By Kyla Fisher, President, Three Peaks Consulting

Even though 80% of investors today consider sustainability issues when making investment decisions, there is currently no standardized method for measuring and disclosing sustainability performance. To fill this gap, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has begun to develop sustainability accounting standards—including those for the packaging industry.

A package may be beautiful, sturdy, and cost-effective, but if it doesn’t inspire consumers to make a purchase, it has failed its ultimate purpose. It’s important, then, for designers to understand the psychological factors that motivate consumers and drive purchasing behaviors. Here are a few package design strategies that work because they take the human psyche into account.

From 2007 to 2012, the number and size of stores decreased and the overall volume of carton shipments (i.e., the number of units sold) grew only at an average annual rate of 3%. Even so, the average number of grocery store SKUs increased by a whopping 26%. If the volume of packaging has remained constant, how can there be so many new products on the store shelf? 

Now that the winners of the 2014 North American Paperboard Packaging Competition have been revealed, here's an insider's look at the judging process. This video showcases our esteemed panel of judges in action and also highlights all of the outstanding entries and the member companies that submitted them. You may also hear some useful tips to keep in mind for your 2015 competition entries!

Today’s consumer wants to be engaged, informed, and entertained by the brands with which they do business. Paperboard packaging has been able to facilitate these important marketing functions with its flat, printed surfaces that are well suited to deliver cutting-edge interactive product information, in-store sales, and entertaining games, and more...