The ROI of Unboxing

With off-premises dining capturing a massive share of restaurant revenue, packaging has become a storefront marketing tool that brands must treat as a proxy for hospitality and intentionally design the unboxing experience.

“The real opportunity is less about how the box looks and more about how it makes the guest feel,” said Alexis Gillette, VP of Brand Management at Craveworthy Brands. “A package can do quiet work — a thank-you, an easy way to reorder, a perk for coming back to us directly — that turns a one-time delivery into a guest who comes back. Done right, it doesn't feel like a hard sell; it feels like hospitality that happens to convert. That's the headroom, and it's where we're leaning in.”

Packaging as a New StorefrontThis matters most where there's the least to fall back on as eight of Craveworthy's 22 brands are virtual and delivery-first, with no dining room and no host, Gillette added. There, the package is the only touchpoint the…