Michael Rutchik, Creative Director of OLIKA10.25.21
Brands spend a lot of time thinking about the consumer and how to create a product that applies to their life. So as consumers’ wants and needs evolve, the products must as well.
While the implications of climate change are not new to most, 2020 marked a turning point in the urgency consumers felt towards the environment and their personal well-being. From extreme weather conditions to stay-at-home orders that made us all a little more aware of the products in our home, sustainability became top of mind and a dominant conversation topic.
To stay relevant with this enhanced environmental focus, brands will need to make the following shifts in product design and packaging.
While the implications of climate change are not new to most, 2020 marked a turning point in the urgency consumers felt towards the environment and their personal well-being. From extreme weather conditions to stay-at-home orders that made us all a little more aware of the products in our home, sustainability became top of mind and a dominant conversation topic.
To stay relevant with this enhanced environmental focus, brands will need to make the following shifts in product design and packaging.
- The Refill Is the Product: What was once thought of as a refill, will now be the product. And it should be designed with the same shelf presence as the product. “Forever bottles” will be designed for a one-time purchase. They will be beautiful, tastefully branded, and empty at the time of purchase. This is the key to getting the consumer to understand that they are not to be thrown out.
- Packaging Material Lifecycle: Our goal is to always move steadily toward zero waste. The planet is at a crisis point. And, what if legislation passed that held brands and manufacturers responsible for taking back all waste materials from packaging? While it’s up to consumers to decide if they want a zero waste lifestyle, it’s up to brands to create a frictionless experience to participate in creative solutions for recycling and reusing packaging material.
- Slim Down SKUs: Brands often create as many SKUs as possible to cater to the retailer’s need to fill shelf space. To do this they might make a single product in multiple fragrances or some other minor variation. This leads to consumer confusion as well as certain products becoming duds simply because they are the wrong fragrance. To make product lines more efficient, brands will explore ways to separate these options such as making four different fragrance-free products plus four fragrance additives instead of 20 SKUs.
Moving forward, while consumers will continue to be more conscious of product ingredients they put on and in their bodies, they will also be more mindful of the brand’s overall commitment to the environment and sustainability.
