Last Updated on April 14, 2021 by Drew Thomas Hendricks

Whether you are a seasoned wine producer or are just getting your brand started, there is no denying that the packaging and unboxing experience of your product can be a game-changer for customers, if designed properly.

Over the past 20 years, as so many businesses have moved to the online world, wine brands have increasingly focused on digital marketing and their customer’s online experience with the goal of making the online experience just as enjoyable as that of the “real world”.

Now thanks to the pandemic, we have all seen an even greater shift to the digital marketplace. However, with all of the attention that has been paid to digital marketing and the customer’s online experience, it is time to turn our attention back to the real world to ensure that the physical interactions between customers and brands have the same quality as the interactions online. This is where the wine unboxing experience comes in.

Overlooking the importance of the physical experience between customers and their wine means missing a key opportunity for brand marketing. With the right unboxing experience though, brands can stand out in the customer’s memory and reap the benefits of a unique packaging and unboxing experience.

Why Does the Wine Unboxing Experience Matter?

Packaging along with the unboxing experience plays one of the most important roles in a consumer’s connection with a brand outside of the quality of the product itself, whether we are talking about beauty products, health products, shoes, wine, and more. This is because it is the first physical impression a customer has of a product and brand when it arrives on their doorstep after an online purchase.

Rather than viewing packaging and the unboxing experience of a product in terms of its basic functionality for shipping, successful wine brands have actually utilized their packaging as a second product that adds to the perceived value of the overall package.

When done right, packaging and unboxing can elicit excitement, surprise, and a crescendo of positive emotions in customers which actually increases the perceived value of the product itself for an improved experience that is associated with the brand. In short, unboxing experiences turn packaging into an immersive retail experience that boosts the positive emotions of customers.

Visually appealing packaging featuring a brand’s logo and sections of copy talking about the brand’s mission and ethics gives customers a meaningful point of first contact and connection, and even the packing material inside of the wine box can have an effect too.

By treating wine packaging and the unboxing experience itself as a second product that the customer is purchasing, wine brands can utilize their packaging to provide customers with an emotional connection to their brand and story. This creates a memorable experience that they will want to repeat as well as share with their friends.

On the one hand, this incentivizes customers to spread brand awareness through word of mouth. On the other hand, when uploaded to social media as part of the latest trend of sharing unboxing videos and experiences, it could make any brand go viral and stand out by giving customers something utterly unique.

Today’s market is about much more than the product inside of the box. People want to connect with something that is meaningful and aligns with their core values such as being environmentally sustainable and following fair-trade employment ethics. People genuinely want to be a part of something larger than they can contribute to with their purchases, and this connection can be built before they even read the wine label.

When designing a product’s packaging, it is important to ask: “why just sell my customers wine when I can also give them a complete emotional experience with it?”