PACKAGING AS A MARKETING TOOL
Marketing is the tool that a business can use to reach strategic goals to survive while facing change from competitors (Stewart, 1995). From the early days, it was observed that packaging could form part of the marketing framework of consumption as the ‘silent salesman’ (Porter, 1999; Chao, 2010, Underwood, 2003; Sivagnanasundaram, 2019, Stewart, 1995).
Packaging as a marketing tool has transformed consumerism from traditional personal interaction to faceless un-personal persuasion through the graphic elements of the package (Maffei & Schifferstein, 2017; Baker 1989; Olins 1978). Designers have strained to use the power of packaging in a humanizing manner by adding the brand’s individuality, agency and tone of voice (Baker 1989; Olins 1978; Aaker 1997; Blackston 1993).
The communication of the characteristics of products and what a brand stands for are not only done verbally or visually but can be communicated through sensory means which will add to the way customers perceive, experience and rate a product with its package (Lindstrom 2005; Schmitt 1999; Orth and Malkewitz 2008; Spence and Piqueras-Fiszman 2012). Instead of visual packaging elements (Becker et al. 2011; Mizutani et al. 2010), the customer’s behaviour can furthermore be influenced by touching (Krishna and Morrin 2007; McDaniel and Baker 1977), hearing (Brown 1958), tasting and smelling elements (Schifferstein et al. 2013) that are all sensed when customers look at a package or open it.
Customers may sense inputs from non-visual senses less, but find intuition and emotions more engaging (Schifferstein and Cleiren 2005; Schifferstein and Desmet 2007). The shelf placement and the lighting of the product can draw the shopper’s attention, and also the lighting type has a direct impact on the perception of the quality (Suk et al. 2012; Barbut 2001). Also, the outlet character creates an atmosphere for selecting the product and how the food is perceived when eaten (Wheatley and Chiu 1977). It is essential for food packaging to be ‘in your face’ on the shelves of retailers so that customers see them with ease. The way products are displayed in shops to increase sales is, however, a discipline on its own (Harith, Ting, & Zakaria, 2014).
The buying behaviour of customers was studied by testing various designs for packages on the shelves and in a virtual display (e.g. Burke et al., 1992; Garber et al., 2008). Food producers need designers to design attractive packages and packages that stand out on the shelves among packages of competitors. The shape and colours are paramount as customer’s trolley down long aisles in the store and see the visual aspects of the package from an angle long before they can read the fine detail (e.g. Garber et al. 2008).
The result is that package design must be designed for the shelf as well as the consumer’s consumption at home. Packaging researchers have underlined the significance of having an attractive quality design (Kano, 2001, Yamada, 1998) as this element has been overlooked by quality designers who instead endeavoured to correct errors in design functions (Kano, 2001).
IN-STORE PACKAGING APPEARANCE
Multiple questions need to be asked in order to create a high level of shelf impact. The first is how much of the packaging is visible on display on the shelves. The frontal view is mostly the biggest angle of the packaging, therefore it is vital that the most important information is placed in the front and centre. The second question is what kind of display it will create once the packaging is placed next to one another or on top of each other. The third question is what the display experience will look like in comparison to the competition around the product (Morr, 2016).
It was found through observation that the product that is placed on eye-level are seen first. The products that are priced at a lower amount are placed on the bottom levels of the shelves. The most expensive products are placed at the top end of the shelves. Finding the right level on the shelves is a crucial aspect in influencing the consumer’s buying behaviour. It was found through literature and field research that products with unique packaging catches the viewer’s eyes and intrigue them to come closer and inspect the product further. This inspection creates an opportunity for the consumer to experiences the packaging in an enhanced sensory manner.
SHELF LIFE
Shelf life comes down to the time period of which the product in its primal form and is defined to be acceptable for consumption. In other words, shelf life signifies the time period the product can continue on the retailer and consumer shelf’s before unacceptableness is expressed (IFT., 1974; IFST., 1993; Labuza and Schmidl, 1988).
With time the development and increase of the manufacturing and distribution channels have necessitated extended shelf life for the roasted coffee products. With this requirement, the stability of the coffee products required the most attention. Taking these aspects into consideration the packaging materials combined with the packaging processes was re-evaluated to accomplish the required shelf life. The roasted coffee’s shelf life is affected by the interaction of the coffee and its packaging, which is a result of the coffee colliding with the environmental conditions in and outside the packaging (Nicoli, Manzocco and Calligaris, 2010).
Coffee from a consumer’s homes perspective is almost never opened or consumed immediately after it has been purchased. With this in mind, the coffee package is regularly opened and closed which could speed up the degradation and interaction with its outer environment conditions. This is known as the secondary shelf life (Cappuccio et al., 2001). The secondary shelf life is represented by the time period the product is seen on an acceptable level after the packaging has been opened.
