High-volume retailers are beginning to operate as brands rather than places, and this shift is profoundly impacting consumer packaged goods.
When it comes to retail packaging, this new retailer mind-set has transferred the "power dynamic" from CPG companies to the high-volume retailers, says John Helferich, Executive in Residence at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University, and formerly Vice President of University Research at Masterfoods. Retailers now demand products and packaging that support both their brand and the shopping experience they want to create. "What retailers like Wal-Mart are now trying to do is create the demand, rather than fulfill the demand," says Helferich. "This is a fundamental shift in the way retailers think about themselves."
Insight Pharmaceuticals LLC has made a dramatic change in packaging to meet one national retailer's sustainability requirements. The retailer asked Insight to reduce the amount of shelf space allotted for Insight's products and to eliminate the product's unit carton for its new Anacin Advanced Headache Formula. Insight changed to vertically configured cartons; its aspirin products traditionally had been presented horizontally in cartons.
"For the retailer, moving our product to a vertical position enables them to slot a broader selection of products," says Larry Freedman, Director of Business Innovation for Insight.
To make up for the space lost for copy, Insight specified the EasyTab® extended-text label from WS Packaging Group. A pre-curve in the top panel enables the label to wrap around tight-diameter surfaces.
Club stores, on the other hand, speak a different "language" than other high-volume retailers. Costco provides a more premium selection than Sam's Club. A stunning example of the type of product available at Costco is a sleeved six-pack of Premium Skinless & Boneless Wild Alaskan Salmon from Bear & Wolf Salmon Co., Seattle, WA. The multipack uses the entire sleeve as a branding billboard and was developed specifically for Costco, which specified a format of six cans stacked upon one another and bundled with a shrink label.
Unlike most cans used for tuna and salmon, the Bear & Wolf brand uses a tapered can from Crown. This approach enables Bear & Wolf to ship empty, nested cans to Alaska, where product is filled fresh.
Giordano Kearfott Design selected elegant artwork, including a white background, a silver banner for the logo, and tasteful product photography, after considerable market research finding the need for the product to attract women, who buy most canned salmon.
Read more about branding at high-volume retailers.
By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor, Packaging World
