Boxes You Didn’t Know You Could Buy

Most people only think of boxes when they are moving. Truth is, boxes can be useful at almost any time. I remember growing up and my mom always had a cardboard box ready to throw anything that was on the kitchen table when guests were coming over. Now that I think of it I really remember using boxes many times in our daily lives.

I remember awkward food items that we needed to store in boxes. I also remember my mom selling her cookies during holidays. She needed candy boxes for that.

Check out these boxes you may have heard of or seen yet never thought to purchase for your own needs.

Like mentioned above, my mom often used candy boxes to store cookies and pastries she sold during the holiday season. The boxes are specifically built to house these beautiful creations and ensure each one is separated and neat. I also remember the box having a plastic film on top so people could look inside and see their delicious treats waiting for them. I could also see these boxes be useful for any kind of other surprise.

Dish boxes are also something very few people even think about. The boxes are corrugated and have a piece within them to keep dishes separate. This provides multiple layers of protection for the dishes inside. If you want to make sure the dishes will not crack while laying against each other, then this box is your best bet. Smaller things like holiday decorations could also be stored in boxes like this.

Ever heard the phrase “Well the lampshade’s on fire when the lights go out”? Yeah, we hadn’t either until Modest Mouse made it popular. Nonetheless, these types of boxes fit your lamps and lampshades. Talk about specialty boxes! They help make awkward objects (lamps) not as awkward as they have to be in transit. They’ll fit small lamps, big lamps, and lamps as big as your head! You may have gotten by before by shoving lamps in whatever boxes you wanted before when you moved, but knowing these babies exist will make you want to invest in a few for safe transport of some of your nicer, more esoteric furniture. Lamps are, quite honestly, a nice little piece of art at times. Don’t sacrifice their value for a subpar box.

What Candy Boxes Have to Say About Your Candy-Making Business

Who here loves candy?  Pretty much everyone, right?  Not that many people don’t like candy.  Of course, we all like different types of candy, and that’s the beauty of candy in the first place!  There are so many different kinds that we have enough to choose from.  Take myself, for example.  I don’t really like sugar candies.  If I want candy I’m going to get a chocolate bar.  I’m not going to waste my calories or my sugar tolerance on Smarties or Swedish fish.  My husband, on the other hand, doesn’t really go for the creamy richness of chocolate.  He likes the punch of sour candies and the variant textures.

Anyone in the candy-making business knows this already, of course.  But do they know how important candy boxes are to the whole thing?  Essentially, the candy boxes are the face of the business.  No candy-maker would take their beautiful confectionery out of the display case, put it in a Ziploc bag and then hand it to a customer. 

Fortunately for the candy maker, there are almost just as many kinds of candy boxes as there are of candy.  Okay, that might be serious exaggeration, because the different types of candy are probably infinite, but there are definitely enough varieties of what to package the candy in so as not to be boring. 

When we think candy boxes we probably think of Russell Stover’s, white boxes with a printed on gold ribbon.  When you take the lid off you see an assortment of chocolates, each in their own little separated spot.  These are old school, though.  Designs have really taken off in the modern day and age, and this is what I recommend for someone looking to spice up their business.

Consider the the little round, cardboard containers with a bright design printed on the outside (perhaps some thick blue and white stripes, or a colorful paisley pattern).  The top and bottom are clear so that you can see the amazing delicacy just waiting for you inside.  Or what about the clear containers with a metal pull-tab top, that looks like a soda can.  Filled with jelly beans they just call to people like a siren.  

Somehow you are so much more helpless against buying a clear cylinder resembling a soda can than you are when looking at the alternative, say a square white box (no offense, Russ).  My personal favorite are still the paper boxes, but with colorful designs on them and then tied with a colorful ribbon.  Hashtag classic.

Custom Soundscapes for Packaging

Did you know that you can customize your packaging through the use of sound? Unboxing with auditory enhancements can create unboxing experiences that are memorable, and interesting as well. Here, we’ll discuss some of the cool unboxing enhancements that various brands are adding, and why brands doing this can improve their customer retention on all fronts. 

Innovative Sound design 

Sound design is growing more and more common, especially in the realm of packaging. There are certain sounds that cause grating effects, such as nails on a chalkboard.  There are other sounds that cause a satisfying sound, the opposite of this. One of them is the satisfying sound of a pop or click. Think about the sound of opening a can of soda. It’s a good one.   The clicking of opening a box may be used as well to really enhance it.

Rustling is another.   Hearing a small sound of the items inside will help to create a satisfying experience. 

So, using these sounds and taking advantage of them is good. microchips are also being used in personalized packaging, in order to create personalized sounds and music. If you have a cat product, adding a small “meow” sound may brighten the customer’s day. 

Benefits for Branding 

There are a ton of benefits for branding.

These days, customers connect with brands through personalized experiences.   This sound experience creates an emotional response, usually good. enhancement of this is great for boosting emotional engagement. More and more customers recall when their favorite brands use this type of packaging. 

It also is good for customer recall. Customers experience various brands every single day. Thousands just from going to the store themselves. With this packaging, you’ll be able to create some packaging that will stand out, and look exciting and interesting. Customers will remember, because they’ll see the packaging and have their “aha!” moment when they get this from you.

So yes, it does work for customer recall, not just for remembering the brand, butt also remembering the sounds associated, especially if it creates pleasant memories. 

Challenges for This 

There are some issues with this.   One of the biggest ones is making sure it’s not annoying, or intrusive. There’s a fine line between being fun, and being plain annoying.   Try not to be too intrusive with designing this. a little bit goes a long way, especially in customization, so bear this in mind when putting it together.

The second challenge is not being too wasteful. You want to make this work, but also don’t make this too excessive.   Again, a little bit goes a long way, and you don’t want to seem wasteful or ignorant with eco-friendly resources, especially if you’re trying to make the customers happy, and thereby improving the overall experience that they have with your packaging and branding. 

The future of This Type of Packaging 

Sound packaging is relatively new, but interactive packaging is the new thing. People love it, because it makes things more exciting for everyone involved.

We’ll see more of this interactive packaging through customizable sound options. Some may even incorporate this with IoT and smart technology. Connecting a device might cause it to play the sound that you add to the item.

While new, it is a fun type of packaging that can really improve the overall experience, make it fun, and also help to create a deeper, more useful connection.

If you’re building a good unboxing experience, try to add sound to these items, along with sight and other sense elements, so that everything’s more intuitive, and incorporated to the customers’ experience as well.