When it comes to pet food, packaging is everything. An attractive bag that captures attention and quickly communicates key differentiators about your product – such as ingredients or quality – is essential for bringing in new customers.
Not only that, but a functional pet food bag is also essential for customer satisfaction. Your bag must also meet customer expectations with an easy-open design, no rips, a consistent seal, and a design that minimizes undesirable aromas. Here are the top 6 factors to consider when designing pet food packaging from the experts at LPS Industries.
1. Bag Size:
First, bag size is a key factor. Large, 50-lb bags are often stored both horizontally and vertically in stores, so you need to create prints and designs that work with both orientations. Larger bags also naturally need to be sturdier and heavier, so design your packaging accordingly. Smaller bags can typically be thinner, but still must be strong enough to hold up to shipping, display at the store, and final transportation to the customer’s home.
2. High-Quality Print & Print Location:
We recommend that you create a clean, simple, and intriguing design that has a brief description of the food, ingredients, and key selling points of our product. A matte substrate is ideal for this since it can help minimize reflections due to bright store lighting. The best location for the bulk of the print is usually near the top and bottom – the middle of bags are often distorted on the shelf, so avoid putting the most important information and design elements in this area, if possible.
3. Aroma Protection:
All types of dog and cat food have a unique smell, so it’s a good idea to pick packaging materials like advanced, non-porous materials to control the odor. This can also help reduce the risk of cats and dogs tearing into bags, which is never a fun cleanup job for pet owners!
4. Self-Stability of Bags:
The bags will need to be stable enough to sit up by themselves for display on a store shelf. The packaging should be easy to display on shelving and easy to store in warehouses, trucks, and other areas before the final point-of-sale. You’ll also need to test and allow for weight variances in your bags to ensure their quality and stability
5. Easy Opening & Resealability
Today’s customers expect a bag that’s easy to open, usually without tools like scissors or a knife, and that has a reliable, strong seal like a zip-top closure. Make sure to design packaging that will be easy to open and reseal to ensure minimal friction when customers open and use the packaging.
6. Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Regulations
If you are creating pet food that meets AAFCO standards for protein, fat, vitamin, and mineral content, as well as a list of ingredients used in the food, make sure that you display this information prominently. This can be a key differentiator for your pet food at the point of sale.
LPS Industries Can Help with Designing High-Quality Pet Food Packaging
At LPS Industries, we can help pet food manufacturers of all sizes develop high-quality pet food packaging to differentiate their brand from others. Our packaging is made in the USA at an ISO-certified facility using certified solar power.
Among other benefits, our packaging offers high-definition printing to help your product stand out, advanced materials for longer shelf stability and odor and moisture protection, and easy-open and easy-close designs for better convenience.
If you’d like more information and you’re ready to find a new partner for pet food packaging, LPS Industries is the best option. Contact us online or give us a call at 1-800-275-4577 to speak with a packaging professional and learn more about your options for pet food packaging from LPS Industries.
