If there’s one thing that binds all Americans together, it is their love of food. If you need an example of that, consider this: the average supermarket in the U.S. carries 20,000 products, the vast majority of which are food related. With so much competition, it’s important for products to stand out, and one of the best ways to do that is with their packaging.

Research shows that about two-thirds of Americans read the labels of the foods they buy, so it’s important that this fact is emphasized on food packaging labels. Even if you have a product that may have some not-so-healthy ingredients in it, it’s better to make those ingredients easy to find. If people can’t find what they are looking for, they are likely to simply discard your product and go on to something else.

Making your food packaging convenient is another important aspect of packaging. For example, when it comes to large quantities of items that aren’t likely to be consumed in one sitting, it makes sense for them to come in resealable pouches or bags. Resealable pouches and bags can be good packaging ideas for both perishable and non-perishable foods. For perishable foods, they can help keep the product safe to reuse and extend its life. For non-perishable foods, such packaging can help extend the quality and prevent staleness.

An of course, your food packaging needs to be appealing and eye-catching. Not only does such packaging help your product get noticed, it also may spur consumers to promote the product to others. For example, four in 10 consumers said they would share a photo on social media of a product if the packaging is interesting. This is a sort of high-tech word-of-mouth marketing.

There are a number of other themes you might want to pursue with your food packaging. For example, you might want to make sure it’s made from environmentally friendly materials. Or maybe you use the packaging for raising money for a noble cause, such as helping animals. Whatever way you choose to go with your product package, you need to make sure it stands out from the crowd.