Food Packaging Basics: What New Food Founders Need to Consider

You have a food product concept that's ready to take flight. Now you need a way to get it into someone else’s hands in good condition. Packaging can seem like a design decision at first, but it also affects how your product stays fresh, is stored, transported, displayed, used, and priced.

If you are new to food entrepreneurship, you do not need to choose a jar, pouch, box, or bottle before you understand what the package must do. Start with the product itself and the path it will take to reach your customer.

What does food packaging do?

At its most basic, packaging holds and helps protect your product. It also gives customers information and creates a first impression of your brand. Depending on what you sell, you may need more than one type of packaging:

• Primary packaging is the container or material directly around the product, such as a jar, bottle, or pouch.

• Secondary packaging groups or surrounds packaged units, such as a carton holding several products.

• Shipping packaging helps products travel from one place to another.

A founder selling granola at a neighborhood market may have different packaging needs from one shipping the same granola across the country. Thinking about how you plan to sell can help you identify which packaging decisions matter first.

Begin with the product

Consider the product’s ingredients, texture, portion size, and storage needs. Is it fragile? Could it leak? Does it need refrigeration? Will a customer open and close the package several times? The answers help you discuss suitable options with packaging suppliers and other qualified professionals.

The material that touches food deserves particular attention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treats food packaging and its components as food contact substances, and whether a material is suitable depends on its intended use. A package that looks appealing is not automatically appropriate for every product.

Think about the full journey

Picture your product from the moment it is packed until the moment a customer uses it. It might sit in storage, ride in a delivery vehicle, appear on a retail shelf, or arrive in a box on someone’s doorstep.

That journey raises practical questions. Will the package fit the way you plan to store and move the product? Can it withstand ordinary handling? Is it easy for a customer to carry, open, and use? Would an additional layer of packaging be needed for delivery? You may not have every answer yet. The purpose of these questions is to help you identify what to investigate before placing a large order.

Leave room for product information

Your package also needs space to identify the product and communicate with customers. Food labeling requirements vary by product and circumstances, so it is wise to consider labeling early, before finalizing a package shape or design. The FDA provides a food labeling guide covering required statements for foods under its jurisdiction.

This is only a starting point. Before selling, founders should confirm the requirements that apply to their particular product with the appropriate qualified professionals. The detailed work of labeling and front-of-pack communication calls for more attention than an introductory article can provide.

Look beyond the price of the empty package

Packaging becomes part of your product cost. You may also need to account for labels, cartons, protective shipping materials, assembly, storage, and the quantity a supplier requires you to purchase. An inexpensive package per unit may still be difficult for a young business to use if it requires a large initial order or does not suit the way the product will be sold.

As you compare options, ask what each choice means for both the customer experience and your business model. The goal is to find a workable starting point, then revisit it as you learn more about your product, customers, and sales channels.

Your next step

Before requesting packaging quotes, write down three things: what your product needs for protection and storage, how you expect to sell and deliver it, and what a customer needs to know when they see it. Those notes will make your early conversations with suppliers more productive.

The Kitchen CEO books help founders connect decisions like packaging to product development, pricing, placement, and promotion. Use the series as a reference while you work through the details, and visit the Resource Center for tools and learning opportunities that support your planning.