How to Brand and Package your Crisps Company

“Created a totally new flavour of crisp. If it’s successful, I’ll make a packet!”.

Your brand is your visual identity and is the way that you can communicate who your business is to potential consumers.
The identity of your business is represented by the branding and packaging that you choose.
Take Walkers and Tyrells, both sell crisps but their brands are completely different; Walkers’ focus on the every day consumption of their crisps, being cheap enough to have as regular snacks in your cupboard, whilst the other has a higher price tag, and is focused on fancier flavours made for sharing (or not).

Isn’t it funny how products at their core can be the same but have a completely different message?

Branding at its heart begins with the understanding of who your customer base is.

There are so many different types of crisps, from flavour to quality, to shape and size.

Identifying your crisp brands key personality traits, qualities and ideal customers is essential to building your own company.

So ask yourself these questions…

Who is eating your crisps?

When you visualise your customer base, is the consumer an everyday working class family at home?

Are they being served at fancy parties?

Are they young/old?

Are they in lunch boxes?

Are they vegan?

It is important to identify where you want your product to fit into the market so you can tailor your image to who you want to be buying them.

What will be your USP?

It might be useful to identify an element of your brand that makes you stand out from the competition as the market is so large.
A good way to do this could be by having a unique flavour range that differs from the common flavours such as cheese and onion or ready salted.

Walkers have previously done different flavours as seasonal choices such as brussel sprouts or pigs in blankets, however Kettle Crisps offer flavours like Honey barbecue and black peppercorn as part of their regular range.

Kettle crisps also have a range that is vegan for those who are meat and dairy free, which I predict will be an area that will only increase in demand as time goes on.

Another way to maximise sales might be to have a unique shape to your crisps, like Monster Munch or Hula Hoops do.

The packaging you choose to use could even be your USP depending on how it is designed, will it be very bright and colourful or will it be simplistic?

These are things you will have to decide when thinking about what you want potential customers to take away from your brand at first glance.

Where will the product be Sold?

Are you aiming to be sold in supermarkets, or are you wanting to sell in small cafes/ shops or maybe even just through online sales?

Making these initial decisions will help you tailor the way you work to meet the audience you want to.

Who Are You?

Ask yourself, who are you as a brand?
Is the purpose of your brand to create gourmet style crisps to be enjoyed on special occasions or do you want a good old ready salted crisp?
What is your brand personality and what is the purpose?
Knowing what your ideal customer base is will help you answer these questions.

Time For Design!

The purpose of creating a visual brand identity is to reflect the brand values and personality that you have just identified.

Elements such as colours used, logo and fonts can all help to show your brand visually.

Your brand’s packaging should reflect the values you and your business holds and allow the customer to see who you are.

An important part of this is having a recognisable logo that is consistent across packaging, social media and any marketing content that is used.

Logo’s create brand recognition and in turn brand loyalty.

A colour palette and font should be carefully selected to reflect your business; for example, a crisp company marketed towards children may use lots of bright colours and images that appeal to this audience.
Branding and packaging all boils down to consistency.

Once you have created your brand assets, you want to use these consistently across all your marketing platforms.

From your social media or website to print marketing and packaging.

Having a consistent and solid brand identity will make customers see your brand as professional and trustworthy.

Take the next step by doing the groundwork and creating cohesive visuals that reflect your brand.