General / June 22, 2017
For some companies, success can be maintained by remaining consistent without any major branding or product shake-ups. Other companies, however, need to take more risks and try new things to be a competitive player in their space.
This dichotomy is very common in the world of flexible packaging. From coffee packaging to pet food and snack food packaging, every market has diverse products, diverse competition, and of course, diverse packaging needs.
Breaking into a new market requires careful, strategic thinking and planning – it’s not the sort of thing you can just “flip the switch” on. If you’re looking to launch a new product and enter a new market, make sure to follow these four essential tips and considerations.
If you’re already an established brand, it’s natural to assume your audience is established as well. While this may be true for some of your existing products, launching a new product likely means you’ll be tapping into a new market or a niche area within your current market.
This will require some high-level research. Whether it’s attending conferences, participating in webinars, subscribing to various newsletters and email lists, it’s important to consume as much information as you possibly can.
During this initial research process, you’ll also need to size up your competition. This will help you determine who the heavy hitters are and what they’re doing to connect with consumers.
Once you get a grasp of who these top competitors are, dig deeper and identify which packaging strategies they’re utilizing and asses they’re overall branding presence both online and offline.
Now that you know the lay of the land, take a step back and work on narrowing down some of the bigger challenges and barriers you’ll have to face to be successful and profitable in this new industry.
Using what you’ve learned during the competitive research process, you should also begin thinking about how you can overcome these challenges and whether your team has the capacity to do so.
Lastly, you need to take all this information and relay it to the rest of your team. When you collaborate with your internal team and your internal or external packaging strategists, you’ll be able to bring it all together and better determine if entering a new market will be a profitable decision for the company.
In addition, you’ll get a better sense of the competency and capacity levels of your staff in terms of handling a new product launch and potential market change.
Once you’ve done the research, launching your brand into a new marketplace can be a great way to remain relevant and competitive in an ever-changing packaging industry.
To learn more about how Eagle Flexible Packaging can support you in a change like this, fill out our sidebar form today!