NZ: Packaging increasingly relevant in promoting brand

Branding, or the promoting of a product or brand, is getting ever more relevant in today’s food market. According to Lisa Cork of Fresh Product Marketing in New Zealand there are still very few companies that utilize their packaging as a tool for promoting their brand. "It’s the packaging that convinces the customer to buy your product," she says. "What you see is a lot of companies and individual growers focusing on cultivating the right product, but not on marketing. Brand names tend to be the grower’s name, which seems to make sense, but actually means very little to the consumer. Money is spent on marketing, but marketing is focused on the wrong things. A brand that identifies the grower but doesn’t promote the product is lost on the customer."

Lisa Cork thinks that companies lose out on solid opportunities to 'communicate' with potential buyers. "Instead of promoting a name or a specific variety, producers should shift their attention to consumer demands. Let’s say a company wants to market a mandarin. A big chunk of the mandarin eating public consists of families with children; they want seedless mandarins that are easy to peel. What companies do now, is to promote mandarins as 'Clementine' or 'Satsuma.' What they ought to be saying is 'seedless' or 'easy to peel.' In that way you’re talking to your customers."

Jan Lode van den Heuvel of VDH Concept however, sees a rise in packaging awareness. "Today’s packaging is providing the customer with a lot of information," he says. "More and more growers are mentioning origin, traceability and QR codes. They emphasize quality and longevity." The QR code enables the buyer to trace the product back to its origin, and provides him with a lot of important details. "In the future, consumers will be able to trace almost everything."

"The packaging reflects several things," says Van den Heuvel. "Not just the quality, but also origin, variety, etcetera. To promote the product, people are thinking about design, the material, the type of packaging, and whether it’s easy to use. Also, the environment is taken into account: people prefer packaging that is recyclable. There’s a lot going on in this field."

For more information please contact [email protected]