Prompted Post #9: Recognizing Significance

An article from Food Business News explored Mr. David Luttenberg's claims on the packaging field in relation to brands and consumer loyalty. The article implies that packaging plays a key role in helping brands overcome a growing lack of consumer loyalty. Luttenberger, a packaging director at Mintel, states that there is "a parallel between brands striving to engage consumers on a more personal level and consumers' expectations for packaging to deliver that experience." Businesses have various reasons they request specific characteristics on the package for their product, but the majority of decisions are made with consideration of the reflection it will make on their brand. Several of my blog posts, especially prompted post #2 and open post #2, relay the idea of brand importance. Whether the customer has an amazing, terrible, or subpar experience, the consumer's response will reflect the product's entire brand. Therefore, ensuring the customer has a pleasant experience is extremely important to the business. Just as my blog posts teach methods for building brand equity and trust, this news article sets a couple of trends that will generate brand loyalty and ideally transform the global packaging industry in 2016.

1. Digital printing: As the the digital printing process advances, the ability to connect with consumers on a local, personal or emotional level does too. Coke, for example, used digital printing to create various "Share a Coke with a friend" labels. Consumers enjoy seeing their own names on the labels of Coke bottles; this leads to the creation of a personal connection with the brand.

2. On-pack transparency: Less is more when it comes to product claims on packaging. Consumers tend to prefer clear and concise information about the benefits, ingredients, and safety regarding the product. A package with unorganized, unclear information leads to a lousy first impression, which affects the consumer's overall experience. Again, the consumer's experience directly affects the brand.

3. Sustainability: "According to Mintel, reusable and repurposable packaging is a key purchasing driver for 63% of U.S. consumers, sustainability may be the deciding factor between products if price and perceived quality are equal" (Watrous). Consumers enjoy knowing that the product they're buying has eco-friendly packaging. This creates consumer respect for not only the product, but the company too.

This article proves that packaging affects all ends of the marketing spectrum. Whether it be grabbing consumers' attentions, driving emotion, protecting and preserving the product, or establishing brand equity, packaging helps!!

Sources Cited
Watrous, Monica. "The Future of Food Packaging." Food and Beverage News, Trends, Ingredient Technologies and Commodity Markets Analysis. N.p., 22 Dec. 2015. Web.