The Life-Changing Magic of Packaging

Ladies and gentlemen….

We. Are. Live.

The Retention Recipes kitchen is officially open and it’s time to start cooking.

The seeds for this newsletter were planted way back in 2020.

Lockdown hit. I was living in a tiny apartment in Sunnyside, Queens with my wife and our newborn son.

I had my first full-time email job and I basically spent my time building automations, changing diapers, and cooking up a storm.

I bought a few cookbooks and my spice collection started to take over all the cabinets in our kitchen.

What I learned pretty quickly is that great cooking comes down to three things:

The recipe. The technique. And the tasting.

That’s my hope hope for this newsletter.

I’ll give you recipes and techniques. But the tasting? That you’re job.

Because taste is subjective.

What works for one brand might flop for another.

You’ve still got to try it, tweak it, and trust your own palate.

The life-changing magic of packaging (and unboxing)

When I sat down to write this first issue, I wasn’t sure which topic to write about first.

Email? Too expected.

SMS? Cool, but not yet.

Direct mail? Tempting…

…but I’ve got something else I’ve been thinking about for a long time now.

Packaging.

Because if you ask me, the most important part of retention marketing comes down to this:

How do people feel when they interact with your brand?

Everything in eCommerce happens through a screen.

But then something kinda magical happens…

You buy a product and a for-real-life box shows up at your doorstep.

That’s the moment where the digital becomes physical.

And that humble cardboard box, and the contents inside it are more powerful than most brands realize…

1. Your cardboard box is a billboard…

The outside of your box doesn’t just have to be a boring, old delivery container.

It can be part of the customer experience, and even a low-key acquisition channel.

When I lived in an apartment complex with a big shared mailroom, I started noticing something.

As I was digging around trying to find my packages, I’d catch myself scanning other boxes, curious about what was inside

And the only clue is what’s printed on the outside.

Take Hungry Root, a meal service I actually use.

The outside of their box says:

“Recycle this packaging.” “Fresh food, refrigerate.”

Then sitting next to their box there’s ANOTHER meal service brand, Tempo, with a really vague tagline that I’m sure they paid a fancy PR agency a lot of money to come up with.

“Eats that stay on beat.”

Okay… but what does that even mean?

Now compare that to Factor Meals, another food service brand I’d see in the mailroom.

“Open for chef-crafted, dietitian-approved meals. Just heat, eat, and get back to your goals.”

BAM!

A tight USP. Proof. Diminsionalized benefit.

I know, the outside of your box won’t make or break your business.

And yes, there are certain industries where discreet packaging is actually preferred…

…but in a sea of bland cardboard, most brands still look the same.

And this is one way to stand out.

2. Think inside the box…

A few weeks ago, I bought a hydration product called Buoy.

I kept seeing their influencer ads on Reddit. Stuff about brain fog. How most of us walk around dehydrated. These little drops you add to drinks supposedly fix all that.

When I opened up their box I was blown away.

They didn’t just stuff three tiny bottles into a box and call it a day.

Bright colors. Fun inserts. A mocktail recipe. Stickers. A 30-day commitment guide.

It felt like something you’d want to brag about on social media. Or at least toss into your newsletter so you look cool.

Then I showed it to my wife.

“Wait… what does it actually do?”

I paused.

“Uh… it keeps you hydrated?”

That’s when I realized that the packaging had lots of features

“3X bioavailable.” “Wild-harvested electrolytes.” “No sweeteners.”

But none of it was connected to a clear benefit.

There wasn’t anything that said, “Take two drops a day, feel more energized.”

It looked great. It felt great. But it didn’t finish the story.

Now compare that to Breville.

On the outside of their toaster oven box, it says:

“Air fry guiltless pleasures.”

Talk about big benefit energy.

Open the lid to their espresso machine, and you’re instantly greeted with beautiful images of perfectly poured latte art.

All these pictures show you what life looks like when the product is part of your routine.

It reminds you why you bought it.

It makes you feel like you made a great choice, and you’re now one step closer to being a better version of yourself.

But don’t think you need some insane packaging budget and team of elite designers.

When I ordered deodorant from Beardbrand, they included a small gold-printed booklet called The Book of Reminders by their founder Eric Bandholz. It had nothing to do with grooming products. It’s just a thoughtful guide to living a better life.

I kept it. My wife read it. It is still sitting on my bedside table.

Simple. Unexpected. And it made the whole experience feel more meaningful.

I said before, and I’ll say again:

Retention marketing is about how you make people feel.

And the moment they open that box is your time to shine.

Well I hope you folks enjoyed yourselves. I’ll catch you later on down the trail.

Got a topic you want me to cook up a recipe for? Drop me an email or a DM.

- Ben

P.S.

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