Great packaging comes from understanding consumers’ unarticulated needs, says Paul Baker, Manager of Packaging Innovation at Masterfoods USA. A focus group won’t necessary given you this feedback. Consider sending your branding and marketing departments out to participate in consumer research so they understand how consumers use products and related issues that affect package design, Baker says.

Is package design becoming devalued as a commodity service? Seattle Package Designer David Kendall thinks so (Shelf Impact! April 2005). We asked for your opinions, and did we ever strike a nerve. Here is a sampling of what you said (more responses in June’s Shelf Impact! Weigh in with your viewpoint at george@packworld.com).

Not since 1968, when the cartoon series group The Archies’ bubblegum pop ditty Sugar Sugar became a trans-Atlantic No. 1 hit and was pressed into a paperboard-and-vinyl 33 1/3 RPM cut-out record, has the box that the cereal comes in created so much buzz among kids as General Mills’ paperboard iron-on transfer featuring characters from Shrek 2.

At the National Paperbox Association’s packaging competition, the judges were so smitten with the technology that they experimented with the paperboard/dye-sublimation transfer on the host hotel’s pillowcases.

The approach combines the not-so-new process of combining dye-sublimation inks with process inks. When heat is applied to the transfer, the dye-sub ink from the transfer changes to liquid, then to gas, and bleeds into the fabric. General Mills combines each cereal’s brand color set with those of the Shrek characters to render each indistinguishable from the other. Flood-coating the entire box further masks the process.

Desiccant manufacturer Süd-Chemie Performance Packaging, Belen, NM, is bringing its expertise in moisture absorption to the consumer market with Dri-It®, a line of humidity absorbers for use in homes, trailers, RVs, tents, and storage areas.

Dri-It protects consumer products from mold, mildew, odors, rust and other harmful effects of moisture.

The product’s package appeals to consumers in part by explaining why moisture protection is important, says Süd-Chemie Consumer Products Manager Tod Campbell. Art Rojas Design created graphics on a stand-up pouch to do just that.

The pouch is PET/metallized PET/linear low-density polyethylene. The metallized-PET layer is gravure-printed in seven colors and gives the product shelf life exceeding two years.

Q: You can get a good visual representation of a package in 3-D rapid prototypes, but it's difficult to engage the cosumer completely in how the package will actually feel. What can be done to create this feel?

A: Technology has a way to go before it can accurately replicate feel. However, a few companies can produce physical prototypes with an accurate look and feel.
In addition, software solutions can help engineering, creative, and marketing departments collaborate more effectively on both 2-D and 3-D concept artwork and packaging, making prototyping more effective. They can enable real-time viewing of large files, providing a full suite of collaborative tools for faster and more accurate feedback and approvals.

Marketers have long summarized their work in the four “Ps”—product, price, place, and promotion. Current thinking adds two more Ps—positioning and packaging.

To manage contract packaging effectively, you have to use the right tactics. They differ for each project. They vary for each CPG and for divisions within each company. And they differ by product category.

But within all those variations, some key steps can deliver a contract-packaging project with solid bottom-line impact for a CPG. A new research report titled ContractPackaging: Strategic Opportunities & Profit Potential, from Packaging Strategies, outlines six steps to consider in any contract packaging effort:

1. Thoroughly assess the decision to outsource. The decision to use a contract packager is a complex make-versus-buy analysis where time is a critical factor, but it is not the only factor. The research report offers a matrix to assess factors such as competitive threats, capital costs, and return on investment. Consultancy Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions, one of the study’s principal contributors, says in the report that from a management perspective, each factor needs to be answered as part of a risk assessment matrix that looks at these aspects:

Two senior couples complained about how hard it was to open what looked like a prescription or vitamin bottle. Describing it as “childproof,” one of the women opened it while her friend quipped, “you mean adult-proof.” Heard at a hotel restaurant in New Orleans during a recent business trip, the all-too-frequent lament continues to upset consumers.

More quantitative evidence comes from a new survey and report about the consumer friendliness of packaging from Mona Doyle at The Consumer Network, Inc. Surveying 475 shoppers from across the United States, the research found that opening and reclosing challenges were the most frequently encountered problems.

This particularly insightful exchange on branding and the possibilities for playing on the psychological impact of packaging took place in April on a Design Matters show broadcast on Business.VoiceAmerica.com:

Cheryl Swanson, Founder, Toniq: “Brands remind us we are human, they tell us what we like to do. Brands remind us of our childhood and simpler times, a safe zone or a zone of happiness.”

Scott Fedje, whose background includes stints in branding and design at Cole Haan, Nike, and Landor Associates, says the U.S. was a standard-bearer for package design in the 1990s, but he believes some of the inspirational energy has shifted overseas.

“I find that design is so much more inspirational where you don’t have money,” Fedje says. “In Japan, a lot of design is over the top. With the economy as strong as it is in Britain, I don’t see a lot of design that’s that exciting going on. There’s just too many dollars to be made right now in staying mainstream.”

One-third of survey respondents say packaging is a key player in product development. Maybe not yet, says a consultant.

Respondents to a targeted survey on packaging and product development say that packaging plays a significant role in product development about one-third of the time. But they say packaging really should be key about 70% of the time.

So says the data and analysis from a Packaging World magazine on-line survey in early 2005. The survey was developed with assistance from the consultancy Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions (PTIS). Top-line results show:

Effective consumer product marketers cut through the shelf clutter by building brand strategies that tap into consumers’ “I”—individuality—attitude. They understand who the consumer is in all aspects of life.

Engaging consumers at this level requires an ethnographic approach—observation in their actual environment—to find the right communication cues. Let’s look at how one Johnson & Johnson brand has unearthed and stroked the “I” attitude.

Is the image on this screen a chicken cadaver or the promise of a great meal? It’s the packaging that can change the perception by delivering on promise.

The promise is the value that elevates a product—a thing that is manufactured—to a brand that lives in the minds of consumers, says Allan Boyle. He is Head of Creative Design for Nestle Global Brands, and he offers marketers and package designers the following “reality checks” to create packaging that lifts consumers’ product perceptions.

1. Sell the emotion. Boyle says appetite appeal has clearly become a leading link between consumer and purchasing intent, yet many package designs aren’t daring enough. Great food photography and styling, for ingredients and prepared food, for example, are the secrets to showing that “magic moment” when the consumer interacts with the product.

Jolt is providing an electric sales charge to retailers and foodservice operators with its Battery Bottle™, a combination of a bottle and a can that looks like a battery.

“Jolt is a cultural icon” and “America’s most powerful cola with ‘twice the caffeine,’” says CJ Rapp, President and CEO of Wet Planet Beverage, Rochester, NY. The company wanted a value-added package that reflects Jolt’s positioning in an emerging category called New Age beverages.

The new, 23.5-oz container replaces the product’s 20-oz PET bottle. “Fortunately for us—and here we’re thankful to our competitors—the single-serve benchmark price has been elevated from 99 cents to $1.49, and more recently to $1.99,” Rapp explains. “So we don’t think an estimated retail of $1.79 is going to serve as an obstacle to the potential Jolt consumer.”

The prepared meals market will grow by 16.5% over the next five years, forecasts Research and Markets, a consultancy. Brand managers who cash in on this trend will be those who understand the consumer drivers and reflect them through packaging as part of a marketing strategy.

Growth will be particularly strong in chilled prepared meals. A Research and Markets study in early 2005 found that 70% of respondents claim that the “unhealthy” features of shelf-stable meals limit their consumption. Some 46% say these meals contain too many additives.

The study found that a growing number of consumers are switching to chilled prepared meals. They perceived that the chilled meals use fresh ingredients, contain fewer additives, and thus are healthier.

Canandaigua Wine extends its stable of wines in aseptic cartons with four varieties of its Vendange wines in 500-ml cartons with a resealable screw cap. Canandaigua earlier introduced this package, from Tetra Pak, for its Almaden Sangria wine.

The screw cap is light-weight and tamper-evident, making the package desirable for on-the-go consumers. The seven-layer laminated package provides a one-year product shelf life and protects the wine’s sensitive flavor profiles, the winery says.

Suggested retail price is $3.99.

Link: Tetra Pak

Link: Polyair

The essence of Smashbox Cosmetics is sleek and sophisticated. The marketer’s products, available in stores and online, reflect that brand imagery by coming in transparent, “smoky” black bubble pouches from Polyair to complement the brand’s “funky” color scheme.

“We wanted something with a little flair,” says Chuck McKnight, Smashbox Vice President. “We’ve been able to improve our image with the consumer without sacrificing quality or economy.”

The pouch seals by removing a film strip and pressing on a adhesive area at one end.

Schick eliminated the challenges of inconsistent peel force, delamination of lidstock during peeling, and lidstock tearing in packaging operations for its Xtreme3 disposable razor by switching to a lidding film that consistently adheres to and peels from a thermoformed tray holding the razors.

The adhesive lamination, from Curwood, contains polyester that’s reverse-printed flexographically in six to eight colors. The multilayer sealant is not dependent on machine temperature and dwell time, which avoids peeling.

The monolayer polyester clear trays enable consumers to see the razors inside the package.

Link: Curwood

Nestlé Canada restaged its foodservice coffee in Canada by creating a new identity under two brands. Each has distinctive packaging, created by Anthem Worldwide.

Club Coffee is a premium brand and Good Host is a value offering. All packaging uses an adhesive lamination of polyester and polyethylene from Sonoco, which flexo-prints the film in six or seven colors.

Using black pouches featuring original paintings to signal craftsmanship, Nestlé Canada markets Club Coffee to fine restaurants and premium food and coffee shops. Good Host targets institutional resellers and cafeterias.

Links: Sonoco │ Anthem Worldwide

Pioneer Snacks determined that meat snack consumers perceive unwrapped sausage sticks to be fresher and more wholesome than wrapped sticks. The company responded by enlisting Flowdesign to create new packaging for its line of meat sticks.

Individual snack sticks rest unwrapped in a plastic jar with clear labels bearing bold color accents. The package imagery tells consumers the product is “hot.”

The clear jar enables consumers to view the product and is also small enough in diameter to fit in a car cup-holder, sports bag, or backpack.

Link: Flowdesign

Simple Green joins the aromatherapy packaging trend with its Aroma Clean line of ready-to-use cleaning products in elegant, spray-style plastic bottles. The trigger sprayers contain stickers than emit the product’s scent when scratched.

The brand is positioned as “an environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning choice,” and the packaging supports that proposition with clean and simple graphics. A color-coded box on the label corresponds to each of the five scents in the line. The label color also corresponds to the product scent.