Thread by @ryan_caldbeck

1/ I just geeked out about CPG packaging with someone I really respect.

Here is why I love thinking about CPG package design as much as I love thinking about software product design.

2/ Identifying what the consumer wants without true A/B testing is absurdly hard. Think about how much design iteration goes into the typical software product -i.e. web or mobile. It is effectively constant learning and iteration.

3/ Now imagine how hard life would be if you had to make a product, then didn’t receive feedback on the product until ~6 months later (CPG product sent out to retailer, purchased and then sales numbers come in).

4/ Btw- the only data you get then how much the product sold. Not why it did/didn’t sell. No feedback about packaging itself. Consumers might have bought the product because of marketing, in-store demos, weak competition, they loved the product (but hated the packaging), etc.

5/ Show me what Uber or Facebook would look like if their product team operated with similar feedback loops. Life is tough in CPG.

6/ So the entrepreneur is left to rely on their gut or perhaps surveys/focus groups -which have notorious issues. She is trying to understand why the consumer buys a product: Purchase criteria. That’s a key phrase.

uxmag.com/articles/how-t…

7/ Now the entrepreneur must take the “insights” they have about what the purchase criteria is and then communicate the value proposition that their product has which meet those purchase criteria.

8/ Let’s take ice cream as ex to demonstrate the complexity. Ok everyone cares about taste. That’s obvious. What about taste though? How do you describe specific aspects of taste? Here is how @haagen-dazs communicates that it tastes good on the package:
target.com/p/haagen-dazs-…

9/ But everyone wants to say “we taste good.” Think about how hard it is to stand out on taste. So what other dimensions matter? What about people that cant eat dairy but want ice cream? Here is how my hometown favorite does it:
benjerry.com/flavors/non-da…

10/ OK how about those that care about calories? Here are 5 options on that dimension. Wow this is complex.

eatthis.com/low-calorie-ic…

11/ Let’s pull up. The issue for the entrepreneur is they have to first understand the purchase criteria, then communicate their product’s value prop against that purchase criteria. And do it with limited space on the package.

12/ The consumer will read very few words. Some have said to design it so that a 5 year old can read it.
swedbrand-group.com/blog/creative-…

13/ Now….do all that in a way it stands out amongst thousands of direct (ice cream, frozen yogurt) and indirect (other deserts, snacks) competitive products. Make it be memorable. Wow.

14/ I’ve said before- I think the average successful CPG entrepreneur is dramatically more impressive and talented than the average talented tech entrepreneur.

15/ So until some enterprising tech entrepreneur can help build a data company that actually helps consumer entrepreneurs, are they stuck? I think this is where d2c (direct to consumer) can come in.

16/ d2c I think is wonderful for iterating on a product. When a product is only sold wholesale offline (i.e. through a retailer), the entrepreneur simply cant get the data she needs to iterate quickly. She can literally a/b test the packaging.

17/ She can use pictures to test the consumer instead of actually manufacturing the product and shipping to the stores. That may sound like not much- its huge.

D2C is a godsend for the entrepreneur that utilizes it well: to iterate early on product, messaging, packaging, etc.

18/ Using d2c to scale is a totally different issue. Super expensive (CACs inevitably rise). But for iteration on products? Amazing.