Tin box: when the material of your packaging is the real secret weapon that sells

To work in the study of a functional packaging for sale – as we conceive it here at Packaging In Italy – could suggest a selection of technical aspects, materials, and, only at a later stage, identifying the main guidelines.

So, do we first sit around a table to reason abstractly and, at the end, we decide technical details of the material to be used?

Not really. In fact, there are cases where the choice of the material is an integral part of the features that make a packaging functional for sales.

That is, selecting a material and modeling the packaging development based on that material. Packaging contributes to the increase in sales.

For many, it is difficult to understand, but according to facts, sales change for the better when the choice of material was conducted in a strategic manner and not as if it was one of the many technical details.

This is the specific case of a tin packaging – technically tin box – a very distinctive material that can be often functional for the use of the product; such as in the case of the can of oil, the classic cans of soda or the common tuna cans.

In these cases, choosing a can also has practical reasons, but there are situations where to develop a can container – despite not having practical reasons – is a winning choice for boosting sales.

How do we tell if a can could be a driving force for the sales of your product?

The first step is to separate the product from its packaging: let’s get into our heads that packaging, in this case, is not only functional to the product and its use, but it also becomes a product itself and the consumer sees it exactly like that!

It is not an assumption, it is a fact – and I want to prove it in this article. In the case of food tin box, the packaging itself acquires a value that lives regardless of the product.

For this reason, in trying to identify the needs of the consumer, it will be good to find answers through the choice of packaging.

There are basically THREE aspects that make a tin packaging a success factor:

→ its reusability (I, many time, buy and reuse the packaging for other purposes)

→ its value as a collectable item (I buy and collect the package)

→ 100% recyclable material (determining factor for the environment and in today’s buying reasons)

Specifically, what do I mean?

There are some solutions where packaging is not only seen acting as a product container or as a product exhibitor on the shelf, but it is conceived from the start as a separate object that can be, later, reused for other purposes or just collected. And that is how it acquires immediately its own value that can be added to the value or purpose of the product it contains.

Taking it to an extreme, this concept can turn some choices of packaging into the driving feature for the sale: you buy the product almost exclusively to own the tin packaging that contains it!

A recent and clear – for everyone – example of a square tin box packaging designed as a collectable item is the Caffé Illy set of cans.

Notwithstanding, there are many less famous examples where the package is immediately identified as a valuable object that contributes to motivate the final purchase.

The festivity sweets industry is certainly suitable. In these cases, the product is often purchased as a gift, the packaging maintains the above mentioned characteristics, such as reusability and collectibility, and it helps to create a stylish image for the gift – very important aspect when selecting a gift – and that’s why it wins its challenge on the shelf.

We buy a gift => we want to make a good impression => “tin box” packaging gives prestige to our choice => we direct our choice towards a valuable solution.

It is evident how, in a situation like this, packaging is the one playing the most important role. At this point, many entrepreneurs, justifiably proud of their products, could not agree, giving all the credit to the quality of the final product. Is it really so?

Let me answer with a question: would you take to a friends’ place, on Christmas day, a great panettone, wrapped in transparent discount-style plastic? Would you do the exercise using a case? The answer is a single “NO!” That kind of gift, nowadays, is given to no one with that presentation. It is a completely different story if the same panettone is packed in a tin packaging.

This choice is not limited to festivity sweets or to food in general. Also in the beauty sector, it is a much exploited choice, specifically when packing beauty products sold in special festivities, but also for continuous sales it proves to be a successful choice

There are also very famous cases where tin packaging became an iconography of the product itself, to the point that changing it would be risky for the company since the customer identifies the product right through the “tin” of its packaging. As an example, the Nivea cream jar.

The material lives behind a purely technical function to acquire a precise meaning. Obviously, you must find a coherent match with the product and it is not said that it will work for every product. But, when studied properly, it is certainly a strong incentive to sales.

Compared with other packaging containers, such as plastic, glass, and paper containers, rectangular tin box have greater strength, good rigidity, and are not easy to break. Not only can be used for small sales packaging, but also the main container for large transport packaging.

Tin boxes have better barrier properties than any other material, with good gas barrier properties, moisture resistance, light-shielding properties, and fragrance retention. In addition, the seal is reliable and can reliably protect the product.

Tin boxes have a long history of production, with mature craftsmanship and a complete set of matching production equipment, high production efficiency, and can meet the packaging needs of various products.

Golden Tin Co.,Limited warmly reminds that metal materials have good printing performance; the pattern and trademark are bright and beautiful, and the packaging container produced is eye-catching, which is an excellent sales package.

tin metal boxes can be made into various shapes according to different needs, such as square cans, round tin box, round cans, horseshoes, trapezoids, etc., which not only meet the packaging needs of different products, but also make packaging containers more varied. Promoted sales.

he tin metal box packaging can be recycled to achieve the purpose of protecting the environment

In line with international environmental protection requirements, in line with future product trends.

The princess, who is allowed contact only with precious jewels, and precious metals reaches the age of eighteen. Her father, the king, sends an ambassador to the courts of five neighboring kingdoms announcing that he will give his daughter in marriage to the prince who bring her the gift she likes most. Three of the princes bring expensive decorative gifts, one of them an elaborate jewel box, and the last, being poor (though handsome) brings a tin box with non-precious metal in it. Although she is amused by the latter gift she finally selects the jewel box as being most practical and marries the prince who brought that. Moral: even a princess prefers a valuable gift to something of small material value.

An article under discussion by a good number of my colleagues appeared in TheOutline recently. Titled “Bribes for Blogs: How Brands Secretly Buy Their Way Into Forbes, Fast Company, and HuffPost Store” and written by Jon Christian, it tells how various PR and content-supply companies bribe — or try to bribe — bloggers and journalists to incorporate favorable mentions of their clients into articles they write for these publications. It’s an excellent article.

My first reaction was (as was the reaction of many folks I know who are in the business) similar to that of Captain Renault in Casablanca: “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.” As a tech journalist working for a popular publication, I’d routinely get at least one or two of these offers a week — and as routinely send them to my trash folder. I’d bet that any other professional journalist will tell you the same. In fact, this type of thing has become so common that a couple of times, when I wrote a company telling them I wanted to review their product, I got back an email tentatively asking what it would cost. (Much to my dismay.)

There are a couple of aspects to this, however, that also occurred to me and that I thought I’d pass on.

First, that the majority of professional journalists have been trained — either formally or by those in their workplaces — in the ethics of journalism, which includes, yes, not taking bribes to, in effect, advertise a product or service. True, most publications exist through some kind of advertising, but we are taught very quickly that it’s important to separate advertising from editorial.

But there is also another difference. They get paid for their work.

As somebody who has, over the last few months, dipped a toe into the current freelancer pool, the pay rates that many content producers are offering are, to say the least, ridiculous. An example: I applied for a freelance gig with a publication that was pointed towards seniors. After a very positive phone conversation with an editor, she told me that the rates they were offering were $25 for a 400-word article — in essence, about 6 cents a word. She was at least the second editor I talked to who offered those rates, and I saw a lot more on various freelance job boards. And that is more than other publications pay, which can be less or nothing at all.

Now, I have accepted rates of 6 cents a word or less for the publication of a speculative fiction story — because that is my art, not my craft. But few can make a living writing articles at 6 cents a word unless they are pumping them out so quickly that there is no time to do research, interviews, or pay any attention to factual clarity. (I do know one or two writers who can do this because they have many years of experience behind them and so know their subject backwards and forwards. But they are the exception rather than the rule.)

So — you have somebody who is trying to make a living as a freelancer, who does not have the contacts needed to find work or any specific expertise, or is young enough that they need to get some experience under their belt, or is simply a former staff member who is now out on the market. They have rent or a mortgage, utilities and/or broadband, food and other expenses to pay for. All they can get is pennies for their writing, and they’re thinking of applying to the nearest fast food joint for a job. Then somebody offers them real money for linking to a client’s site in their next article, or mentioning a client’s business in a couple of articles. Enough to pay for that week’s groceries. Or that month’s rent. In other words, to provide an income.

I can see where it would be tempting. Especially if the writer isn’t aware of where the lines are as far as ethics are concerned. Or doesn’t really care.

Freelancing is hard. It’s hard to find assignments that pay well. It’s hard to find the discipline to work past daily distractions. It’s hard to get answers from vendors, companies and experts when you don’t have a known publication as part of your email address. It’s hard to find work that pays a decent rate.

And so I understand how it can be hard to dismiss temptation when you’re offered the chance to make a decent living by making a few ethical shortcuts.

But it’s a temptation that I, and many other freelancers, still insist upon dismissing. And I hope that more writers out there will be able to.