With increased competition from online players, more retailers and brands are relying on customized boxes and bags to set them apart. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Customized jewelry packaging has become increasingly important for jewelers looking to set themselves apart, with many adding color and branding across the board.
New York--Jewelry packaging has graduated from being a standard selection of boxes and bags to become an integral part of a store’s marketing and branding due to increased competition and the importance of social media.
With the Las Vegas jewelry trade shows starting in a week, now is the perfect time for jewelers to rethink their packaging schemes and visit some of the industry’s biggest players in the sector.
The Couture show will have: Chronovision at Booth Ct301, Wolf at Booth Ct106 and To Be Packing at Booth 820.
At JCK Las Vegas, visit Kassoy at Booth B68054, Rocket at PC-425 and Noble Gift Packaging at B64063. For a more complete list of packaging suppliers at JCK Las Vegas, visit the show website.
“Packaging has definitely become a huge selling point. Not only does the best packaging serve the most protection, but it serves as a reflection of your company’s image,” said Amanda Santoro, web specialist at Kassoy.
Packaging can be an added element of customization, which, Santoro said, “is an imperative tool to launching your products into an aggressively competitive market.”
National Jeweler spoke to Santoro, along with Montagne Custom Packaging President Anne Marie Montagne Shulman and Rocket President and CEO Mike Kaplan, about jewelry industry trends in packaging.
Here’s what they said was popular among their clients, which include both jewelers and jewelry brands.
1. Multi-purpose boxes. Rather than single-style boxes, which only fit one type of jewelry, more clients are moving toward packaging that can fit numerous styles: one shell with different inserts so that it’s adaptable to inventory.
This allows businesses more versatility and means they don’t have to carry as many packaging styles or scramble to re-order when one style runs out.
2. Different materials. Clients increasingly are looking for their packaging to be made using various materials now, and in particular velvet.
Many big names at Baselworld, like Gucci and Chanel, have used velvet displays of late, Shulman said, and the trend is trickling down.
It’s a luxurious look and also a good conduit for the use of color.
“If customers get an item in nice packaging, they’re more likely to keep it,” Shulman said. “It helps reinforce the sale for customers.”
She added that the velvet trend has seemingly moved beyond just packaging to include jewelry displays.
3. A focus on engagement ring boxes. Today’s consumer is paying more attention to the box the engagement ring comes
It could be the vein of something like the Mrs. Box, colorful limited-edition, vintage-inspired velvet ring boxes, which today’s young brides and grooms are buying to coordinate with their wedding colors. And since they’re more than likely doing that for photos and social media, it provides another opportunity for a store to appear in front of more people.
This trend also applies to the size of engagement ring boxes. Specifically, more clients who are proposing want a skinnier box that fits more easily and is less noticeable in their pockets.
According to Montagne Custom Packaging President Anne Marie Montagne Shulman, more customers are using color for the jewelry packaging as well as alternative materials, especially velvet. 4. More use of color. One of the most obvious trends is that stores and brands are using color across their jewelry packaging.
And it’s not just neutral or muted tones; clients are getting into bolder colors and pops of vibrant shades with their packaging now.
Specifically, stores are using their packaging to brand the colors of the store. That way when clients look at it, it reminds them of the brand and the experience they had there (Tiffany is the perfect example of a jeweler who has maximized this jewelry industry trend.)
5. Using packaging to create a whole experience. What the trends ultimately come down to is that retailers and brands, both national chains and smaller independent jewelers and emerging designers, are using their packaging to create a unified experience for their customers.
In many cases, they’re doing this by having the store name included a number of times across packaging made in store colors. Customized packaging like this makes it harder for the customer to forget about you, Santoro noted.
But working to make a color synonymous with a brand doesn’t happen overnight, Kaplan said. Stores have to realize this will be a longer-term project, and make sure they’re carrying their color branding across all aspects of the store: boxes and pouches should align with the displays, shopping bags and more.
He added that while packaging never used to be included in the images of e-commerce listings, today he’s noticed more shops and brands buying better packaging and showing it off online to “make it part of the presentation” in the buying process.
For Montagne, the trend of creating a full experience has led it to build a robust gift-with-purchase program to help enhance the experience and develop a client’s brand identity, especially as customers continue to expect more from their purchases.
This includes offering items like jewelry rolls and pouches with built-in pockets as extras.
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.
