A growing volume of research validates two points that many marketers still need to grasp—at least in practice. In consumers’ view, the product and the package are the same. “Behind the scenes,” the best packages weigh the needs of the entire value chain.

Marketing’s mantra is that “I don’t care what the packaging material is as long as it works.” This statement expresses an end result, and experts who study value chain dynamics recommend that marketers rethink how they’re getting to what “works.” Too often, the packaging that arrives at stores either fails to signal the price-value relationship with the product or it proves inadequate somewhere in operations or distribution.

Brian Wagner at Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions says an underlying factor is that CPG companies apparently view product development as a linear process rather than an integrated process. Purchasing, operations, and vendors are consulted too late to provide solutions that can make a package work at every “touchpoint.”

Chapin, a marketer of lawn and garden sprayers, is one brand owner that “gets it.” The company researched what consumers and retailers want in the category and integrated the value chain early to create an appropriate product and package.

Its ergonomically designed sprayers appear in shrink-sleeve film labels. Consumers perceive the brand as gender-neutral in a male-dominated category. The labels help communicate the price-value relationship of each sprayer model. Women perceive the product as a home décor item and the package makes product features easy to inspect.

Distribution and retail get what they want, too. More units of the packaging occupy the same space as the old packaging. Oh, and the product and packaging have brought the brand double-digit sales increases.

Jim George, Editor-in-Chief