Gone are the days when kids were only there to be seen, not heard. Parents these days consult their children when making decisions that would directly or indirectly impact the children’s lives. Kids even have money from allowances and gifts that they can spend as they wish, with their parent’s approval of course. This newfound children empowerment is something brands should keep an eye on. Most importantly, brands should use creative children-friendly packaging and product designs in order to appeal to children. They should nurture brand loyalty in kids as young as 6 months. Here are 5 creative kids-friendly packaging ideas that brands can use to cultivate lifetime relationships with children.
1. Leverage imagery
According to a 2011 study by the University of Pennsylvania, sensation transference is very prominent in children. That is to say that they associate the substance of a product and the initial enjoyment that came with it to the product’s packaging. They will remember and love a cartoon character on the packaging, for example, and that is enough to cultivate their interest in a product. That is why when packaging kids’ products, manufacturers must be creative with their cartoons and images. Ensure that your images align with your brand, carry important user and nutritional information, and most importantly, ensure that the images command the attention of kids from across the store.
2. Emphasize eco-friendliness
Your packaging methods must consider the safety of young users. For that reason, you should ensure that you protect the planet by using child-resistant and eco-friendly packaging. You can partner with RXDco to guarantee the best eco-friendly standards. RXDco packaging will give your product longer shelf life, preserve its original appearance and/or taste, and boost your brand’s shelf appeal. Their packaging solutions help children minimize their environmental footprint right from an early age, all while carrying your brand image on the package.
3. Appeal to kid’s emotions
Make kids want to see and touch your products by appealing to their emotions. Make them want to interact with the product for more time than usual. That is what motivates parents to make purchases they otherwise wouldn’t. Make your brand-to-children connections stronger by matching the tastes inside your packages with the beauty of the packages themselves. You can achieve all that through creative package structure, color, cartoons, and fonts. Another effective idea would be to include different common names on the packages in order to encourage kids to search for packages that have their names. That makes them feel like part of your brand; as if your products are custom-made for them.
It is important to research the attributes of your products that matter most to children: What are the most pleasant, memorable, and satisfying aspects of your product? Those aspects should be more pronounced, more visible, and better highlighted than everything else on the package. Lastly, create an icon or mascot that kids can associate with your product’s benefits and features. Mascots will not only appeal to kids on the shelf but will make your marketing content more share-worthy on social media.
4. Play with colors and distinctive designs
Always use colors that are bright, fun, eye-popping, high-energy, and engaging. Kids love such colors, not forgetting that shouting colors are easy to notice from the other side of the aisle. Choose gender-neutral colors (especially red, white, and yellow) in order to have all genders on board. When designing your logo, ensure that it has distinctive color patterns that are easy for kids to recognize and memorize.
Besides extreme colors, you can play around with graphics and abstract elements that call for kids to spend more time with the packaging. Think of a drawing that kids can either complete or shade after they are done with whatever is inside.
5. For food packages, be mindful of kids’ health
If you are packaging food and/or beverages for kids, or anything meant for human consumption for that matter, be attentive to the safety and structure of your container. Ensure that the contents of your package are safe from harmful contaminants, odor, moisture, dust, etc.
Bottom line:
The key to making your packages children-friendly is to make them eco-friendly, appealing to the eye, safe, and memorable. You, however, must remember where the money comes from- The parents. Include on the package all the information you think a parent would check for before agreeing to pay for your product. Emphasize health and safety, featured deals, and anything else that makes your kid-friendly brand unique from other brands.