5 questions to ask before picking your hair brands packaging

5 Questions to Ask Before Picking Your Hair Brand’s Packaging

What's On The Outside Counts

When someone looks at you what's the first thing that they see? It may be your hair, your makeup if you're wearing any, your clothes, and then your shoes. All of this gets you either a “You look cute girl!” or a quick smile in your direction. It all depends on how you put yourself together, or your packaging. Packaging is your external communication to the world. It has nothing to do with the quality of your character or your personality, but people will use it to judge you, and the same goes for your product packaging. People are going to look at what you put your product in before testing what's inside the packaging. That is important to note because if they don't like what the outside looks like, then they won't even open it to see what's on the inside. So, you have to invest as much time into your product packaging as your actual product. Keep reading to find out what you need to know before picking your hair brand’s packaging.

1. Does the Design Speak to Your Customer?

As with all business decisions, it is important to think of your customer when considering the packaging that you want to move forward with. For most of the hair companies that Private Label Extensions services the customer are women ages 24-35 who love to shop and consume everything beauty and cosmetic. It is essential that you know who your customer is so that your product packaging can be put on display to them in the right way. Instead, you should ask your customers:
  • What colors do you think of when you think of natural hair? (List 3 colors for them to choose from so that you can narrow your options)
  • Would you prefer to get dual use out of your packaging? (This would determine whether a box or bag is appropriate).
  • Do you like to see images of natural haired girls with defined curls or the standard afro animation?
Questions like these would get you on the right track to pinpointing what aesthetic would speak to your audience. Additionally, a survey like this would talk to your brand’s image overall. If you create the questionnaire before launch and the building of your website, you may be able to use this information to create a cohesive brand. All in all, it is important to remember that your potential customers are not buying your product because they can get that from anywhere. They are buying into your overall brand and vision. So, you want to ensure that you are speaking directly to them from the time they go to your website to the time they place their order.

2. Do You Need Labeling?

A big void in the hair extension industry right now is honesty. A lot of people are mislabeling the hair that they're selling to their customers to stay on trend and take advantage of the money in a fad. There is no such thing as mink hair. It's just a term that hair vendors use for marketing. In actuality, the mink hair comes from a mink animal and those hairs are very short. They can be used to make eyelashes but 20” hair extensions, not so much. All this to say that it's very easy for a customer to convince themselves into buying a random type of hair that they know nothing about. You can fill a void by adding labeling to your packaging that educates the customer on what they're buying. For example, say you have received an order for three bundles of Russian Blonde Bodywave Hair. You should include a hang tag that labels the type of hair you are sending out and how to take care of it. It could say “Brazilian Russian Blonde Body Wave Hair, Steam Processed. Can be Colored up to a 1 Jet Black, but cannot be lightened. Use a toner to reduce yellow hues.” A label like this not only lets the customer know what they're buying. It informs them that the hair has gone through some processing, how to take care of the hair, and assures that you want them to get their money's worth.

3. Can You Sell More With Less?

Private Label Extension customers also have the option to resell edge control and 3D Mink Lashes to their customers. When it comes to the edge control a lot of customers struggle with which size option they should offer to their customers, the 2oz or the 4oz. With only a $1 difference you may think it’s a no-brainer to go with the 4oz, but you would be surprised. A lot of times clients will go with the 2 oz because customers like to purchase products at the rate at which they consume them and you don't use a lot of edge control at one time, so if you're selling them a vast 4-ounce tub they could go a whole season without seeing you again for that product. Vice them coming back to you as needed when they run out of the product in the 2oz. Sales trends show, the 4oz edge control works better for our beautician clients and the 2oz jars are better for their customers. Remember, we have also added sample edge control minis into the mix. So, if you want to sell your customers a sample size to try out, and have them come back for a bigger size you can do that as well!

4. Is The Packaging Logical?

When it comes to the lashes a lot of our customers inquire about or want to send us lash boxes with a lid that covers the lashes. We get it! You want your customers to have an unveiling, and that is cute in theory. However, if you are starting out, there is no need to invest in that more expensive packaging when the clear boxes with a glitter background work just as good if not better for the customer. What is the point in hiding the product? With the Private Label Extension clear boxes the customer can see directly into the box to see what their lashes look like. Not to mention, your brand can still have its moment using one of our many options for a colored glitter background. The plus side to these clear boxes is the fact that the customer can see right into it! That means that if there was some sort of mix up with shipping, we could fix it relatively quickly. For example, if you somehow re-named the lashes and got your lash-name key code wrong when ordering on your Dropship website, your customer can look at the lashes and send the false lash right back to us without tearing open the packaging and voiding out their order and any type of reconciliation. Not all products need to be seen or touched before use, but for the ones that do allow your customers to take advantage of that luxury!

5. Does Your Packaging Travel Well?

Everyone wants the killer package design. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is: less is more. You can invest in box packaging for your bundles and cardboard boxes for your lashes, but if you think about it, those items cost more to ship. The USPS priority mail envelope is flat and therefore ideal for the silk bag option available via Private Label Extensions. The standard shipping cost for that envelope is $6.99. This is the price across the board for the use of one envelope that will reach your customer in 3 to 5 business days. If you are interested in using a bulkier package design, this may not only result in a higher shipping fee to accommodate the new packaging, but it may also result in damaged packaging. If your shipper tries to stuff your branded box into a standard priority mail envelope the box could reach your customer in shambles! Rips, holes, and other types of damage could affect your pretty packaging and ruin the presentation that you are trying to provide the customer with.

Ergonomics

Do you remember when your mom bought you that brand new Barbie doll that continually popped upon the commercials between Nickelodeon tv shows? You were so excited to play with that Barbie doll that you ripped open the box and destroyed the shiny plastic window on the front of the box. Only to realize that there were a bunch of twisty wires connecting the doll to the back of the box, and you couldn't get it open as fast as you wanted to. That experience is the definition of ergonomics. In this case, it's how the customer opens and interacts with the packaging. You do not want to give your customer the disappointing Barbie doll experience. Even though we push the idea of a silk bag there are many different packaging options can be useful for your hairline. Keep in mind that you want something simple but still chic. Instead of a standard rectangle box, you can also choose a flat cylinder carton for your product. Something like that would enable you to print your brand's logo or colors onto the box, and it would fit inside of the priority shipping envelope.

Packaging Plays a Critical Role In A Brand’s Success

With every hair brand fighting to stay on top, a way to set yourself apart is let your customer know they're receiving a product that will outperform everyone else’s. You can let them know that by presenting them with a product that is packaged with your brand’s aesthetics via logical package materials and labeled with extra information that would be helpful to the customer’s end use of the product. Smaller forms of packaging ensure that you are offering your customer the product in line with how they consume it and allows them the opportunity to see or sample what they are purchasing whenever possible either through a window in your packaging or through smaller sample sizes. Making packaging moves like this will show your customer that you care about how they receive the product and that you have their best interests at heart when it comes to their dollars are your product. How are you packaging your hair brand’s products? Comment below and let us know what is working for you!
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2 comments

I am looking for information about getting packaging done with my logo on it.

Ny-Asia Scott
I would like to design my own hair bags with my business logo on it,
Kim Sinopoli

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