This article explores why metal packaging offers superior protection and sustainability for products, appealing to eco-conscious consumers and collectors.
Getting products safely to consumers is a key focus for packaging designers. The package must protect the integrity of the product and be presentable to shoppers at the same time. Consumers actually do judge many purchasing decisions based on whether or not the packaging is appropriate and appealing. Here's why metal packaging solves many logistics issues for brands.
Why Metal is a Superior Packaging Material
Metal has been an important packaging material for products dating back to before the industrial revolution. Canned foods became widespread in the early nineteenth century with the advent of air-tight unbreakable tin containers. Prior to this milestone in storage and distribution, glass jars and bottles were more common for packaging food items.
Since then, threaded lids and rubber seals have improved the protective quality of canned perishable items. Consumers today were born into the world of metal packaging, which is why it has so much staying power. People accept the long-term use of the canning process as part of metal's strength. Furthermore, tin is a form of lightweight metal that can be bent into any shape, which is great for branding.
Another advantage to metal is that it can be recycled, which plays into current social themes of sustainability. Metal can be used over and over without losing quality. Ideally, metal packaging doesn't end up in a landfill. If it's made to have multiple purposes, consumers have less reason to discard it. That's why fancy tins are viable for packaging, since they attract collectors of artistic designs.
Reflecting Consumer Concerns for Packaging
More than any other time in history, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of avoiding waste. They understand that overflowing landfills are not good for the environment, since it can lead to chemical leakage back into the soil. One of the ways to connect with environmentally-aware consumers is through durable and air-tight fancy tins that express emotional imagery.
Fancy tins became popular in the late nineteenth century, as tin was shaped into baskets and other useful objects. It started as containers for biscuits, candy and other foods, then over time evolved into an art form. Consumers recognized how fancy tins could be part of home decor, especially if the containers celebrate familiar images. Fancy tins may showcase people, places, trends, inventions, fashion, patterns and abstract ideas.
The fact that fancy tins can be used to store anything that will fit into them, gives them long-lasting utility. Furthermore, they give packaging designers a wide range of artistic possibilities to explore. Fancy tins may appeal to all age groups or certain age groups, depending on the design. They are no longer viewed as just specialty items during holidays, as they now can convey anything visual that helps sell products.
How Fancy Tins Add Shine to Packaging
Part of what makes metal such a viable packaging material is that it looks pristine due to its shine. On top of that, the shine reinforces the idea of visual and protective strength. In other words, fancy tins don't rely on illusions - they are as classy and durable as they look.
The most powerful images on fancy tins that may sway gift seekers to purchase them are those that reflect pop culture. Every nostalgic era can be summarized by famous images that create associations with emotions. Sometimes recognizable nostalgia can even trigger personal memories associated with an era.
Fancy tins can be round, square or any imaginable shape. Collectors of these containers have a variety of methods for displaying their collections, which may be to emphasize different popular and discontinued brands through history. The more fancy tins tell stories with historical significance, the better gifts they make for grandparents and other elders.
Some people travel the world to collect souvenirs such as fancy tins. It creates a deeper personal connection with the containers, which can trigger memories of vacations. But consumers don't have to go far to find a wide variety of unique fancy tins already available in their home markets.
Manufacturers of fancy tins understand that the imagery of the packaging provides an extra incentive for shoppers to make a purchase. Plain plastic packaging, by contrast, looks ordinary and does not add to the curiosity of buying the product. Ultimately, producers of various products that fit in small containers should consider experimenting with fancy tins as a way to expand consumer interest.
