The Sunday Mail
Trade Focus
Allan Majuru
THE food industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world.
Consider your local supermarket and the number of products that are available in every aisle.
The sheer volume of choice is overwhelming and it is very crucial that manufacturers do whatever it takes to stand out.
Consumers will be drawn to the product whose packaging design is most appealing and meets their expectations.
Nowadays, the design of the food packaging is one of the elements that determine the success of a product, especially in export markets.
The food packaging design needs to lure consumers through the imagery, colours, fonts and information presented.
Traditional marketing, social media campaigns and digital marketing efforts will certainly help the cause.
Other elements such as sponsorship, affiliation with charities, sport events and even word-of-mouth marketing can still have a huge impact in terms of product performance.
However, if a product is not packaged in a way that is appealing to the target market, it will struggle to succeed with any type of marketing campaign.
One of the key benefits of a unique, creative and appealing food package design is that it helps build a consumer culture around the product, evoking feelings and emotions that make it a preferred product for the target consumers.
With so much of potential success relying on the food packaging design, it is perhaps important to discuss some key fundamentals that every food producer must consider when designing alluring food packaging material for export products.
All of these elements are discussed in detail through the Marketing and Branding for International Competitiveness training programme offered by ZimTrade — the national trade development and promotion agency.
Design that creates a brand identity
One of the pivotal fundamentals of food packaging is creating a design that closely aligns with the values of the business or creating a package that bolsters the brand identity.
For example, high-end foods like expensive chocolates tend to be packaged in lavish boxes featuring images that exude luxury, with the box containers having a satin veneer or are wrapped in fancy ribbons.
This packaging is designed to convey to its target market that the product shares the same values.
Brand identity is also about conveying the company values to consumers to connect to them in a way that makes them loyal to the product, whether this is a fancy chocolate, organic fruit juice or canned fruit in light syrup.
Use elements of architecture
The architecture of the packaging design should fall in line with the three simple principles, which are form, function and beauty.
It is important to remember that the package’s major function is to protect the contents, keep its form in relation to the size and shape of the product, and the beauty, in terms of how aesthetically pleasing it is to consumers.
When choosing a food packaging design, designers must make sure that form, beauty, but, above all, function are accomplished so as not to lose money if the product arrives at the export market damaged.
Many health food products illustrate this idea of combining form, function and beauty.
Beverage bottles are fortified enough to transport the drink to any grocery store (function), and, more significantly, they sit comfortably among other products on the shelf (form).
Because of this design, the product is probably one of the more appealing ones on the shelf, and one that customers would be willing to pay a little more to enjoy.
By applying the elements of architecture, you have created a product that at least appeals to consumer tastes.
Marry the packaging with the contents
This consideration may seem kind of simple in the context of this discussion, but, yes, the actual food contents are a big factor in determining the food-packaging materials.
Foods that have more preservatives and a longer shelf-life might give you more flexibility than foods that spoil quickly and need to be refrigerated and packaged in plastic-sealed packaging or aluminium.
However, safety concerns are not the only considerations.
The contents should match with the food packaging design you choose.
For example, potato crisps do not come in containers that hold crackers or other types of cookies because, for one, they would get smashed.
Simplicity is key
Depending on the food product, designers might want to adhere to graphics that make the consumer associate it with food that is natural.
As opposed to using busy designs that contain a lot of images or have many different colours, some products are good at conveying this idea by relying on no more than three colours and a simple script to make this point to the consumer.
These products often use a simple background (black, white or another neutral colour) with very few graphics and script to convey this idea.
The food product might contain a variety of ingredients, but its packaging design says otherwise. By reducing the amount of colour, designs and script on the package, consumers have a clear understanding of what is contained in the product.
There is no script advertising, the product is low in calories or low in preservatives, but the consumer can get the same message by looking at the design and flipping the product over to see its nutritional label and check if the design matches the content.
Create packaging for design versatility
Making sure the design can be used in several ways is also a very important consideration.
This is most common in beverage packaging where the box serves to protect the bottles and, at the same time, makes it easy to carry the product.
This is also popular with 5-litre packaging for cooking oil, where the top cap allows customers to carry the product with ease.
For manufacturers, making sure that the food packaging can be used in several ways accomplishes two major goals.
First, it allows the product more chances to cater to the various needs from the target population.
Secondly, a versatile packaging allows customers to instantly recognise the product because it serves more than just one purpose.
Be creative to avoid printing and production costs
A major consideration, central to any food-packaging design, is the cost.
Common sense dictates that the cost to print and produce the package should not be more than the product itself.
Manufacturers on a budget might find themselves in constant conflict in trying to present an aesthetically appealing product to the public inexpensively.
However, with the variety of materials today, along with modern ingenuity, manufacturers have come up with creative ways to print and produce packages inexpensively.
Tea biscuits come in a variety of flavours such as plain or chocolate-coated.
Instead of packaging them in a bag or fancy package, manufacturers simply stacked them and packaged them in a plastic-papery material that can be easily sealed after being opened.
Play with patterns and colour
While keeping it simple is always good in terms of cost, don’t be afraid to use patterns and bright colours.
Creating brand loyalty comes after consumers become familiar with the brand.
One way to attract customers to your brand is to play around with colour and various patterns.
Talk up the product’s benefits
One of the best ways to catch the attention of consumers is to talk up the product’s benefits on the packaging by mentioning some of the product’s health advantages.
Today’s consumers are very aware of the types of ingredients in the products being sold to them, and products that clearly and concisely explain the contents quickly are more likely to be chosen than others.
Whether the product contains a particular vitamin or lacks a dangerous ingredient, the words on the package just as much as the package itself in many ways can be eye-catching, especially with today’s health-conscious, nutrition savvy public.
For example, numerous products have product descriptions that advertise their products as not containing Trans fats, or even better yet, being gluten-free.
Information related to nutritional contents must be readily seen and always keep in mind that you are competing with other products advertising similar or better advantages.
*Companies looking for packaging solutions can visit the Zimbabwe Packaging portal available on www.zimpackaging.co.zw showcasing an array of Zimbabwe’s local packaging companies while offering useful information on packaging trends and news.
Allan Majuru is ZimTrade’s chief executive officer.
