Holiday Packaging Guide

Halloween packaging by Great Northern Packaging

During the holiday season, most stores explode into festive colors, and we owe much of that to holiday packaging. Limited-edition packaging can add a fun, exclusive touch to your product and appeal to seasonal sentiments, like the joy of spending time with family or the excitement of special peppermint flavors.

Benefits of Holiday Packaging

From red and white Christmas bottles to pastel-packed Easter boxes, holiday packaging adds a special flair to nearly any kind of product. Some of the advantages of holiday packaging include:

  • Visibility: Even if it’s surrounded by other holiday-themed products, festive packaging is eye-catching. It stands out on a shelf and attracts attention, especially if your design is aesthetically pleasing. Some elements, like sparkles or unique shapes, are particularly effective at drawing people in.
  • Brand recognition: Many brands use their seasonal packaging as an opportunity to stand out and solidify their brand. Starbucks, for example, is well-known for its holiday cups, which feature a new design every year. People said the 2021 version made them want to buy seasonal drinks, but it was also highly consistent with the Starbucks brand and appropriate for the holiday. In 2023, the company incorporated magenta into its traditional color palette, making the classic holiday reds and greens even brighter.
  • Festivity: Holidays often evoke feelings of celebration and togetherness, so a festive container can help put your customers in a positive mindset. They might be in the mood to treat themselves or add your product to their celebrations.
  • Connecting with customers: Holidays can be a significant part of your customers’ lives. By appealing to holidays, you can build connections on a deeper level, especially if your competitors aren’t doing it. Consider what your audience values, too. A design focused on family time might perform best with an audience of parents rather than teenagers.
  • Promoting gift-giving: Seasonal packaging can put your buyers in the gift-giving mood. Your design might elicit the warm, fuzzy feelings of the holiday, or it could simply remind buyers that they still need to get a gift for a special someone. Either way, it promotes a purchase and helps spread some holiday cheer.

Tips for Holiday Packaging

Designing holiday packaging isn’t too different from designing regular packaging, but you should keep a few things in mind:

  • Don’t go overboard: It’s easy to get lost in the bright, bold colors of holiday designs, but keep things simple. Your design shouldn’t be overwhelming or interfere with the package’s usability. If your buyer can’t find product details or doesn’t understand your main selling points, your holiday packaging could use some adjustments. Make sure your designs are tasteful and aesthetically pleasing.
  • Keep your packaging on-brand: Similarly, your holiday packaging should still reflect your brand. If you have a mature, simplistic brand, a gaudy, bright design might give customers the wrong impression of your image. Instead, keep your seasonal packaging consistent with your normal brand image. They should still be able to spot your brand on a crowded shelf.
  • Make it personal: Don’t be afraid to connect with your customers in a personal way. Dive into your audience persona and figure out what they like about the holidays and your product. Maybe you sell to a lot of men who depend on their partners for picking out gifts, leaving them without any ideas on what to get their spouse. Your product could be the perfect solution, complete with a clever holiday tagline about finding the perfect gift.

Remember, you can lean into many different aspects of the holidays, from gift-giving and hot chocolate to togetherness and Santa Claus. Find the angles that match your product and audience.

Different Variations of Holiday Packaging

Holiday packaging comes in several varieties, and the right kind depends on your product, customers, goals and design. Some popular approaches to seasonal packaging are:

1. Printed Boxes

Printed holiday boxes are perhaps one of the easiest strategies to pull off. Being festive might be as simple as sending a new design to the printer. You could update your tried-and-true image to include a bright red bow or a Christmas tree.

This solution is relatively straightforward, and your longtime customers probably won’t have a hard time identifying your product. Printed boxes are also easy to transport and stack.

2. Custom Shapes

Customized shapes are particularly eye-catching and great for products that your buyers might give as gifts. For example, a tree-shaped container can be extra festive. If you sell stocking stuffers, a unique shape could be the difference between someone buying your product and your competitor who uses the same packaging year-round.

These shapes can be a little harder to pull off. They may not stack as easily as simple shapes, and they may require some engineering expertise. However, if they work well with your product, they often provide big dividends.

3. Multi-Print Versions

The multi-print approach offers a convenient way to print different designs and even test new products. Multiple-print packaging allows you to create variations of your normal packaging. You could use it to sell different products, such as varying flavors of a food item, but multi-printing is also ideal for holiday runs. You can create different versions of your designs and order smaller package quantities to last for the season without creating excess packaging when January comes around.

4. Bundle Packaging

The holidays are perfect for drawing in new customers. Bundled gift sets can provide everything you need to get started while streamlining decisions for the buyer.

For example, a makeup company might use promotional packaging to bundle several of its top-selling products, like a brush, foundation and concealer. This approach can simplify shopping for the buyer with an all-in-one option, and it allows the recipient to dive right in without making any additional purchases.

When paired with holiday packaging, bundles can effectively incorporate seasonal themes into your product, all while offering convenience and cost savings.

Elements to Include in Holiday Packaging

Specialized packaging for the holidays can improve brand recognition and visibility, but if you want it to drive sales rapidly, you have to stand out. Consider the following elements to make your holiday packaging beautiful and functional:

1. Easy-To-Use Packaging

The packaging material should be easy to open so customers associate a positive experience with your brand.

Opt for flexible and durable materials like corrugated cardboard. It’s versatile enough to match your brand aesthetic while still offering functionality so customers can easily open the packaging.

2. Organized Retail Product Packaging

During the holiday season, shelves can easily become cluttered. Doing a walkthrough to ensure your products are displayed neatly is a good idea.

Custom retail shelf packaging ensures your items stand out from the rest and prevents them from being mixed in with other products on the shelves.

3. Consistent Supply

During the holiday season, people are in a hurry to buy last-minute gifts and enjoy festivities with their loved ones.

It’s crucial to be prepared with more than enough stock so you can provide a consistent supply. Investing in sufficient packaging ensures customers can make quicker purchases. It also shows that your company is well-prepared and values customer service.

4. An Efficient Packaging Process

Streamline your packaging process for maximum efficiency. A packaging solutions company like Great Northern Packaging can help you handle tight timelines with ease.

Ensure a smooth process from delivering to the store to stocking shelves.

5. Sustainable Packaging

Sustainability is important to protect the environment, reduce your carbon footprint and show customers that your business cares. Recent reports show that 59% of people are less likely to buy products in unsustainable packaging and 47% refuse to purchase products in harmful packaging.

Sustainable packaging can encourage customers to purchase your product. It also shows that your business recognizes and takes steps toward reducing global warming.

At Great Northern Packaging, we take a streamlined approach to sustainability. We comply with all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and work to minimize our environmental impact at every step. We use corrugated cardboard that has a recycling rate of 93% and decomposes up to 1,000 years quicker than plastic.

6. Holiday-Themed Package Designs

Design is a significant deciding factor in gift shopping. Customers want a product that looks good but also matches the season’s theme.

You can add festive elements like candy canes, Easter eggs and stars. If you prefer a more subtle, elegant aesthetic, try to match the color scheme of the festive season with reflective inks and ribbons. Matching your product packaging to the season acts as a visual cue to customers shopping for gifts.

Start on Holiday Packaging Prep With Great Northern Packaging

It’s never too early to start preparing for the packaging demands of the holiday season. At Great Northern Packaging, we specialize in helping brands build the perfect packaging solutions with sustainable materials and processes. We’re your one-stop shop for packaging, with a long list of services that includes design, manufacturing, printing, testing and supply chain management.

Whether you have an idea for holiday packaging or don’t know where to start, our knowledgeable team is ready to bring your brand into the festive lights. Reach out today to learn more about how Great Northern Packaging can help you stand out this holiday season!

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