Communicating with consumers through packaging

18 September 2015



Communicating with consumers through packaging


Communicating with consumers through packaging

Everyday consumers are faced with countless food and produce choices. This means growers and sellers alike need to consider how they are influencing buyer behaviour in order to remain competitive in a crowded marketplace. In this article Ruth Price, business development director at Sharpak Aylesham, addresses why the food industry needs to ensure packaging is being used to effectively communicate with customers and in turn impact their purchasing decisions.

An evolving role

The role and purpose of packaging has evolved from the more traditional function of protecting the product from damage and deterioration - although this functional role is still a core requirement today. Packaging is now utilised as a marketing tool to help promote and increase visibility of a product on the shelf while providing information to the consumer.

In addition, the product's packaging draws the attention of the consumer at point of sale through its aesthetically pleasing design and colours, which should give an indication of the contents while also contributing to the overall perception of the brand.

A communication tool

Packaging today has become an essential communication tool in marketing and communicating the essence and objectives of a product. Every element of a product's packaging communicates something, so the design must immediately convey the intended use and method of application. All necessary information must be visible or implied through the design and can either be direct (describing the products and its benefits) or subtle (colour, shape, design).

Packaging should always be relevant to the target customer. A clear understanding of the market to be served is therefore essential before an appropriate packaging design can be created. To ensure the needs of the target customer are captured by the package a number of factors must be considered. For example, what does the consumer want and expect from the product and its packaging? Is the potential consumer male or female, young or old?

Expectations and demands

Packaging can add significant value to consumers, particularly in today's time-starved world. The convenience now being offered by microwaveable packaged foods is a perfect example. These types of advances in packaging technology have kept pace with the demand for convenient packaging and rising consumer affluence appears to show that customers are willing to pay more for convenience, appearance and dependability.

 

Meeting consumer expectations isn't solely about influencing one purchasing decision, the product must also create desire for repeat purchases; this can be achieved through the provision of reusable features, special giveaways or easy dispensing devices which add value to the customer and subsequently promote repeat sales.

A changing landscape

The role of packaging is essential in effectively positioning products to consumers. The importance of this role continues to be proven as new market trends develop. For example the recent trend toward healthy eating has seen the launch of innovative products to enable customers to conveniently snack on healthy food while the go.

 

The food industry today has a great opportunity to influence customers through packaging but to do this effectively there must be an in-depth understanding of the current market and consumer needs at the outset of the development process. Devoting both care and time to developing innovative new packaging concepts has therefore never been important to securing customer loyalty - and ultimately driving business growth.

 

 

 

 



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