The design of snack retail boxes is highly important in the market. An attractive appearance can easily gain consumer preference—when customers see a beautiful box, it provides them with a sense of emotional comfort.
- Visual Appeal: Capture Attention at First Glance
Consumers usually spend only a few seconds in front of shelves, so visuals are the primary factor determining whether they will pick up a product.
Color Matching: Precisely Fit the Category and Target Group
Avoid blindly following trendy colors—choices should be based on product attributes and target audience preferences. For example:
Baby products often use soft pastel colors to convey safety and warmth.
Snack foods often use bright oranges, yellows, and reds to stimulate appetite.
Skincare products often use white, gray, or light blue to create a high-end minimalist feel.
“main color + secondary color + accent color” ratio (6:3:1) ensures visual harmony while highlighting key points. For instance, a milk tea retail box might use light tea brown as the main color, milk white as the secondary, and orange-red as the accent—matching the product while staying fresh and memorable.
Innovative Shapes: Break Free from the “Square Box” Mindset
Design irregular boxes inspired by the product itself—for example, a cookie box shaped like a cookie, or a lipstick box shaped like a lipstick silhouette—making the packaging an extension of the product.
Introduce interactive structures, such as a cereal box that unfolds into a wall decoration, or a snack box that folds into a storage container, adding “playability” and encouraging consumers to share.
Graphics and Text: Keep It Simple, Highlight the Core
Avoid overly complex visuals. Use minimalist lines, abstract graphics, or scenario-based illustrations to convey the core message. For example, an organic vegetable retail box could use hand-drawn outlines of vegetables with the words “Pesticide-Free,” which is clearer than dense text.
Text should have a clear hierarchy: brand name, product name, and core selling points (e.g., “No Additives,” “Individually Packed”) should be emphasized with different font sizes and styles, allowing consumers to grasp key information within 3 seconds.
- Functional Practicality: Solve Consumers’ “Hidden Needs”
Attractive but impractical packaging can cause consumers to dislike it after one use. Functional design can significantly boost repurchase intention.
Convenience: Make the Usage Process Effortless
Easy Opening: Prevent issues like “can’t find the tear line” or “hard to open.” Use tear strips, press-to-open mechanisms, or magnetic closures. For example, add a colored tear strip on the side of a nut box so even children and elderly people can open it easily.
Easy Storage: For multi-serving products (snacks, coffee), add resealable zippers or snap-on lids to keep contents fresh. For long or slim products (straws, toothbrushes), use foldable or extendable box structures to save space.
Protection: Ensure Products Arrive Intact
Choose materials based on product type: thicker corrugated cardboard or bubble-lined inserts for fragile goods (like glass jars or cosmetics); leak-proof layers for liquids (like sauces or travel-size shampoo).
Use compartment designs for multi-item sets (such as gift boxes or stationery kits). For instance, a makeup gift box with foam inserts can hold lipsticks, eyeshadows, and blush securely in place, making the contents look neat when opened.
Reusability: Give Packaging a “Second Life”
Design boxes for secondary use—for example, a cookie box that doubles as a jewelry or stationery organizer, or a milk powder tin reused as a food storage container. Including “storage tips” on the packaging can guide consumers to reuse it, which is both eco-friendly and enhances brand impression.
Choose biodegradable or recyclable materials, such as cornstarch-based plastics or recycled paper, to meet the growing demand for sustainable consumption—especially appealing to younger consumers.
- Emotional Resonance: Turn Packaging into an “Emotional Carrier”
Good packaging conveys emotions, giving consumers a sense of belonging: “This was designed for me.”
Scenario-Based Connection: Match Consumer Use Cases
breakfast cereal box could feature text like “7:00 AM Power Breakfast” with sunshine illustrations, so consumers naturally associate it with starting their day positively.
Travel-size skincare packaging could be designed in pocket-friendly sizes with the phrase “Take Skincare on the Go,” aligning with travel scenarios.
Personalized Expression: Fulfill the Need for “Self-Labeling”
Offer multiple design styles—for instance, stationery boxes in minimalist, cute, or vintage designs—so consumers with different tastes can find what they like.
Snack packaging could include popular phrases like “Cheer Up, Office Worker” or “Binge-Watching Essential,” resonating with younger buyers’ language habits.
Provide “personalization space.” For example, gift boxes could include a blank area labeled “Write a Note,” allowing customers to handwrite greetings. Toy packaging could feature coloring patterns, enabling kids to interact creatively.
- Brand Recognition: Make Packaging a “Mobile Billboard”
While ensuring attractiveness and practicality, packaging should also reinforce brand identity with consistent elements. This way, when consumers see similar packaging in the future, they immediately recall the brand.
