Packaging can affect how a product moves off store shelves — or whether it even makes it there.  Matt Nuccio, owner of Design Edge, a design and packaging company  based in Bethpage, N.Y., discussed wrapping for success during the Chicago Toy & Game Group’s Toy & Game Innovation Conference last week. The biggest mistake in product packaging is TMI — too much imagery, Nuccio told game and toy makers. He also recommended hitting stores to see what’s on the shelves and using that as a guide to help your product stand out. “Go to as many retailers as you can,” he said. “Go to Toys R Us. Go to every specialty shop around you. If everything there is blue, then why have a blue package? Do anything you can to stand out.” He said other considerations include:

GAMES
Know the Sizes
Standard game sizes based on the size of store shelves give retailers flexibility with new products. “If your products are terrible, they want to be able to pull it off the shelves and replace it easily,” Nuccio said. On occasion, a retailer will have different size preferences. Nuccio suggests identifying stores in which you want to sell and measuring the packages where you’d like to see your products.



Embrace Simplicity
“Don’t put too much on the front,” he said. "You want to be able to tell the story as simply as possible. The graphics should be the real story. Don't clutter it with lots of bursts." You can include more detail about the game on the back, which is “like the brains,” Nuccio said.

TOYS
Use 'Try-Me'
“Try-me” packaging allows customers to touch or listen to a product. “You’re engaging them,” Nuccio said, referring to customers. “The retailers love it. Just about every retailer wants try-me packaging aesthetics.”