Packaging
What a good unboxing feels like
The best ten seconds of buying online happen before the product appears. How to plan the outside, the reveal and the keepsake.
The best ten seconds of buying something online happen before you see the product. It’s the moment the lid comes off.
Shops have music, smells and a person who says hello. A parcel has cardboard. Here is how to make cardboard do all three jobs.
An unboxing has three beats
We plan every box like a very short play.
The outside
The shipping carton should be plain, sturdy and clearly yours. One stamp or a strip of printed tape is plenty. Save the fireworks.
The reveal
This is the lift of the lid. Tissue, a printed inner flap or a change of colour gives the hands something to do and the eyes something new.
The thing itself
Finally the product, sitting snugly, facing up and looking expected. Nothing should rattle.
One small extra
A handwritten-style note, a sticker or a recipe card costs pennies. It’s also the part people photograph.
Where the money should go
You can’t afford to make every surface special, and you shouldn’t try.
Layer | Spend | Why |
|---|---|---|
Outer box | Little | It gets thrown away |
Inside lid | Most | First thing they see |
Wrapping | Some | Builds the pause |
Note or card | Pennies | Gets kept and shared |
How Good Crumb boxes a birthday cake
Good Crumb Bakery sends celebration cakes across the city in a plain kraft carrier. Open it and the inside is printed in the bakery’s checked pattern, with a card that reads “Candles are in the side pocket. You’re welcome.”
Customers keep that card. Several have it stuck to the fridge.
“Someone sent us a video of their gran opening the box. She gasped at the lid, before she had even seen the cake.”
Priya Shah, founder of Good Crumb Bakery
Rehearse it before you order
Before you commit to a thousand cartons, pack one and hand it to a friend who hasn’t seen it. Watch closely and keep quiet.
Do they know which way up it goes?
Do they pause and smile at any point?
Do they keep anything afterwards?
Their face will tell you more than any mock-up on a screen. When you’re ready to design the real thing, book a 30 minute call.
