Packaging is important to consumers. We bring home eggs from the market in a plastic bag and invariably one or two are cracked when we open the bag.
We buy bananas and complain bitterly because there are black streaks on the lower side of the bananas. We are told that persons sit on the bunches when they are being transported from the farm to Georgetown.
Let us read what Lloyd David of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards has to tell us about packaging.
Packaging:
An integral tool for marketing and sales
Designing a package to fit a specific product is much like designing that product. It is a skill which requires a high level of technological artistry and creativity to bring it from just a concept to the attractive display which entices consumers in the marketplace.
Today there is more to a package than just providing conveyance for a product. The package must sell and protect the product it contains, and it must fit the design efforts of the specific product. Furthermore, it must meet the demands of today’s consumer and carry the necessary labelling information that meets the requirements of the National Labelling Standard for the said product it contains.
For the past years, packaging, especially food packaging, has gone through tremendous changes as materials and technologies have evolved. As a result, packaging has become one of the most exciting, frustrating and challenging aspects for the food and other industries. To minimize difficulties, however, a sound plan for package design must be implemented by manufacturers.
Though steel cans, glass jars and bottles, and paper and paperboard packages continue to dominate, plastics and aluminium have entered the arena, thus giving packaging designers a new avenue to explore and conquer. To allow the ‘old staples’ of yesteryear to survive in today’s marketplace, the designers have had to make adjustments and often redesign packages that offer not only ease but convenience to consumers. So, instead of packaging sodas in glass bottles, as was previously done by beverage companies, consumer choice and need for convenience have pushed these companies to sell sodas in plastic bottles. At the same time, companies benefit from the low-cost packaging, reduced recycling costs and increased sales
A similar practice of innovative packaging is done by Kraft, which has converted its bottled salad dressings to plastic containers. The company introduced plastic containers for its Miracle Whip salad dressing and mayonnaise, which are shatterproof, fit better and don’t take up as much room on the refrigerator door as the glass jar did, thus, offering a value-added benefit and a solution to one of the many consumer demands.
Steel cans now feature easy-to-open, pull-top lids, and are lighter in weight. Glass jars too have experienced a weight loss and have been given tamper-proof lids.
Furthermore, value-added packaging has been gaining in importance, with concentration focused on space-efficiency, sturdiness and reusability.
Value-added packaging is also gaining popularity in the paper and paperboard sector. Packaging designers are reconfiguring the size and shape of boxes and are incorporating graphics with striking colours. The latest laminations and other specialty coating techniques are becoming a standard. Designers are even combining aluminium foil and plastic films with paperboard to offer added protection and enhance appearance.
There are a number of reasons for the changes in food packaging. The major catalyst, of course, is related to the advances in food processing methods. As well, the 1990s have been described as the “decade of environmental responsibility,” as evidenced by increasing consumer demand for green packaging. Consumers want environmentally friendly packaging that will recycle, degrade and/or burn easily. They also want convenience and ease in preparation.
In response, packaging designers have broadened the range of packages available. During the past few years an influx of shelf-stable aseptic packages, retort hot-fill packages, film/foil pouches, multi-layer film pouches and microwavable plastic containers in a range of packaging configurations and made from a variety of materials have come to light.
If not already made a part of the team initially, package designers should insist on being included on the ground level of a product concept. The package can impact product development or marketing specifications, and therefore, it is imperative that packaging designers be part of the development team from the product’s inception, especially at its first appearance.
Finally, as the packaging industry takes heed of the demands of the consumer, and as consumer awareness continues, designers can expect the packaging industry to evolve into something different from what it is today. Companies that keep that in mind, and those companies which insist on improving the packaging of their product will be put in an advantageous position to benefit from increased consumer choice, which increases sales and profits.