When to Consider Structural Consumer Packaging Changes

Most packaging changes are graphics changes. New colors, new photography, new claims on the front of pack. But every so often, the better answer isn't a redesign of the label. It's a change to the structure itself: the shape, the cap, the material, the way the product comes out of the container.

Structural consumer packaging changes can be a real advantage for a brand, but they usually come with an investment, so the upside needs to be worth it. Not every structural change costs money. Sometimes a change that's better for the consumer also happens to save the brand money, which is the best kind of change to find. But the reverse is worth noting too: if a structural change is driven mainly by cost savings, it still has to hold up the consumer experience. Cutting material or downsizing a package while making it harder to use or feel like less of a value could negatively impact sales, making the margin improvement pointless. 

Before you go down this road, get clear on the business objective driving the desire to change the structure. That will help you decide what key criteria is needed to assess its value and whether or not to even start down that path. 

A structural change can be worth considering for a few different reasons like improving the consumer experience, standing out at shelf, supporting a brand renovation, or meeting a sustainability goal. Each one comes with its own considerations for pricing and testing. Let's go through each one.

Structural Consumer Packaging Changes That Improve the Consumer Experience

Sometimes a relatively small structural change is what improves the consumer experience the most. Think about a bottle of salad dressing that gets a new cap, one that makes it easier to dispense onto a salad without a mess. Or a package that adds a resealable strip so it stays fresh longer. Even something as simple as a shape that's easier to hold can shift how a consumer feels about the product.

Hellmann's is a good example. They wanted to remove consumers' frustrations with a new-and-improved squeeze bottle that was designed to squeeze more out with less waste, less mess and more control. They fixed those dissatisfiers by changing 3 things: 1) the design of the bottle so its curves aid in the mayo sliding down the bottle; 2) ease of getting every last bit of mayo by spraying a micro-layer of soybean oil on the inside to allow the mayo to slide down the bottle as it gets used up; and 3) cleanliness of the cap via the closure and a valve that sucks the product back in the bottle when it's released from the squeeze. For a deeper look at the changes, you can see the full 2 minute video here.

This change came from a clear objective: improve the consumer experience in a meaningful way.

There are some changes that are small enough that consumers won't consciously notice them, which means you may also need a graphics update just to communicate the improvement. And before you invest, check with consumers that the change actually reads as an improvement. This kind of update tends to help retain your current buyers and keep them loyal, but it's not necessarily going to bring in new ones. It's a loyalty play, not a growth play.

Don't forget the details that come along with it. The label still needs to fit the new shape, and you may need additional messaging to callout what changed and any key benefits.  Hellmann’s eventually added a callout on the front of the  package near the cap that said “Clean Lock Cap” to communicate one of the key benefits of the new cap that a consumer wouldn’t know by just looking at it on the shelf.

Structural Consumer Packaging Changes for Improvements at Shelf

A structural change can also help a package work harder at shelf, popping more or standing out better against competitors. If a shelf assessment shows your package isn't earning its space the way it should, that's a signal a structural change might be worth exploring.

Just be careful. A structural change made to win at shelf can backfire if it comes at the expense of the consumer's actual experience with the product, or if it sends a message that's out of step with your brand positioning. Standing out on shelf only matters if the package still delivers once it's in someone's home.

Brand Renovation or Extension

Structural changes often show up alongside a bigger brand renovation or brand extension. If a repositioning changes how consumers are meant to use the product, the package may need to change with it. A new use can call for a new shape or a new way to dispense the product entirely and most likely new graphics.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is a good example. The classic yellow box built the brand's baking business, but the company also built an entirely separate business by repositioning baking soda as a refrigerator and freezer deodorizer. That use needed a different kind of package: a vented box with removable front and back panels designed to sit upright and let air circulate through it.  And because it was meant to be used differently than the original box, it needed new graphics and communication clearly telling consumers what it was used for. The new use came first then the structure followed to support it.

Structural Consumer Packaging Changes for Sustainability

Sustainability is its own reason to consider a structural change, and it's one that can do double or even triple duty. Making it lighter, reducing material, improving recyclability: these changes can improve the consumer experience, since consumers increasingly expect and appreciate more sustainable packaging. They can also deliver substantial cost savings for the brand through less material and lighter shipping. And they can support brand positioning, particularly if sustainability is already part of the brand's story.

That's a lot of upside from one change. But be realistic about the investment. If a sustainability-driven structural change requires investment, don't count on consumers rewarding you with a willingness to pay more just because the package is recyclable. Weigh this investment the same way you'd weigh any other structural change, against the actual business objective, not against goodwill you're hoping to earn which may not translate into increased volume.

Pricing Impact from Structural Changes

The price of a product usually doesn't move just because the structure did, even when the change requires investment and puts ongoing pressure on margin. A structural change on its own is rarely a reason to raise price.

That changes when the structural update is part of a broader brand refresh. In that case, new pricing can come along with it. Consumers generally aren't willing to pay more for a slightly better experience or a bit more convenience on its own. But if the structural change is wrapped into an overall improvement in value, a price increase can be warranted. That value improvement might be a better formulation, higher quality ingredients, a little more product in the package, or some combination. Those are the things that justify asking consumers to pay more, and the structural change adds to that value story rather than carrying it alone.

Consumer Testing

Whether you test a structural change with consumers first comes down to the size of the change and the size of the investment. The bigger the investment and the bigger the payoff you need, the more testing makes sense.

A small change, like an easier-open cap or a resealable strip, probably doesn't need consumer testing at all. But if the goal is to improve shelf pop and findability or evaluate whether it improves the consumer experience, testing with consumers is worth the time. You want to know the new design actually hits the mark before you commit to it. For more on how to approach that kind of testing, take a look at a previous blog, A Practical Guide to Evaluating Packaging Design Changes.

Summary

Structural changes to packaging don't happen often, and for good reason: they usually require a large investment of time and resources. But when the objective is clear, whether that's a better consumer experience, stronger shelf presence, a brand renovation or extension, or a sustainability goal, a structural change can be exactly the right move.

The decision always comes back to the same question. What's the business objective driving this, and does the investment in changing the structure truly serve it? Answer that first, and the rest of the decision gets a lot easier.