The Unsung Power of Packaging

The importance of packaging is well documented. Packaging captures the shopper’s attention at the physical or digital shelf, delivers essential information, and provides the ultimate utility of conveying the product from factory to retailer to consumers’ homes and hands. But these days, packaging can, and does, do so much more, and it’s often grossly undervalued for its contribution to the brand ecosystem.

Let’s look at three packaging superpowers that go beyond the obvious.

1. The Power of Touch

Every package must fulfill a promise of pure function—protecting the product inside, providing intuitive opening and unboxing, and offering convenient repeat use. We all know the frustration of jabbing a clamshell open with a knife, pawing through a wasteful overabundance of material, or fussing with a resealable food package that won’t stay closed. A package that functions as it should is the cost of entry in delivering on a brand’s quality promise.

Beyond functionality, there’s something deeper going on. The human experience is rooted in touch. It’s one of the most fundamental ways we survive, learn, and connect. A package is one of the few brand touchpoints that we interact with physically. And every moment of that interaction, however unconscious, embeds information into our fingertips and brains, information that affects our perceptions of a brand. As I go through the motions of removing the safety foil from my ibuprofen or trying to open a granola bar pouch without sending crumbs flying, I’m building upon layers of emotional connection—whether feelings of safety and comfort or of annoyance and frustration. The sensory packaging experience bypasses our rational response to a brand. It can spell the difference between subtly alienating consumers or creating deeper bonds.

2. The Power of Intimacy

At Sterling, we’re committed to the idea of Living Brands—brands that are flexible, evolving, and responsive to today’s world. Nowhere is this more relevant than in packaging—the brand experience that quite literally becomes part of people’s personal landscape. Whether displayed on the counter or stowed in the freezer, shower, or purse, a package becomes a member of the household, sometimes for months.

Think of food packaging, where repeated interactions can lead to deeply embedded rituals. Pulling back the top of an Oreo package, extracting three (or more) cookies, and settling in for an episode of Bridgerton. Popping open a can of Diet Coke at 4pm before leaning in for the last push of the workday. The package becomes a symbol for a whole set of emotional needs and expectations. And when the moment delivers—pleasure, satisfaction, refreshment, comfort—the feedback loop ensures that we’ll reach for that same package next time.

3. The Power of Storytelling

Much has been written about the innate human need for sharing stories, and good marketing is, at its heart, good storytelling. For too long, packaging was seen as separate from the brand storytelling mix—a functional sales tool—when, in fact, it’s a powerful media tool in its own right.

But packaging’s hidden storytelling potential lies in the hands of consumers, where our media becomes their media. From unboxing videos to makeup tutorials, product reviews to food hack videos, packaging plays a supporting role across a huge array of consumer storytelling. Brands can’t orchestrate these stories, but they can participate or ride waves of viral popularity when they present themselves.

Harness that Power

All of this proves there are no small decisions when it comes to packaging. Every element of the package has the power to contribute to sense memory, to ritual, to the next story the consumer might tell.

That’s why it’s essential to know your consumers—to watch them open and use your product, not just the first time, but the ninth, tenth, and eleventh time. It’s essential to leverage real insights to show consumers that we truly get them, that we can anticipate their needs, and react to their feedback over time. We must consider not only functionality, but also sensory engagement, discovery, and joy.

At the end of the day, the package is as inextricably linked to brand experience as the product. Is yours living up to its full potential?

Interested to hear more? Contact us at hello@sterlingbrands.com