Retail gift set packaging – should you consider foam this Christmas?

Due to perceptions of cost and sustainability, businesses often neglect to consider foam when creating their retail gift set packaging. However, more eco-friendly and recycled materials are becoming available. Plus, with the growing importance of adding value during crucial sales periods (such as Christmas), retail foam inserts are increasingly used for this application.

And whilst Amazon is now the de facto leader for where shoppers start their Christmas gift shopping (with 30.1% of consumers heading there first), the much-maligned high street still sees almost the same number (30%) visit physical stores.

These figures mean that the on-shelf appearance of your retail gift set packaging is as crucial as ever. But can using presentation foam inserts help give your brand a unique appearance? Or are other materials better for displaying your products within festive gift packs?

This guide provides the following:

• An overview of the UK Christmas gift set market.
• The five main objections to using gift foam and how you can overcome them.
• Seven key advantages of foam packaging inserts.
• How the use of foam can fit with your brand and existing packaging.

With a business’ retail packaging critical during the highly competitive Christmas shopping season, any missteps can result in lost sales, harm brand equity, and even lead to consumer backlash (in extreme cases).

These risks are why many stick with the tried and trusted seasonal packaging formats.

But this can be an opportunity for other products and brands to do something different and stand out amidst all the noise. This differentiation could be particularly important in a market that is even more competitive due to decreasing consumer activity.

And whilst foam inserts can help with this, businesses typically have five main objections when considering them.

In no particular order, the typical objections to foam gift packaging are as follows:

• Foam is not environmentally friendly.
• Foam can’t carry branding.
• Foam packaging is expensive.
• Foam is not available in brand colours.
• The material is not suitable for specific products or markets.

But there are strong arguments against these various issues.

There has (rightly) been an increase in consumers who are more concerned than ever regarding the sustainability of their packaging. This feeling has given rise to a backlash against Christmas packaging waste and seen an increase in solutions such as FSC® packaging options.

And it is undeniable – most foam is plastic-based and not as easy to recycle as paper-based products.

But foam can be recycled, with more and more specialist centres becoming available across the UK. Foam can also help prevent damage in transit, minimising the volume of broken products sent to landfills.

It is now also possible to source recycled and recyclable foam materials for your Christmas packaging. For example, the new wood-based foam, Fibrease, is recyclable in kerbside collections alongside cardboard.

Grabbing attention is obviously hugely important in retail markets. This consideration is why Christmas gift packaging is a mixture of seasonal colours, bright hues, and eye-catching designs – something that often extends to the inserts inside the gift packs.

However, whilst many believe packaging foam is only available in black or white, Plastazote is available in many colours. And whilst it is not possible to match specific Pantone or other colour references, the foam can be layered to create eye-catching and visually unique designs.

Similarly to the above, many businesses cite the fact that foam is relatively boring in appearance, even with the excellent surface finishes it can provide.

Another criticism is businesses cannot add their branding. But this is incorrect.

Using advanced laser etching techniques, your gift box foam can include logos, branding, slogans, instructions, and detailed graphics.

To be completely honest, foam is typically more expensive than card or corrugated inserts.

However, as there are no minimum order quantities (MOQs) for short runs, foam can often be the lower-cost option (as you do not need to purchase a considerable amount, only precisely what you need).

It is also ideally suited to high-end products or limited-edition gift sets that require a more luxurious feel and appearance. It can provide an air of quality and uniqueness that paper-based inserts cannot.

The final objection to foam inserts doesn’t make much sense. If your business sells anything but the most low-cost items (or those which are incredibly durable to start with), then foam can be a great option to present them.

If you are considering festive retail packaging or offering items in a gift set, then foam is definitely a great way to present them.

However, answering these five objections to foam gift pack inserts only tells part of the story. There are, in fact, several other significant advantages that you can benefit from by using Plastazote or other foam inserts for your Christmas packaging.

So, without further ado, the additional advantages you can expect to see from using luxury retail foam in your festive retail gift sets include the following:

• Protection for products.
• Minimise returns and associated costs.
• Precisely tailored to your items.
• You can add foam to almost any packaging.
• Provides genuine differentiation from your competitors.
• Adds value (and leads to retention of packs).
• Offers an excellent appearance.

The first point here is arguably the most important. Put simply, foam inserts offer the highest levels of protection for your products.

This factor includes protection from impact, vibration and mishandling on the way to the retail outlets. It extends, however, to when consumers take them home or to their family’s or friends’ houses.

Besides this, foam protects against surface marring, blemishes, and scratching. This additional protection can be significant for high-end luxury products (such as fragrances). Foam outperforms corrugated cardboard and similar materials here, which can be surprisingly abrasive (although a coating – Nomar – can somewhat alleviate this).

But besides protecting products, presentation foam also helps reduce costs to your business. You can achieve these cost savings by reducing product returns due to transit damage (even just aesthetically) during shipping.

Beyond this, minimising returns also helps foster customer loyalty (your brand is perceived as reliable and of higher quality) and can help to drive repeat business (aiding future sales).

Unlike cardboard cradles and similar inserts, you can choose to have foam inserts tailored precisely to your products.

And whilst arguably the main benefit of this is eliminating damage, it also ensures that your retail gift packs appear of the highest quality. Again, this can be critical for high-end and luxury brands that must convey a sense of the highest quality.

This perception of luxury is also particularly important during economic hardship – consumers may buy fewer items but spend on higher quality for the few they purchase. The “lipstick effect” – where consumers purchase small luxuries rather than big ticket items – can also come into play.

It is unlikely that many of your competitors are using foam inserts for their Christmas gift packaging. It may be because of the objections listed above. It may simply be because they aren’t aware of it.

Whatever the reason, if you are the only brand using foam packaging inserts, your gift packs instantly stand out from your competitors. This increased visual differentiation could help drive awareness and sales of your products.

Foam inserts are also versatile in that you can add them to almost any form of packaging.

Foam works well with the standard solid board and corrugated cardboard packs you are likely to see in typical retail environments. However, foam can be added to lightweight carry cases (think tools, sets of products and DIY items), clear plastic boxes, and even retail Correx® packaging.

This versatility also makes foam useful for brand consistency if, for example, you sell products in different packaging.

Another benefit of including foam in your retail gift packaging is that it adds value to the end consumer.

Effectively, the gift recipient is much more likely to retain the packaging to store the products on an ongoing basis.

The two benefits (to your business) of this are that firstly it leads to a higher perceived value of your products – increasing the price consumers are willing to pay – and secondly provides ongoing brand awareness as your box remains in the individual’s home.

And finally, foam can provide a truly unique and high-class appearance.

The aesthetic quality of foam makes it perfect for higher-end and expensive products, but it also works well in complementing a vast range of products.

In short, it is perfect for retail gift set packaging.