to materials or designs that enclose and protect a product during handling or transportation. Labelling provides significant information about the product and brand. Custom packaging and branded labels can increase brand identity in the market. Packaging and labeling can create both positive and negative impressions on consumers. Around 73% of consumers say that packaging design affects their buying decisions. Additionally, 55% of e-commerce businesses design their packaging specifically for online sales.
Eye-catching packaging designs can attract many customers to the product. Warehouse companies greatly help in the packaging and labelling of a product and prepare products for shipping.
Some 3PL warehouses even offer customized packaging and labelling services to tailor market needs. Whenever a business outsources packaging and labelling services to a third-party warehouse, the overhead costs of the business are reduced.
What Is Packaging?
It is a process of enclosing a product inside a material or container to protect it during warehouse storage and transportation. Proper packaging can protect the product from damage and environmental factors like light and temperature.
You cannot transport eggs from a poultry farm to the retailer without properly packaging them in the egg tray. Similarly, when a white T-shirt is transported with improper packaging, it can have stains or get dirty, negatively affecting customers. Polybags, corrugated boxes, and roll bags enclose and protect a product. Proper packaging is essential for both the business and customers. The seller uses packaging for appropriate storage and distribution, and customers use packaging as an identification tool.
Most businesses use attractive packaging to increase the product’s aesthetic value. Proper packaging can make an ordinary product look appealing.
Importance Of Packaging
- Proper packaging ensures a product’s safety. For example, milk in a tetra pak preserves its quality for longer.
- Logistics operations involve certain risks, such as mishandling, product spoilage, or damage. Proper packaging can reduce the chances of such risks.
- Packaging is an important marketing element in promoting a product. It informs customers about the product and its features.
- Good packaging ensures proper product transportation from the manufacturing units to the end customer.
- Packaging helps a customer to identify the product and differentiate it from other products available in the market.
Different Types Of Packaging
There are usually three types of packaging, which are underlined below.
1. Primary Packaging
Primary packaging is packaging that is in direct contact with the product. Its main job is to protect the product and maintain its optimal condition from the moment it is put inside the packaging until it is removed.
It even provides customers detailed information about the product, like the product name, expiry date, and instructions. The packaging material should be visually appealing and promote the brand to attract customers and stand out among competitors. Let’s discuss primary packaging with examples. When a cosmetic lotion is put inside a glass dropper bottle with a label, the glass dropper bottle acts as primary packaging.
Similarly, when you buy a smartphone, it comes with a corrugated cardboard box. Again, glass bottles for drinks, Plastic wrappers for chocolate bars, Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, and laminated pouches are all examples of primary packaging.
2. Secondary Packaging
Secondary packaging is the layer that customers cannot see. It groups various primary packaging materials to make them easier to handle during the shipping and logistics. The secondary packaging may or may not look aesthetically pleasing, but it should always provide product identification and several product details.
Wooden crates are even a typical example of secondary packaging. They are used to store products in malls and shops. Customers can quickly identify their favorite product when kept on wooden crates.
These crates are recyclable, stackable, and quickly moved around the warehouse. Plastic trays are even examples of secondary packaging. They are used to display and keep small products in organized form.
Plastic trays are often used in department stores, storage warehouses, and retail stores. People even use them to store fruits and vegetables temporarily. The main advantage of these plastic trays is that they are cheap and can be used for a long time. Industrial plastic crates are even examples of secondary packaging. They are made of hard plastic and are used for organizing and transporting products in warehouses and department stores.
3. Tertiary Packaging
Tertiary packaging works similarly to secondary packaging as secondary packaging does to primary packaging. These types of packaging make it easy to transport large quantities of products or heavy loads.
Let’s discuss this with examples. Wooden pallets, made from softwood and cheaply available, transport many products quickly inside the warehouse by forklift. The wooden pallets are stacked one above the other vertically and moved by machinery.
Let’s discuss a branded shoe transportation example. The shoe is packed first with a branded shoe box, which acts as primary packaging.
All the branded shoe boxes are kept inside a large corrugated box, which acts as secondary packaging. Many large corrugated boxes are now loaded on wooden pallets for easy logistics and transportation, which acts as tertiary packaging.
What Is Labelling?
Labelling is the process of attaching a label to the container or product. The label is a piece of paper or any other material with details about the product, like the name, price, expiration date, and more. Labelling is simple, but it is a combination of art, science, and technology.
Imagine walking through a store and seeing numerous identical products stacked one upon the other. They do not have labels, so you cannot differentiate one product from the other, and you cannot make a proper decision while buying that product.
Now imagine products with labels stacked upon each other. You will quickly identify the product and know its detailed specifications. In short, labelling helps to identify products. Labels are a way to transmit all the relevant information about the product to the customer.
Different Types of Labelling
There are various types of labelling, which are listed below.
1. Brand Label
Brand labels are potent tools that quickly convey a brand’s quality and style. These tools can be logos, typography, or design elements. For example, you can quickly determine the brand’s quality and style when you see the iconic Nike symbol on shoes or apparel.
2. Descriptive Labels
Descriptive labels are crafted beautifully and give the customer detailed information about the product before purchase. Industries like pharmaceuticals and cosmetics usually use descriptive labels.
3. Grade Labels
Grade labels clearly indicate product quality. For example, when purchasing eggs, they are categorized into various grades, such as grade AA, grade A, or grade B. Grade AA denotes the highest quality of eggs.
Benefits Of Product Labelling
There are various benefits of product labelling, which are listed below.
1. Consumer Awareness
A product label provides detailed information about the ingredients, usage, instructions, and nutritional value, giving the customer a clear idea about the product and helping the consumer make informed decisions.
2. Promote Products
Proper labelling can even promote the product. Businesses can add special effects like glossy or matte to make the product look unique. An intriguing product will force a customer to purchase the product.
3. Helps To Categorize The Product
A brand can manufacture products in various categories. Proper labelling can help customers distinguish between products and make informed choices.
4. Increase Supply Chain Efficiency
Barcodes, QR codes, and RFID tags on the product’s label help to track and manage inventory wisely.
5. Improves safety
Products containing labels with safety guidelines or warnings, such as flammability, toxicity, or keeping away from children, can prevent accidents.
Difference Between Packaging And Labelling
- Packaging consists of materials used to protect a product.
- Labelling refers to the information displayed on the product regarding its nutritional value, ingredients, expiry date, and more.
- Packaging protects the product from damage and spoilage during transportation or handling.
- Labelling aims to communicate essential information to the customer so that they can make informed decisions.
- Package materials include boxes, cans, and bottles. Packaging can be primary, secondary, or tertiary.
- Labelling includes tags or stickers on the product package.
- Packaging focuses on design and color to make it look visually appealing.
- Labelling usually consists of visual elements like logos and symbols or any vital information about the product.
Importance Of Product Packaging And Labelling in Modern E-commerce Business
1. To Remain Distinguished In Competitive Market
Unique packaging helps a brand remain distinguished in the competitive market. A label with clear product benefits, nutritional information, and an expiry date will also differentiate the product from its competitors.
2. Create First Impression And Branding
The packaging and labelling of a product is the first physical interaction with the customer. Hence, a beautiful and well-designed package can create curiosity in the customer’s mind and force them to buy the product. A proper label containing all the elements like logos and product information can increase brand identity.
3. Protection From Weather
Weather conditions can vary from one region in India to another. There can be scorching heat in one region and heavy rainfall in others. If a product is not packaged properly, the weather can affect it badly. Adverse weather conditions can spoil perishable commodities.
So, proper food packaging and labelling protect the food from harsh weather conditions.
4. Protection From Bad Roads
Roads can sometimes be terrible in India. There can be potholes, bumpy roads, and heavy traffic. Unfortunately, most delivery trucks and delivery men drive these ways to deliver products. Imagine your customers opening the packaged product after waiting a few days and finding it broken or damaged. It negatively affects the customer and decreases brand loyalty.
A packaged and labelled product can withstand numerous bumps and potholes on the road.
Challenges In Branded Packaging And Labelling
- High-quality packaging and labelling can be expensive for a small business owner.
- Packaging and labelling often have minimal space to showcase all the necessary information about the product.
- Customer tastes change with time, making it difficult for a business to always keep the packaging and label appealing.
- Today, most customers demand eco-friendly packaging and sustainable materials. However, these are a bit costly and require special handling.
Conclusion
Both product packaging and labelling are potent elements in driving business success. Packaging protects a product from dents, scratches, and breakage, while labeling communicates essential information about the product to customers. Thus, branding packaging and labelling increase awareness in the market and enhance customer satisfaction.
AAJ Supply Chain Management
