When packaging is difficult to open, it makes end users ‘ripping mad’ and can even compromise brand perception, writes Sarah Rutland
Ease of opening has been a perennial packaging problem for consumers and it is a challenge that spans multiple industries. Whether it’s getting into that exciting online purchase, accessing that critical pain-relieving drug or grabbing a piece of gum on the go, any discerning pack specifier or brand knows that packaging should never be a frustrating barrier to a product.
If it is, can we truly call it a consumer-led product?
In our recent study, openability was a high-priority issue for consumers, with 57 percent of those surveyed selecting ‘difficult to open’ as a top frustration, and 48 percent saying that they had to use knives or other tools to get into packs.
In some ways, we humans are simple creatures. We crave simplicity. So, why do so many packaging designs ignore this cardinal rule of human nature by being outrageously difficult to open?
A brand’s packaging can make or break confidence – and its bottom line. So, making it easy for customers to remove your packaging and access the product inside is an important part of creating a positive user experience. That’s precisely why our range of total tape solutions has come to be.
Open to new possibilities
Until recently, many companies have put all their focus on the moment of transaction and catching the eye, and less on the mechanics when it’s in the consumer’s home, ready to use. Too often, this delivers a customer interaction that’s fleeting, and often forgettable. The tactile elements are often what turns accessability into an experience.
In a world obsessed with timesaving and efficiency, easy-open packaging is proving a hit for many consumers. Ease has become one of the most important elements when designing a new customer experience. Using tapes from our Supastrip® and VakTape™ ranges to facilitate opening offers quick, easy, and blade-free access to packaging.
The Supastrip® Prism collection takes things to another level by combining holographic impact with the functionality of an easy opening system. Through leveraging our high-quality printing or decoration capabilities, the tear tape becomes a stunning visual cue to aid easy opening.
Not only does the Prism collection help create packaging that stops consumers in their tracks, but it also offers features that can help protect against counterfeiting, without impacting a tear tape’s core ability to facilitate an unrivalled opening experience.
As brands continue to bring diverse product lines with unique characteristics to market, Prism offers a practical solution by providing flexibility in design and customisation. Whether selecting one of our four holographic formats, printing in new colours, or incorporating bespoke elements, brands can change the tape, not the pack, to achieve the required differentiation.
Total tape solutions
We have over 50 years of experience designing applicators that complement our tape portfolio but, more importantly, complement your production lines. With our dedicated in-house team of applicator engineers, we can develop, adapt, install, and offer troubleshooting advice on all your application needs.
Integrating the right tape applicator into your converting process means you can add value to your entire packaging portfolio without compromising throughput. It’s an upgrade that enables you to offer customers enhanced packaging solutions with consumer-friendly features like easy-open tear tape, reclosure solutions, holographic anti-counterfeit measures, and more.
Supastrip® Prism, like its Supastrip® and Supastrip® PCR counterparts, can be applied to a range of products that use plastic or paper as the primary packaging across a wide range of FMCG applications, from food and pharmaceuticals to beverages and beauty categories. Designed to tear through various flexible packaging types, providing quick and easy access to the product, pairing the Prism range with an application system and support should make deploying the new range seamless.
Sarah Rutland is the Market Development Manager at Filtrona Tapes
