Beyond the Look and Feel : Aligning Brand Story and packaging with brand positioning
The product development process starts with the idea. The development of your product may need manufacturing partners. Or Scientists. Or experts who are immersed in an industry you seek to break into. It’s a rare business that won’t need people with special skills helping to meet volume demands. You’ll need to build relationships with people possessing special skills.
Many of you will have done your homework as it relates to product creation as it relates to your brand. That is to say, you have identified quality of manufacture and material that deliver your brand promise. You’ll need manufacturing partners who can support your brand promises and do so on time and under budget—that’s the ideal admixture.
There are key elements to consider in your product development journey: The development of a product development profile includes some of the mentioned considerations. Timing of bringing a product is an important part of the entire plan. Before setting timelines, become the expert in how long it will take to manufacture your product.
Consider your tribe:
Demographic
Age
Cost of goods tribe members consider a good deal.
What are the current market conditions and trends?
Intellectual property ownership
Obtaining ownership of designs can be costly, but it’s important. You’ll need a good lawyer to help you navigate the weird maze of trademark legality.
Ingredient Story (or Material Story)
Your ingredients or materials have a story all their own. This story is crucial to delivering on your brand promise. Identifying where you source your materials, ingredients, etc., is as crucial as what materials you choose. Developing a story that can be validated through globally-conscious organizations can be crucial. Questions of sustainability have come to be a driving force in consumer behavior. And, it turns out, that sustainability issues can be an interesting framing tool for making product manufacturing decisions, for example, will you be about to sustain your product manufacturing based on your decisions of material and partners? Important conversation to have.
Product Quality
Product quality is an important aspect of product development.
Delivery Systems
Packaging consideration, such as recycled, recyclable. Your tribe will care about these things. Understand how.
Product Claims
An important consideration. Key product claims will have to be substantiated by testing and testing associations.
My Emollient is a good example of the product development journey, a unique one although becoming a journey less rare in this competitive beauty space. It took time for the founder to find the ingredient story that aligned with her brand mission. She then had to develop the right blend for each product form that would meet a specific need. This process of development can take a few months or up to 2 years.
Will you contact some preliminary research with experts to help you develop your product profile? You should. How many products do you plan on launching? How does your product story and promise align with your brand mission?
Co-Founder Desiree Reid conducts Thinking 360 Full Product Development Ecosystem (8 sessions every Tuesday 10 am EST) and Idea-to-Launch Plan (6 Sessions every Wednesday) - Subscribe and ask us anything!
