Plastic injection molding is a huge business. The plastics industry shipped $373 billion in products in 2012, and has only grown since then. There are facilities located across all 50 states — with 16,000 locations in the United States as a whole. Employing about 900,000 people in the United States, plastics are key in most manufacturing, and the industry is huge for the job market.

Food packaging containers specifically are a huge part of this industry, just as they’re a huge part of your business. That’s right — your packaging is an integral part of your product, just as it’s an integral part of the plastic industry. Here are just a few thins you should know about food packaging containers.

Brand Recognition
Think about some of the globally known drinkware products that you can name off the top of your head. What’s the common theme? They have distinctive colors, branding, or shaping that make them unique and separate from other brands. That is exactly what you need for your own brand. Great packaging means that your product will stand out on a retail shelf as a consumer looks for which products they want to buy.

Safety
For some products, such as medications or alcohol, the product is not suitable for everyone. This means that the packaging you choose reflects this. Alcohol, for example, should not be able to be opened by a child. Medications need to have clear warning signs on them to warn against consumption. Little safety measures like this make a huge difference.

Ease of Use
A lot of drinkware manufacturers base their products on ease of use. They don’t want the consumer to have to work much to enjoy their product, which can be great in terms of marketability. Think of something like a juice pouch for example. You only have to stick the straw in and go, no fancy maneuvers or tricky openings to be found. That can be huge for your products, depending on what they are. Consider this point when rebranding, and you just may gain new consumers from it.

Food packaging containers are so important to your company as a whole. Are you planning a reboot for your products anytime soon?