Cereal Packaging is used to package many different types of breakfast cereals. The material making up the box is composed mainly of paperboard. They are coated with an impermeable layer of wax or resin based lacquer to prevent moisture from entering the box and spoiling the contents inside.
Some cereal boxes may also include cardboard liners designed for resealability during transport after opening and other specialized linings such as foil.
Today, cereal boxes can come in various shapes, sizes, and designs. Industrial designers and marketing professionals have studied cereal box design since its boom in popularity in the mid twentieth century.
What Type of Cereal Packaging Boxes Do You Use?
Most people use disposable cereal packaging and not the reusable kind. While the latter may be better for your wallet and the environment, it will cost more.
You can get them in different colors and styles. Can pick out the one that best suits your store or restaurant. Don’t have to put a box because these are made with solid materials that won’t easily break when filled with heavy foodstuffs.
There are also different types of material used in making these types of cereal packing. The most common ones are:
- Paperboard
- Corrugated fiberboard
- Plastic
- Foil sheets
- Glassine paper
- Waxed board
- Recycled content board
Corrugated Board
Boxes made from corrugated fiberboard are the most common ones. This is because it’s somewhat affordable. It has great lid sealing abilities for liquids. Plus, it is one of the most versatile materials used in cereal boxes. You can have different sizes and shapes to meet your needs. So, you will not need to get a different type of box every time you run out of your stock.
Paperboard
Boxes made from paperboard are good alternatives if you want cheaper than corrugated fiberboard. It is also
- Waterproof
- Eays to print on
- Rigid
- Recyclable
- Sturdy enough for food, especially when filled with heavy foods like cereal
Waxed Board
You can use a printed waxed board if you want something eco-friendly and biodegradable. It is made from recycled paper and other safe materials for the environment. You can’t use them if you want to put wet food in them. They will get soggy. It’s a good choice if you want to make an eco-friendly packaging box.
Glassline Paper
Wrapping your foods in glassine paper may not be the best way to store cereals. These kinds of disposable cereal packaging work well enough when you need to give out your homemade treats as gifts.
Plastic
Finally, there are plastic cereal packaging known as containers. These boxes look like Tupperware since they already have tight-fitting lids. They keep food fresh even after prolonged storage.
There are also various ways to seal plastic boxes that you can use to keep your food fresh. You can opt for:
- Ziplock
- Hanger style
- Snap lock types of fastening mechanisms
What type of cereal packaging box do you think you will choose? Whichever one it is, make sure that the material used is safe enough for your food and perhaps for the environment as well. After all, it doesn’t matter how good-looking your package looks if the contents inside are not enough to please customers.
Customization of Cereal Packaging
As a part of the business’s marketing plan, companies usually focus their advertisements on specific markets. Different markets have different needs. Therefore, what appeals to one group may not appeal to another. So for cereal companies to increase their market share, they will often customize the box to appeal more directly to children or adults.
However, some rely mostly on characters from animated films and television shows. Others try turning their cereal boxes into games that children can play using only the box itself. Customization is not always printing words or images onto a product. It is also altering its:
- Shape
- Size
- Color
- Other attributes
The way companies produce products is by consumer trends which affect business operations. These trends are what the companies use to create products that will capture certain groups of people more effectively than others.
Customization of cereal boxes may seem like a small decision. Still, it can affect the company’s profit margin, marketing strategies, and ultimately whether or not they survive in today’s competitive marketplace.
Structure of Cereal Boxes
A cereal box is a rectangular container with a paperboard structure. It has an opening at the top where the contents (seeds/nuts) can be poured in and two flaps on the sides where it is sealed shut. Cereal companies use advertisements to market their products to increase sales.
As well, customization features are used by businesses or products. They encourage consumers or clients to spend more money than they would normally spend if these features were not available. One exciting thing about customizing a cereal box is that many possible combinations exist for one person.
This makes it so that there is a unique product that no other person can replicate.
Features of Customization
Cereal Boxes can have a lot of customization features depending on how much money a company wants to put into the product. Determining which customization feature will give them the most worthwhile return is very important when deciding what to include in their design.
For example, an action figure within a cereal box would take up more space than other smaller options, such as temporary tattoos. Another thing to consider is the mass appeal of an action figure. It means whether or not it would interest many people and thus create potential sales.
One example of customized cereals sold at retail stores is Oreo O’s. This cereal was first introduced in 1998 and discontinued shortly after due to low sales and high production costs.
In 2011, however, the cereal was brought back into production and sold exclusively through Target stores. When the product was re-introduced, it came with various customization features. Such as different colored marshmallows resembling Oreo cookies and a prize found within every box.
These types of features make it. So that, each box has one unique combination out of possible combinations for everyone who purchases this product.
How To Design Eco-friendly Cereal Boxes
Packaging companies are responsible for designing Eco-friendly Cereal Packaging to catch the customer’s eye. The front of the cereal box, or the “A panel,” often contains a large photo of the flavor of the cereal along with its name. This helps draw in consumers looking for a delicious flavor to try out.
Overly wordy descriptions will also run off customers’ eyes to other cereals that may be more interesting to purchase. Must pay attention to what is on the back of the box. This side sometimes contains trivia about nutrition facts and ingredients used in making their products.
The size of the photo on the front should always reflect how good quality it is. So, it catches people’s attention even more than usual.
A cereal company will want to use a closeup picture of the product. So that customers can see the detail of what it looks like. Anything involving chocolate, for example, would be better shown with an image of the whole bar rather than just one inch of it. This ensures that customers feel like they see what they are buying instead of something completely different.
Add Free Items
Additionally, there is usually a prize inside each cereal box. This is another crucial aspect of packaging companies’ designs. It encourages people to buy more boxes to get all the toys, stickers, etc. When designing these items, see where your prize goes.
How big or small it is compared to everything else on the box. It is essential to have enough space on the front of the box for a big prize. Also, have some smaller ones on the side or back of the box that does not take too much space.
Use Different Strategy
Think carefully about how your cereal boxes will display in stores. This is one of the main ways people choose which boxes they buy. If all of them are lined up on shelves, it may create a link between two kinds of cereal that look similar and confuse customers.
A customer might pick up a different cereal instead of what they were going for if both products look too similar. To avoid this mishap, you should always ensure plenty of separation between your product and other brands. That way, people can see exactly what they are looking for.
Use the back of cereal boxes to direct customers towards other brands you make, such as granola bars or fruit snacks. This will encourage people to buy more things from your company. It makes them feel like they are getting a big deal for purchasing everything together. These links must be easy to find and understand, not to take too much time away from the rest of the box’s content.
Put Coupons in the Box
Some companies even put coupons on their cereal boxes to further interest consumers in buying it! By good things like free toys or stickers along with cereals, there is added incentive for customers to purchase their products.
Additionally, this gives retailers a chance to make more money. If a cereal company puts coupons on their boxes, they can probably expect to see an increase in sales for that particular product.
When designing and producing Cereal Packaging Boxes, you need to take both of these approaches (along with many others) into account. So that you grab people’s attention immediately and encourage them to buy from you again. After all, if it is hard for customers to find what they are looking for because everything looks too similar, who would bother purchasing any cereal?
