What Should a Good Packaging Brief Include Before Requesting Samples?

Before selecting bottles, jars, pumps or caps, it is worth defining what the packaging actually needs to achieve.

A well-prepared brief helps turn a product concept into clear criteria for selecting relevant samples. It does not need to provide every answer from the outset, but it should contain enough information to rule out options that, while visually appealing, may not meet the project’s technical, commercial or brand requirements.

So, what should a good packaging brief include?

1. What product will the packaging contain?

The product itself is the starting point.

A serum, face cream, fragrance, body oil or haircare product will not have the same packaging requirements. The product category and formulation characteristics will determine which solutions are worth considering.

The brief should therefore include basic information such as:

• Product type.
• Texture and viscosity.
• Presence of alcohol, oils or other relevant ingredients.
• Sensitivity to light or air.
• Required capacity.

At this stage, the aim is not to carry out full compatibility testing, but rather to avoid selecting packaging that is clearly unsuitable for the formulation from the outset.

2. How should the product be used?

The brief should also define the desired user experience.

Does the consumer need a precise dose? Will the product be applied several times a day? Does it require a spray, pump, dropper or direct application? Should it be easy to use with one hand?

Defining the expected functionality is more useful than starting the search based purely on aesthetics.

The key question should be:

What does this packaging need to do well when it reaches the consumer?

Once this has been established, it becomes much easier to identify the right dispensing system and determine which components are worth testing.

3. What should the brand communicate?

Two technically suitable packaging solutions can communicate completely different things.

For this reason, the brief should also reflect the product’s intended positioning: premium, clinical, natural, minimalist, technological, sophisticated, accessible...

A moodboard, visual references or examples of design codes that fit the brand — as well as those it wants to avoid — are far more useful than broad statements such as “we want something different”.

This information helps guide decisions on shapes, proportions, materials, colours and finishes from the very beginning.

4. What level of customisation does the project require?

Not every project requires the same level of development.

In some cases, a carefully selected standard pack, customised through colour, screen printing, hot stamping or coating, can achieve the desired result. In others, more specific components or bespoke developments may need to be explored.

Defining the expected level of differentiation in the initial brief helps ensure that the samples selected are aligned with both the project concept and its actual production feasibility.

5. Expected volumes and target budget

A packaging solution may work perfectly from both an aesthetic and technical perspective, yet no longer make sense once commercial considerations are taken into account.

It is therefore important to have at least an approximate idea of:

• Expected quantities.
• Growth forecast.
• Target budget or price range.
• Stock requirements.
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