packaging a key element in added value

8/14/2019 Packaging a Key Element in Added Value

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Pac k aging: A K ey Elem ent in Added Value

bySusan B. BassinPrincipal, King-Casey, Inc.New Canaan, CT

It certainly is a pleasure to be with youtoday here in historic Williamsburg, Virginia,and an honor to participate in this yearsconference on People Adding Value to FoodDistribution. Ill be talking about PackagingA Key Element in Added Value. All of ushere are concerned with packaging in someway--my firm as designer, some of you asmanufacturers, others of you in wholesale andretail establishments who stock and sell thesepackages, and those of you from universitieswho help us all understand the trends better.But while we study, observe, and determinechanges in packaging, the consumer is some-times totally mystified by what we do. Here,two consumers, Frank and Ernest, learnedabout DPP in their recent trip to the grocerystore. As the checkout clerk explains, Themanufacturer had to raise the price on thatitem to pay for the cost of switching to asmaller package. So today I want to takethe consumers part- -helping us to understandhis or her problems and how we can makepackaging solve them.

Historically, packagings main function,or added-value, was to contain the food.Maybe its our trip here to historic Williams-burg that reminds me that it wasnt so longago that primary food packages were burlapbags, barrels, and, if you were lucky, glassapothecary jars for peppermint sticks. Theseearly packages served primarily to contain thefood. The consumer was served the amounthe wanted into a secondary package, often asack or paper bag, Then this food was carried

home and put into another container--like aflour canister or flour bin.It wasnt long after that that preserva-

tion became another value added by packaging.In 1795, Nicholas Appert, French chef, wonthe French governments prize for developinga simple way to preserve food for the Frencharmy- -boiling water and glass bottles- -a pro-cess still with us today. Here, we have the1858 refinement by John Mason shown contain-ing some 1987 vintage apple butter!But times are more complex now. Allconsumers assume that a package is going tocontain and preserve food. So, todays modernfood package must do more. Here are five

value-added functions for todays consumer:1. Brand Identification2. Advertising at the Point-of-Purchase3. Product Transport4. At-Home Storage5. Task Assistance

But before talking about these avenuesto added-value packaging, lets talk about theconsumer.Consumers are busy these days--always

in a hurry--with too much to do. Fifteenyears ago, shopping was fun; now it is justanother chore, and the average supermarketshopping trip has dropped from an hour to 20minutes. While women are still the mainsupermarket shoppers, men now account for 40percent of all food dollars, up dramatically

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from 13 percent in 1982. In addition, we allknow that our shoppers are aging. One studyamong more than 50 consumers (DonnelleyMarketing) asked about problems encounteredwith supermarket shopping, . Packaging toppedthe list--73 percent said that products weretoo hard to open. The supermarket itself didbetter, only 56 percent said that the lineswere too long.Packaging can add valuethrough brand identification

Busy consumers are zipping up and downthe aisles. Each purchase may take only 30seconds, These active consumers of todaypurchase more on impulse and may be some-what less brand-loyal than years ago. But awell-known brand is dependable; once con-sumers know the quality, they can rely on ittime and time again. The package establishesbrand identification in several ways. Obvious-ly, the name will be printed there, But pack-ages have become brighter, products morenumerous, and clutter on supermarket shelveshas reached astronomical proportions. So ifyoure in a hurry, just the brand name maynot be enough to catch your eye. The totallook must be recognizable. Campbells hasdone an outstanding job in keeping a con-sistent look even across its different lines ofsoup. Del Monte also has overcome thetemptation to change its look, and has retainedthe familiar red and green- -even in their newaseptic package.Package shape is another way to add toyour brand identification. The bottle shownmeans Coca Cola, whatever the language.Even today, the familiar wavy form is main-tained in the graphics on cans. Mr. Cleanalso does an excellent job. As youre runningdown the aisle past the household detergents,that bottle looks almost like Mr. Clean him-self -- jumping out from the shelf, with hisbroad shoulders--ready to go to work. So,through careful development of a brand imageand coordination and consistency of packagedesign, you can help consumers find yourproduct in the cluttered supermarket environ-ment, quickly and confidently.

T he p ack age is also t he a dver tisem en ta t t h e p oi nt -o f-s al e

But, you say, how does that add valuefor consumers? Consumers often turn awayfrom the advertisements on TV, channel-hopping to find something else they wouldrather see. This TV-watching habit has accen-tuated the importance of packaging in inform-ing the consumer and advertising the product,Many of us have VCRs that can be left onautomatically and set to screen out the adver-tisements. Cable TV is increasingly common--with no ads except for its own programs. Allof this results in an extremely fragmentedtelevision-viewing audience which has lessenedthe pcwer of network advertising. I am suremany of you are aware of the disagreementsand discussions going on now between adver-tisers and the networks regarding ratescharged and the true size of viewer audiencesactually delivered.But when consumers are in the super-market and ready to purchase, they needinformation. They need to know that a parti-cular product is the right one for me. Andsince at least two-thirds of purchases insupermarkets are on impulse (according to thePoint of Purchaae Advertising Institute), thepackage is the only source of informationavailable! For food products, consumers areespecially interested in nutritional information.Today, we are very health and diet conscious.The Calorie Control Council estimates thatabout a third of all Americans, 18 and over,is on a diet thats 65 million people! Thisincludes nearly a half of all adult women andabout a quarter of all men. High is out, andlow is in.Low can also mean low salt, not justlow calories--a growing concern of manyAmericans. Still others--not only do they notwant sugar and not want salt - -the y dontwant chemicals and preservatives either! Ac-cording to a report in Supermarket News, 93percent of shoppers are concerned about thenutritional content of foods.Increasingly, new brands and productsare tapping into this concern they are bring-ing forth images of health and good old-

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fashioned food. For example, we have HiddenValley Ranch, Sun Country, Indian Summer,Nutri-Grain, and, of course, Pepperidge Farm.While these goods may not have any fewercalories, they seem as if they would tastegood--and be good for you. The packaginghas descriptors like: Garden Herb, 100%Natural, pressed only from jresh apples,no added sugar and no artificial preserva-tives. This information provided clearly onthe package is the advertisement at the point-of-purchase.

What other information do consumerswant from the package? After nutrition, istamper evidency the next major challenge?Will consumers demand to know that the foodis safe as well as healthy?Third: A value-added package canhelp the consumer transport the product

The busy consumer only has five to tenminutes, stops off at the supermarket on hisway home, picks up a few things, want to runthrough the 8-items-or-less line, get back inthe car and get home. Supermarkets providethe most common transporter-package: thebag at the check-out, either plastic or paper.But consumers sometimes only buy one itemand, to save time, rush off with, I dontneed the bag. Some manufacturers are addingvalue to their products by providing a packagethat has its own transport device--for example,a carton for single-serving containers. Cannedbeverages have moved to plastic rings. Biglaundry detergents, which were always cumber-some to carry home, now come with handles.

But how about paper towels or tissues inbig packs? These seem to require two handsto pick up. Is this an opportunity for a man-ufacturer to add value and distinguish itselffrom competition?How about fresh produce--it is very nice

for the consumer to pick out exactly thetomato he or she wants. But the produceends up in a bag again--usually plastic--andthis bag gets dumped in the bottom of a papersack where the tomato gets squished on theway home by the laundry detergent. Why nota new value-added packaging innovation that

will help protect and transport the produceyouve picked out yourself?While I have been focussing on packagedgoods sold through supermarkets, food serviceoperators have similar challenges. McDonaldspackages were originally designed to be cost

effective in a fast-food, sit-down-and-eatenvironment. But today, more than two-thirdsof the business is Drive - thru. As we allknow, these packages are extremely difficultto carry in your car. The paper bag does notretain heat, and the fries are cold and soggyin minutes, whether or not they have fallenout of their container. The cold drink cupsweats and, if youre not careful, will fallright through the bag. So taking this mealhome is nearly impossible; and we all knowhow difficult it is to balance these containersin the car. Here is another real packagingproblem for consumers that has not yet beensolved.

Improving at-home storage isanother way to add valueOne hundred and fifty years ago, youwould bring your flour home and dump it in aflour bin or a cannister. But today, most ofus do not have flour bins, and our jammed-packed kitchens often dont have room forcanisters. So the bag of flour just goes in

the cabinet. Most food products these daysare left in their containers until theyre used.So how do we add value to this basicfunction? If it is a single-use container, weneed to be concerned with the ease of openingand dispensing, but after that, the problemsare over- -the container is thrown away, Butmany of the foods today come in multiple-serving containers, like flour. The package isopened, product dispensed, then the packageneeds to be resealed and put back on theshelf or in the refrigerator.Recently King-Casey conducted our ownstudy of food packaging problems from theconsumers point of view. We found thatdespite all the advances--such as the addedconvenience of squeezable bottles and micro-wave-ready frozen foods--consumers still have



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a lot of problems with packaging! And mostof these problems involve in-home use andstorage. For participants in the food distribu-tion industry, those problems areas can beturned into major opportunities.Remember the flour sacks? They havehardly changed in 200 years. Oh, you canopen them all right- -so what if the flour fliesall over? But try to reseal them. Or try topour flour out neatly.How about cereal boxes? This wasanother big consumer problem noted by ourstudy. Well, you can get them open--one wayor another. But who has the time or patienceto pull the tab properly? And besides, whocan open the inside wrap without ripping itto shreds? One manufacturer has introducedzip lock bags inside--a good and promisingdirection.How about rice and pasta? With smallerfamilies, you dont always use a whole box ofspaghetti at one meal. So, how do you knowhow much to take out for the number ofpeople you have? There is no way to measure,and theres no way you can close those boxesconveniently and keep the spaghetti fromfalling out and rattling around in the cabinet.What about those frozen vegetables inthe little boxes? Unless you are going to usethe whole box at once, you have a problemon your hands. When you open the box youalmost aIways destroy it. Usually the vegeta-bles are all frosty and stuck to the side ofthe box so you have to pry them off with aknife, figure out how to cut the brick ofgreen beans in half, and then somehow resealthe package and put it back in the freezer.Some consumers elect to do their own repack-aging job, because the one provided just wontwork.What about ice cream? Its hard enough

to open without destroying the cardboardcarton, but it doesnt really reclose very wellanyway. Once youve opened ice cream, con-sumers tell us that it definitely declines inquality, and it takes up a lot of space.

An ot her ca tegor y--fr ozen ju ice s--ca u sesall kin ds of pr oblems. You know those littleplastic strips--theyre supposed to unpeal thetop neatly from the container? Well, con-sumers find those extremely difficult to graband hold on tcy the can is usually cold whentheyre doing it it hurts their fingers and, ifthey use a knife, they have to watch out thatthey dont cut themselves and in the end,when they finally do open it up, the juiwfrequently splatters.

Our Kipg-Casey study shows that one ofthe major food categories is filled with pack-aging problems--cookies, crackers and bis-cuits--over $4.5 billion at retail. Consumerstell us that theyre so frustrated with thepackages that will not reseal, that they haveto eat the last two cookies in order not toleave them there to get stale. Now, whenyou put that with the fact that these con-sumers are probably on a diet, you know howirritating this must be!Fin ally, a package can add valu eb y p r ovi di ng t as k a ssi st an ce

Maybe as we think back, it was the TVdinner that started it all--just pull the alum-inum tray out of the box, put it in your ovenand thirty minutes later, a sumptuous feast!Another approach to helping with thetask of meal preparation has been boil-in-the-bag entrees and vegetables. This seemsconvenient- -no preparation other than poppingthe bag in boiling water, open and serve.But how convenient is it really to open thesebags, get the food neatly and cleanly on aplate without burning your fingers or sloppingwater all over the place? Our survey indicatesit is not as convenient as we had hoped.Another example of lost opportunity arethose cardboard cartons for juice. Yes, we inthe industry have tried to be helpful here,

too you just open the carton, and it has itsown pour spout. But think about the con-sumers task at home have you ever tried toshake up the orange juice once it has beenopened? Try to hold the spout closed withoutsquirting Tropicana all over yourself! Provid-ing task assistance through packaging is one



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of the major ways that manufacturers can addvalue to their products.Heres an innovative approach from aJapanese company beer packaged in a plasticcan--one with a label which is perforated andcan be neatly removed. So the cap comes

off, label comes off and a neat can becomes ahandy glass of beer. A little device in thebottom of the can provides a bit of agitationto develop the bubbles. And no dirty glass towash,Many food manufacturers are working onthis task assistance area to take advantageof the microwave. As we all know, this ap-pliance has created a revolution in the kit-chen. Surveys indicate that today perhaps asmany as 50 percent of U.S. households have amicrowave oven--and as many as two-thirds

of Americans are doing some microwave cook-ing. A recent study forecasts that these num-bers will reach 80 to 95 percent by 1991.Microwave ovens have been around for a fewyears, but it is only recently that weve seenthe rapid introduction of innovative packagesto take advantage of them. For example, themicrowave has given a new lease on life topopcorn: a messy, time-consuming projectunder old methods, and a quick, easy, snackfood with a microwave.More and more manufacturers are offering

their frozen foods in dual ovenable packagesand containers. Others are formulating theirfoods strictly for microwave oven cooking,targeting their brand toward the busy con-sumer. Here we find many efforts to makethese packages more convenient. For example,one-way packages go directly from the super-market, to your freezer, to your microwaveoven, to your table, adding a tremendousamount of convenience and value from theconsumers point of view.Heres a household product with a new

package designed to be a real help ovencleaner in a scouring pad. Cleaning ovens,for those of us who dont have self-clean ormicrowaves, is one of the messiest jobs inthe kitchen. In a shrinking market--as manycleaning products are--it is critical to continuethe innovation to preserve market share,

Here was an innovative way a package thatnot only contains the oven cleaner, but dis-penses it, and helps you spread it. Use thisand the task goes more quickly, neatly andwith less fuss and bother.King-Casey developed one of these con-venient helper packages for Wagner SprayTech, a company in the do-it-yourself business.These products, called Added Touches, onefor spackle to repair your wall, one for paint,and one for wood filler, are based on thepump technology (similar to the toothpastepump).To develop this innovation, we lookedcarefully at the task that the consumer wasinvolved in and how we could help make thewhole process easier. For example, repairinga plaster wall for repainting requires a can of

spackle, a screwdriver to open the can, aputty knife to spread the spackle, and a littlepiece of sandpaper to smooth the spacklewhen it is dry. Then youre ready for paint-ing. By looking at the whole task as theproblem rather than at just a new containerfor spackle, we were able to incorporate allthese tools into one, convenient, value-addedpackage. The pump dispenses the spacklethrough the tip, and the specially designedhead, shaped like a spatula, is used to spreadthe spackle around. When its dry, just turnover the package for the sandpaper locatedon the bottom. All those tools are combinedin one neat package; put the top on and thepackage back on the shelf until the next use.Conclusion

Although packaging has made tremendousstrides over the years, it still remains as oneof the main avenues for increased added valuein the food distribution industry. Theseefforts pay off for the industry as well as forthe consumeq we know consumers will oftenpay as much for these packages as they payfor the product itself!

However, as we think about these oppor-tunities and consider the new technologies wehave at our disposal, we need to keep oldFrank and Ernest, the consumers, clearly inour minds. While we in the industry may



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want to see a new package that is easier toship, to stock, and yields greater profits, wemust remember, that the consumer must seethe added value. Because its the consumerwho decides whether to take the product tothe cash register which is, after all, whatmakes the whole system run.


packaging a key element in added value

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