How to enhance the customer experience through food packaging? | RAJA

You’ve made up your mind to revise yourfood packaging range with one thing in mind: to make your products, your brand and your values stand out more. In short, you’re now looking for food packaging that enhances your customer experience.

This is a great resolution, and you’ve come to the right place to make it happen. In this article you’ll find 4 tips from a packaging expert on how to create a great customer experience with your food packaging, as well as some product examples to inspire you.

Why should you care about the experience of your food packaging?

It’s a fact: your customers are increasingly accustomed to exceptional experiences from the brands they consume, including food brands. Attractive promotions, stylish packaging, a sense of personalisation… your customers expect a differentiating experience from you, whether you work in fast food or for a more premium food brand.

So taking an interest in the experience these customers have via your food packaging is..

• Build and maintain your brand image, particularly in terms of your eco-responsible image: an essential element in building customer loyalty in an era when the environment is becoming a major concern for them
• Build a special relationship with your customers, by meeting their exact needs in terms of food packaging
• Generate word-of-mouth: an adapted and elegant packaging, highlighting your brand, allows an optimalunboxing experience on social networks

4 tips to improve the customer experience of your food packaging

Ready to package your food with food packaging that will make all the difference in terms of customer experience? Here are the 4 expert tips to apply to enhance your food products the way they should be.

Choose packaging that is adapted to your modes of transport

Whether you are a caterer, a restaurant, a baker or a pastry chef, you know that all food businesses now offer their customers a variety of delivery methods.

However, depending on the mode of transport, your products need specific protection to arrive at their destination in the state in which you prepared them.

So make sure you choose suitable food packaging..

• At the drive-through or click-and-collect: opt for packaging with handles, which help your customers to transport them easily
• For home delivery: give your customers the option of asking you to include cutlery or disposable crockery in your packaging
• For doggy bags and take-away sales: provide your customers with suitable containers (boxes, trays, pots, salad bowls, etc.) that close tightly and are easy to transport

3 examples of packaging for this purpose:

Careful unboxing of your foodstuffs

Do you know the termunboxing? It is a word that refers to the unpacking of products in a parcel: it is simply the fact that, when they unpack your products, your customers may want to share their experience, especially via social networks.

So, to take care of the unboxing of your foodstuffs, make sure you..

• Choose packaging adapted to each of your products: whether you are packaging fast food products (fries, hamburgers, pizza, etc.), baked goods, fruit and vegetables or any other type of food product, you will inevitably find packaging that allows for easy opening.
• Opt for attractive packaging: for example, many containers have windows, which allow you to see the products while the food packaging is still closed. Ideal for taking beautiful photos of your products!
• Include “little extras” in your orders: goodies, personalised messages, promotional offers for future orders..

3 examples of packaging to do this:

Think “eco-responsibility

There’s no denying it: your customers are increasingly interested in the ecological impact of their practices, but also of the brands they consume.

What’s more, current legislation is tending to put an end to the principle of single-use packaging: no more disposable packaging with a short life span, and make way for eco-responsible packaging!

The food packaging you choose must therefore be ecological and limit the impact it has on the environment. To do this, you have several choices at your disposal. You can choose..

• Cardboard
• Biosourced, i.e. made from naturally renewable materials (e.g. sugar cane…)
• Made from recycled materials (such as PET plastic)
• Compostable
• Biodegradable
• Reusable
• Recyclable

Also, when selecting your packaging products, check that they have the right logos and symbols on them. The aim is simple: to communicate your eco-responsible commitments and guide your packaging towards the right end of life.

4 examples of packaging to do this:

Customise your food packaging

The final key tip is to personalise your food packaging to give your brand more visibility by highlighting elements that are specific to your customer experience.

Think about..

• Printing your logo, brand slogan, or other distinctive sign right on your packaging. If you opt for this solution, be sure to choose eco-responsible inks to go with your eco-friendly packaging.
• Emboss your logo or slogan directly onto the packaging, for a truly Premium end result

And if necessary, don’t hesitate to turn to a professional packaging designer to create customised food packaging, perfectly adapted to the specificities of your flagship product.

You are now armed with all the best practices to offer your customers a differentiating experience of your brand, thanks to one key ally: packaging.

If you want to go further and find the ideal type of packaging for your foodstuffs, download our ultimate guide to food packaging and make the right choice!