Walk through any grocery store and you’ll witness a battleground of colors, claims, and creative concepts. With just seconds to grab a shopper’s attention, your packaging must work as hard as your product. So how do you cut through the clutter? At Brandon, we believe winning packaging design starts with bold storytelling, disruptive thinking, and results-driven creativity.
By developing a solid strategy, disruptive design, and clear messaging, your CPG product packaging can stand out where it matters most. Let’s unpack all of the essential strategies to craft CPG packaging that doesn’t just sit on shelves—it sells.
Impress With Your Design: The Psychology of First Impressions
You Have Less Than 7 Seconds
According to NielsenIQ, 64% of consumers try a new product because the packaging catches their eye. That means your packaging must instantly communicate who you are, what you offer, and why it matters. It’s not just about looking good—it’s about triggering emotion and decision-making at warp speed.
At Brandon, we design with what we call “shelf-stopping clarity”—an intentional blend of brand story, structure, and sensory impact that gives your product an unfair advantage in the aisle.
Develop a Strong Strategy
Before pen hits paper (or cursor clicks canvas), start with a crystal-clear strategy. What’s the category norm? How can we flip it? What emotion are we trying to spark?
Our packaging design process begins with consumer insights, competitive analysis, and shelf audits. From there, we craft creative that’s not only visually magnetic but functionally effective—designed to pop on shelf, but also hold up online and in-hand.
This multi-channel mindset is vital as more consumers discover and purchase products via Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart.com, where flat images do all the talking.
Be Disruptively Different With Design
Kill the Category Clichés
Many CPG brands unknowingly fall into “category camouflage”—blending in with similar colors, cues, and claims. It’s safe. But it’s forgettable.
Our rule? If your packaging could swap logos with a competitor and still make sense, you’ve got a problem.
Being disruptively strategic means knowing the rules, then breaking them with purpose. That could be a bold typographic approach, an unexpected shape, or a clever structural element that becomes iconic. Remember the Pringles can? That’s not just packaging—it’s brand architecture.
Make Your Messages Clear
Function Must Follow Form
While great design is critical, clarity wins every time. According to a study by the Paper and Packaging Board and IPSOS, 72% of consumers say packaging that clearly explains the product and its benefits makes them more likely to buy.
What does that mean in practice?
- Use hierarchy to lead the eye (brand name, benefit, flavor).
- Keep copy minimal but meaningful.
- Avoid buzzword overload.
Great packaging design delivers a strong visual promise and supports it with clear, concise messaging. Want a stellar example? Check out RXBAR’s “No B.S.” approach—no frills, just impact.
Build Brand Love, Not Just Brand Looks
Great packaging isn’t just about getting picked up—it’s about being remembered. That’s where emotional resonance kicks in. Is your design evoking nostalgia, confidence, curiosity, or delight? If not, you’re missing an opportunity to forge brand connection beyond the cart.
At Brandon, we help brands like Idahoan Foods and CPG upstarts alike tap into cultural relevance and behavioral insight to create memorable brand experiences.
The result? Packaging that earns repeat purchases—not just first-time curiosity.
Test, Learn, Iterate
Packaging design is not a “set-it-and-forget-it” game. It’s a living, learning asset. Conduct A/B tests, gather shopper feedback, and monitor sales lift.
From digital renders for eCommerce validation to in-store intercepts and focus groups, we guide our clients through packaging refinement grounded in performance.
Because at the end of the day, great design isn’t about creative awards—it’s about conversions.
Let’s Make Something That Sells
If your packaging isn’t driving attention, emotion, and action, it’s just taking up space. At Brandon, we bring relentless creativity and bold strategy to every stage of the packaging journey. Whether you’re rebranding, launching a new SKU, or needing your packaging to align across retail and DTC channels—we can help.
Ready to turn your packaging into your best-performing salesperson? Let’s talk. Contact us to make it happen.
Cary Murphy
Chief Strategy Officer
Cary Murphy is our Chief Strategy Officer at Brandon. He has been in marketing for over 30 years, starting his own agency from scratch and growing it into a market leader. He sold his agency to Brandon in 2016 and joined their leadership team, bringing his expertise to a wider audience. He’s also our category leader for B2B and CPG, working with clients such as Nucor Steel, Wastequip, Green Giant, Idahoan Foods, and Victory Beer. He helps clients create brand stories and strategies that increase sales, boost customer loyalty, and generate media coverage. He doesn’t settle for the status quo or conventional wisdom. He finds hidden connections and patterns and turns them into compelling narratives that resonate with customers. Cary is a smart and inspiring leader who challenges and supports his peers to do their best work. He believes that discipline is more important than motivation, and that good habits are more powerful than goals. Cary is a leader who combines talent, experience, and passion, with something else. A skill that he learned and honed over decades of practice and experimentation. A skill that helps him uncover the remarkable in both people and products.
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