Your soda packaging shows the world your brand’s unique personality and perspective, along with conveying critical information about your beverage and an opportunity to catch the eye of your target audience.
Your beverage packaging is far more than the practical container for your soda. Here’s what you need to know about creating updated packaging for your beverage.
If your soda packaging feels stale, it may be time for an update. Refreshed packaging can be a great way to reintroduce your product to established customers, as well as win over new consumers.
Reasons Why You Might Be Considering a Makeover
There are a number of reasons that you may feel it’s the right time to give your soda packaging a redesign. It may have been many years since you last refreshed your packaging design. Perhaps it has been a while since you have refreshed your ingredients deck. This is the perfect opportunity to bring something revitalized back into the market.
Depending on the time of year, it may be wise to play off the momentum of the holiday season in your beverage marketing and roll-out specialized packaging for the occasion. Consumers love the collectible, limited edition aspect of holiday packaging, and it’s also a key way to foster brand loyalty. You can instill nostalgia within your audience by associating your product with a time of year that brings to mind fond memories.
No longer connecting with your target audience? The physical appearance of your product can have a major impact on how often it’s picked up off the shelf, so try a soda packaging design update if you’re stumped as to why your beverage isn’t selling as well as it could be. If your sales or growth have stalled or stagnated, a new, refreshed design can land more customer eyeballs on your product.
An update to more sustainable beverage packaging is great for both the planet and generating buzz around your brand as being more environmentally-friendly. Stay aware of the latest soda packaging trends, as the field is constantly evolving and cheaper options that could save your brand money could also emerge. As more efficient ways to produce your product come about, you may want to embrace smart beverage technology to match those advancements.
Government legislation and regulatory changes also come into play when thinking about updating your soda packaging design. Reformulations are common and can happen at any time. So while updating your packaging to reflect this new formula, why not update the overall look as well?
Where To Start?
So you’ve decided that the time is now to refresh your packaging. It can be overwhelming to figure out where to start your redesign, so we’ve outlined some steps to charting your course.
1. Identify your goals
It’s important that you determine what exactly you want to achieve from this makeover. A boost to sales and revenue? Greater brand awareness? Are you trying to introduce your product for the first time to an untapped audience or previously unexplored market?
Once you establish your goals for your product redesign, it’s time for intensive market research into the latest beverage industry trends. This step absolutely cannot be skipped, as it’s the key to success for developing the right refreshed packaging for maximum sales impact.
Do you need new flavors, updated ingredients, or more eye-catching packaging in order to leverage the latest beverage trends sweeping the market? What issue are you trying to solve for your customers? Without staying abreast of what’s resonating in the market, you risk having your soda packaging redesign fall flat.
Download The Top Flavor Beverage Trends For 2022
2. Define your target market
At this stage, it’s important to ask yourself who exactly are you trying to appeal to, and who you are aiming to reach with your redesign. Are you interested in winning over new customers, or warming ties with your traditional base?
It’s critical to bear in mind that the soda packaging you use should be tailored to the age demographic you’re pursuing. For example, when utilizing beverage marketing to the Gen Z and Millennial market, their packaging will not resemble the aesthetic of a product targeting Baby Boomers. Keep in mind the specific preferences and quirks of specific audiences in order to create soda packaging that’s the correct fit for their tastes.
Marcie Merriman, managing director of Americas cultural insights at global consulting firm EY, notes that Gen Z is “a generation that has grown up on $7-plus coffees…They are willing to trade up from $1 coffees and $2 sodas for options they perceive as better tasting or better for you.”
Perhaps you’re attempting to win over consumers interested in a craft or specialty beverage? You need to make sure that your packaging reflects that elevated, luxe feel.
3. Make your beverage stand out
Although you may have the most delicious, refreshing, and amazing beverage on the market, lacking the right soda packaging can mean disappointing sales. The importance of a beverage’s visual appearance can’t be overstated - it can be a make-or-break factor as to whether your drink is spotted by consumers. Your beverage packaging needs to shine when consumers see it sitting on a supermarket shelf.
Distinctive packaging featuring unique inks and colors is one way to make your packaging stand out from the crowd. Daniel Wachter, chief commercial officer for CTI, a technology solutions provider of innovative inks for beverage packaging, explains that drink brands are “looking for options to engage their consumers in different ways to provide some point of sale differentiation and just to do something very cool.”
Your beverage must catch customers’ eyes and spark their curiosity. No matter how great tasting your drink, ineffective soda packaging design has the potential to turn off consumers and negatively impact the success of your product and your brand. Prioritize developing an exterior design that’s a positive reflection of what’s inside the packaging.
Download The 8 Hottest Beverage Trends for 2022
How RC Cola Can Help
RC Cola has years of experience in helping bottlers introduce new and innovative flavors, as well as develop cutting-edge products and the right packaging to catch your target audience. Contact us today to learn more about how we can guide you through your soda packaging redesign and relaunch.
