Page 73 - FoodFocusThailand No.211 OCTOBER 2023

STRENGTHEN THE PACKAGING

provided on storing it for later plant, excluding transportation costs, are considered 100%. The cost of raw
consumption, whether chilled or materials and ingredients under the proper cost structure should not exceed 60%
frozen. From experience, there are of the total cost, except if particular raw materials must be imported from abroad.
often unexpected issues, such as The other 40% of production cost includes labor, electricity, water, management,
too tough products for chewing by and packaging costs. Most importantly, the packaging cost should not exceed
the elderly and low sugar product 5% of the factory’s wholesale price. If entrepreneurs want to reduce overall costs,
expectations for healthy concerned they should consider enhancing the production process by implementing
consumers. These are sensitive automation to reduce labor and increase production efficiency. Packaging cost,
issues but are considered the which is often considered high, might not be actual, as the proportion of packaging
opportunity to create a unique costs is still considered lower than other costs.
selling point.
As for packaging design, it
should be able to communicate the
brand’s strategy, so the product
brand must be readable and
consider tackling the customers’
pain points ef fectively.
Entrepreneurs can test their
products with general consumers
or through the elderly group,
starting from how the package is
open and how the brand is read.
Inexperienced graphic designers
often make mistakes in designing
painstakingly small descriptions on
the back of a container or designing
too small packaging and cramming
too much text to the point of being
almost illegible. If exported
overseas, such packages may be
recalled as foreign consumer
protection laws are stringent.
Always bear in mind that packaging
designs must consider the
consumers’ convenience; for
example, the packaging of drinking
water bottles must be easy to
open. Still, numerous brands are
difficult to open, even some that
design water bottles to reduce
plastic use, thus making the bottle
packaging too thin. The bottle may
seem rigid and tight when holding,
but upon opening, the water
pressure drops, resulting in the
water spilling out of the bottle and
creating a mess, and the consumers
might not like it.

No more worries in
managing packaging costs
The most problematic issue is the
cost of packaging, which is often
considered high. Therefore, I would
like to explain further that the total
costs at the product manufacturing

OCT 2023 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND 73