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Seven Reasons Why Packaging Projects Fail

Not to imply that any project can be carried out without a hitch, but avoiding these causes for failure gets you closer.

Sterling Anthony, CPP
Sterling Anthony, CPP

A project fails simply by not achieving its objective(s) within its specified limits of scope, cost, and time. A project can fail to the point of being abandoned, however most failures are less spectacular. Packaging projects fail for a variety of reasons, but those that I’ll discuss here have evidenced themselves time and time again.

Late start. For a new launch in particular, the start of a packaging project should coincide with that of the product. For the most part, thankfully, industry has progressed beyond sequential projects, i.e., product development completed, followed by package development. A packaged product, by definition, is composed of two components: product and package. The interdependence of the two should be acknowledged at the concept stage, which precedes project work. At that stage, references about the packaging need not be detailed, but sufficient to allow personnel to start visualizing and brainstorming.

Parallel paths. A packaging project should proceed along a path that intersects with those of other involved disciplines. It’s a requirement that’s consistent with packaging’s inter-disciplinarian nature, in addition to a systems approach. There’s a dynamism and fluidity to projects, with matters in constant flux. Not only does the right hand need to know what the left hand is doing, but that knowledge might need to extend to the finger-level.

Wrong expectations. Packaging performs the overlapping functions of containment, protection, communication, convenience, and utility. Any expectations outside those functions are wrongly held. If, for example, the requisite quality, performance, and value are missing in a product, changing the package won’t solve the problem, beyond, perhaps, a temporary increase in trial purchases. Stated differently, if the packaging is not the problem, it can’t be the solution. On the other hand, for a product of requisite quality, performance, and value, the packaging can be the competitive difference.

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