In the world of Consumer Packaged Goods, it’s what’s outside that counts
Congratulations, you’ve created a product that everybody loves! You’ve field-tested in Farmers Markets, and you can barely keep it in stock. You know your product belongs on a supermarket shelf, and you know it would CRUSH the competition.
EXCEPT
You keep hearing that you need better packaging… but it’s out of your wheelhouse and not currently in the budget.
We at Curio can empathize—we’re a small business, and we have to keep our margins thin. We don’t pay for ANYTHING unless we know there’s a return on that investment.
New packaging or new branding for your Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) product might seem frivolous. It might seem like extra overhead when you’re already spread thin.
The truth, though, is that the right packaging is not a cost—it’s a sales tool with a measurable return.
Why invest in your CPG product packaging?
A good brand and the right packaging is not only likely to increase sales, but to establish credibility with retail industry gatekeepers, to increase market share, and to reduce costs in the long run.
Some things to consider:
- Without strong packaging, you’re losing potential first-time buyers. A 2018 survey by Westrock indicates that “Seventy-two percent of respondents purchased a product because the packaging was appealing.”
- Major Canadian retailers have high standards for packaging: For example, as of 2020, over twenty Canadian retail and consumer packaged goods companies agreed to support new global “Golden Design Rules” to improve plastics recycling and reduce landfill and pollution.
- Poorly designed packaging = More damaged goods. Research from Packaging Digest found that 11% of unit costs in the CPG sector come from damaged products due to inefficient packaging.
- Consumers believe a good package contains a high-quality product: Marketing innovator Louis Cheskin’s theories of “sensation transference” hold that consumers often transfer their feelings about a product’s packaging to the product itself. Well-designed packaging can lead consumers to perceive the product as higher quality, influencing their willingness to pay a premium.
- Rules are rules (and rules, and rules, and then more rules after that): Bringing a CPG product to market in Canada requires your product to comply with the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act; the Food and Drugs Act; bilingual labeling requirements; nutrition facts requirements; and for many products, nutrition symbols and date markings. Sometimes just trying to fit everything on the same label can be a nightmare!
Most telling: a 2024 study published in peer-reviewed mega-journal Heliyon concluded that:
[S]ensory experience, emotional experience, behavioral experience, and thinking experience have significant impacts on brand image; brand image apparently affects brand trust; and brand trust and image remarkably influence brand loyalty.
So… how can we help?
For our part, we at Curio have been a small business (supporting other small businesses) for over 20 years. Over that time, we’ve developed a broad portfolio of successful brands (including packaging for Edmonton-based haircare success story Jack 59—check it out below), as well as a rare specialty in print design.
If your company is considering options for cost-effective packaging strategies, reach out to us at hello@curiostudio.ca and let us know about you and your company—we’d love to discuss which custom packaging solutions might be right for you!
This post was last updated on March 19, 2025 by Matt Steringa