Health-conscious shoppers seek clear labels and eco-friendly packaging. Brands can build loyalty by aligning with consumer values on health and sustainability.
Packaging designers must be cognizant of social trends that affect how consumers respond to how products are presented for sale. Today health is a big issue for online grocery shoppers seeking the most sensible choices. They expect labels to convey valuable information about nutrients and other ingredients. Part of good health is living in a clean environment, which factors into packaging consciousness as well.
Acknowledging Healthy Lifestyle
Food brand managers must be aware of the growing awareness that associates food choices with the state of physical and mental health. As food prices rise due to inflation and supply chain difficulties, consumers are becoming more selective about food, drug and cosmetic choices. They are starting to view these disposable products as investments in good or bad physical, mental and financial health.
Consumers can get the most out of their grocery spending by investing in healthy food with transparent labeling and eco-friendly packaging. Brands that move in this direction will have a competitive edge over rivals that don't during this transformative period toward sustainability. Catering to a more informed market can build stronger loyalty with customers compared with overlooking their concerns.
It's now common for consumers to read labels before purchasing food, which wasn't generally true last century. In this more health-conscious era, consumers appreciate brands that emphasize ingredients known to contribute to good health. It's important for packaging designers to make labeling of ingredients and nutritional information as clear as possible. Brands appear to be careless when they use tiny, smudged or difficult-to-read print.
Matching Customer Sentiment with Visuals
While accurate and thorough labeling is helpful to consumers, it's just as important to use appropriate visuals on packaging. People actually do judge books by covers and products by packaging. It's simply a matter of communicating the right message through font types, images and colors. One of the ways to emphasize how a product contributes to healthy lifestyle is to use soft colors of the earth, such as blue and green.
But any color can be appropriate for the packaging of healthy products, as long as the overall presentation meets consumer expectations. Usually bright colors associate with fun products while lighter colors often convey more serious products. In some cases, it helps when the color of the packaging matches the color of the product.
It's important for packaging designers to realize that consumers of many brands pay attention to container size. If the container seems much larger than the amount of product (such as a mostly-empty box of cereal), consumers may be skeptical about such wasteful strategies. If the packaging is completely disposable like plastic, they may choose something more durable and reusable, such as products packaged in metal.
Consumers associate their social concerns with specific products and gravitate toward brands that reflect their values. Each individual may associate certain colors and images with healthiness, so it's up to the packaging designer to understand a market's various segments. Packaging that works in one region of the world might not work in another. Ultimately, the more the designer learns about consumer sentiment, the more efficient packaging will be.
How Packaging Contributes to Brand Identity
In order for consumers to reach the stage of supporting a brand without much decision-making, they must identify with the packaging. Consider how packaging is the first point of contact between the shopper and the product. Brands can win support with a creative blend of art, science and technology that all mirror customer sentiment in that particular market.
Consumers are more likely to trust brands that give them the information they need on the packaging so that the purchasing decision is not a guessing game. If a brand sells conventional food, for example, but tries to create the impression of health-conscious and eco-friendly packaging, it probably won't lead to repeat business. Conversely, actual health food with generic packaging probably won't reach or will be overlooked by the target market.
Brand identity is built over time via packaging and product experience, but each time must count with a level of customer satisfaction. Through consistent imagery that becomes familiar, brands can build repeat business. Since metal is shiny and easy to print on, it should be considered by brands for a wide variety of food and drug packaging. It's an eco-friendly solution that ensures product safety on retail shelves and in the delivery process.
