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2021/01/05 5 Product Label Trends to Differentiate Your Brand in 2021 (part 1 of 3)

5 Product Label Trends to Differentiate Your Brand in 2021

Source from: [Article Headline] | 2020-12-07 | Flexible Packaging (flexpackmag.com)

The winds of change blew hard this year. Some markets shrunk while others grew, supply chain weaknesses were exposed and a pandemic kept many consumers at home where they did much of their shopping online.

Brands in every product category from luxury wines to bargain shampoos are forced to reckon with this “new normal” and begin preparing for what’s next.
And while we can’t predict the future, we do produce a lot of labels — and therefore have the privilege of witnessing packaging trends firsthand.

We distilled our list down to five trends every brand owner needs to watch out for in 2021:
  1. Forward-thinking brands have a chance to transform these COVID-related challenges into opportunities
  2. Storytelling has become a key component of product labels
  3. Neuromarketing studies reveal exactly how labels impact consumer perception of products
  4. How to respond to the push for more sustainable labeling materials
  5. Near-field communication (NFC) use has the potential to expand greatly in coming years
Reducing costs, eliminating risk and engaging consumers becomes more important than ever
Unprecedented, uncertain, unpredictable. Whatever “un-” word you use to describe the pandemic and the resulting fallout, one thing is clear: The status quo is being challenged in every market and product category.

Here are a few COVID-related challenges every brand is facing right now (and how each can be transformed into an opportunity):

Cutting year-over-year packaging costs. Cost reduction is always in vogue, but it’s never more fashionable than when the market is uncertain. And if your brand is planning to send your labels out to bid in the coming year, you have a huge opportunity — not only to cut costs, but also to drive value and efficiency.

Don’t squander it by sending out the same RFI spreadsheet you’ve always used. Instead, lean on the expertise of the label converters you’re reaching out to by asking them for recommendations about material selection, cost-saving opportunities, reducing risk in your supply chain or leveraging technology (like smart labels) that could drive post-purchase consumer engagement.