How packaging can make food more flavorful

A fascinating article came out in the New Yorker this week focused on the work of Charles Spence at Oxford University. This professor of experimental psychology has been doing tremendous work with consumer perception and food, using all kinds of sensory variables like sound, color and packaging to study how the human brain naturally perceives differences. His 2004 study with Pringles showed that “that the Pringles that made a louder, higher-pitched crunch were perceived to be a full fifteen per cent fresher than the softer-sounding chips. The experiment was the first to successfully demonstrate that food could be made to taste different through the addition or subtraction of sound alone.”

Freshness, saltiness, sweetness, all of these are naturally altered by consumers with sound and color. His findings are fascinating and definitely worth a read. For instance his analysis of the 2011 Coca-Cola white polar bear packaging, universally regarded as a misstep for the normally packaging savvy Coca-Cola, was not only an issue of differentiation between Diet Coke but that by packaging the product in a white can, it is perceived to be less sweet. No wonder so many consumers complained about formulation changes!

It was withdrawn when consumers complained that Coca-Cola had also changed its secret formula. For Spence, the can is evidence of the power of a package’s color to alter the taste of the contents. His lab has repeatedly shown that red, the usual color of a Coke can, is associated with sweetness; in one experiment, participants perceived salty popcorn as tasting sweet when it was served in a red bowl.

Great read: Accounting for Taste – How packaging can make food more flavorful by Nicola Twilley

Originally published at Pivot-Forward.com
http://www.pivot-forward.com/how-packaging-can-make-food-more-flavorful/

When is it time to update your packaging?

“Deciding to change your packaging should never be taken lightly,” says Phil Duncan, P&G’s Global Design Officer.

“There are typically numerous consumer and market dynamics that combine to signal the need to change your package. Consumer understanding and trends, a change in brand strategy, or significant shifts in the category or retail channels can all create an environment to consider a packaging change.”

There’s a good read on Forbes today for any brand leader wondering when it’s the right time for a change. There are a million reasons you could decide to evolve or refresh your brand, but what are the right considerations?

MARKETPLACE CHANGES

Do you have a new competitor that’s making waves in your category? It could be time to reinforce your brand story to re-engage your consumers. Significant shifts in your category or retail channels should always have you evaluating your packaging against the evolving competitive set.

CONSUMER TRENDS

Are consumers moving away from your shelf stable products and heading towards products with more perceived “freshness”? Perhaps you’re noticing demographic shifts in your consumer and it’s time to reposition to regain younger consumers. Take stock of the larger trends happening in your sector and category to understand when it might be time to evolve.

BRAND STRATEGY

Your packaging should NEVER change as much as your advertising efforts, but if your packaging no longer reflects your brand strategy, it’s time for a change.

Would you just like another point-of-view? Contact us to have our experienced brand leaders walk you through the considerations for a packaging change.

(Originally posted on Pivot-Forward.com)

Using context to shift consumer behavior in food labelling →

For years food companies have been complying with the mandated NLEA information under the assumption that they help consumers make better food choices. Based on FDA labeling laws, industry initiatives and the Affordable Care Act we’ve seen calorie counts added to the sides of food packages, the front of packages, restaurant menus and even the drive up window. But is it working? Most studies say no.

Well now researchers at Johns Hopkins may have finally found a way to change behavior and food habits… by providing context to our food choices instead of just numbers. In a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers made calorie concepts more blunt, specifically showing how much exercise it would take to work off the calories in popular soft drinks, juices and sports drinks in six random Baltimore corner markets. They tracked purchases before and after the signage was added and found noticeable changes in consumer behavior.

Read more at Pivot Forward

#lovemyjob

It's been nearly a year since I hung out my own shingle and walked away from the agency I helped to build. There isn't a single day that I regret that decision. In fact I wish I'd had the heart to make the jump sooner. 

As I read this article on Medium today from Liz Taylor I stopped to ponder how many unhappy people I've encountered in the creative world over the past 20 years. The complainers and Debbie Downers *are* the ones who kill our creative brain cells. I don't want to say that I wholly associate that kind of attitude with "agency life" but part of me hasn't been able to separate the toxic or negative people I've encountered yet from the physical places. 

“We concept. We imagine. We build. We laugh.

We read. We write. We draw. We tinker.

We discuss movies, books, music, art, technology.

We work with directors, developers, artists, designers, photographers.

We travel to pretty amazing places and stay in posh hotels.

We. Get. Paid. To. Do. This.

A client recently started a meeting by telling us, his agency team, that we were the highlight of his day. I don’t know about any of you but that makes me happy.”

— Liz Taylor

Either way if you are a creative or just want to understand how we work, this is a great article on how we should stay positive and reflect on just how lucky we are to make those dreams of paste eating kids into employment. 

Recognizing Consumer Food Guilt

Over the past few years and months we’ve talked to a lot of consumers in focus groups, online studies, and one-on-one interviews. Regardless of whether studying a habit or particular food, I keep hearing a universal undercurrent among modern grocery shoppers: FOOD GUILT.

“Mom”, still considered the primary grocery shopper, is stressing herself out over what she’s feeding her family. She compares herself to what the reads/hears/sees-on-tv and comes out feeling badly about her grocery shopping and food preparation. We’ve repeatedly heard from these guilty moms, “I should do better.” Whether they are constrained by budgets, availability of better quality food, picky eaters, or on-the-go behavior; they feel guilty about what they eat versus what they think they should be eating.

“My child doesn’t like to eat vegetables? I should to find a good way to hide them in their food so they eat them anyway.”

Mom is putting such high health expectations on herself as she feeds her family, that she feels guilty every time she makes a trade off for something fast or cheaper.

What’s made the modern consumer feel guilty about their behavior? As I investigated the trend of Food Guilt, I discovered I’m not alone in noticing this quiet preoccupation. Trendwatching.com took this out of the food realm and recognizes this as a larger macrotrend called “Guilt-Free Consumption.”

“Fueled by a pervasive awareness of the conflicts between their consumerist impulses and their aspirations to be ‘good’, experienced consumers are increasingly wracked with guilt. The result? A growing hunger for a new kind of consumption: one free from worry (or at least with less worry) about its negative impact, yet that allows continued indulgence.”

Trendwatching has put together a rather fascinating brief about where the guilt is building from. They outline that there could be a great future for consumer brands that respond to the guilt trend with guardrails for future innovation.

Brands should take a step back and examine what kind of impact their consumer messaging strategies and products are having on nerve-wracked and “guilty” consumers. Can you absolve consumers of the food guilt by creating better/healthier products at a price point they can afford? Can you make “all family” foods that satisfy their nutritional desires while still providing great taste? Is there a sweet spot for brands to create products that are “Good for Me”, “Good for Others” and “Good for the Planet”?

Originally published at The PKG Blog - http://pkgbranding.com/recognizing-consumer-food-guilt/

Five Ways to Improve Your Creative Agency Relationship →

Do you know what it takes to get excellent work from your creative partners? Great design begins with strong client & agency relationships. It’s remarkable how easy it can be to build strong partnerships and new ideas with these five easy steps…

1. No Problem? No Solution.

All designers love clients who can provide insights into their business so we can use design and creativity to solve problems. Personally, I love to begin any project by asking “Why?” three times in order to get to the heart of the problem. By the time you’ve gotten to the third answer, you’ve generally discovered something new.

If you still can’t tell what the problem is, maybe it’s time to get outside the “brandbubble” and engage with consumers for some honest feedback. No designer wants to treat the symptoms, we want to treat the problem. Only when we diagnose the real issue, can we develop meaningful creative solutions.

2. Show Me The Money

No one likes to talk about the money, but you’ve got to do it anyway. Begin any relationship with an agency or designer by disclosing your real issues AND your budget. A great agency can provide creative solutions that are scalable to any reasonable budget.

Not every brand has millions to spend on design, but great creative ideas can often come when dealing with limitations. And if an agency can’t work within your means, they are the best reference for finding another design partner who can.

3. Ask Questions!

We know the creative process can be a bit mystifying to clients. We live and breathe ideation everyday, so it isn’t always easy to explain how we generate new ideas. The best way to clarify the process?

You need to ask questions! Your design partners need to ask questions!

While your creative team may not have an instant answer, they shouldn’t hesitate to explain their creative process and show you examples of how they’ve solved similar challenges for other clients. Clear communication is the key to any great working relationship, so no question is a dumb one.

4. Teamwork. No, for real.

A good client/agency relationship is a partnership with a strong team dynamic. Every member of a team is chosen for their unique skillsets and expertise, and that includes you. Having a brand partner who collaborates with their agency can make all the difference when solving a marketing challenge. After all, you understand your brand better than any hired gun. If you can work collectively with your agency partners, it ups the odds of success to deliver a solution that can be a real game changer. 

5. To have a great idea, have a lot of them.

Designers use our talents to bring life and new ideas to your brand. We celebrate “the idea” and often that involves an unexpected solution to your problem. It’s important that the whole team (remember, that’s you too!) celebrate and encourage ideas in order to evolve and find new ground.

Do you know what it takes to get excellent work from your creative partners? Great design begins with strong client & agency relationships. It’s remarkable how easy it can be to build strong partnerships and new ideas with these five easy steps…

If a creative agency only provided the solutions you could think of, why hire them in them first place? Be open to new solutions and your designers will strive to bring you the new and unexpected every time.

Originally published at The PKG Blog
http://pkgbranding.com/five-ways-to-improve-your-creative-agency-relationship/

Consumers Say...Make It Easy!

We've been hearing quite a bit lately about the need to create easier-to-open consumer packaging. We've expressed our thoughts about the clamshell before but across the board, the consumer product manufacturers are making things harder on consumers than they need to be.

Wrap Rage

A recent article in England's Telegraph showed how 4 out of every 10 consumers have experienced injuries while trying to open a product they've purchased. 4 out of 10! This takes  "wrap rage"  to a whole new level. As Which researcher Joanna Pearl says, "If you bought a car you'd be furious if it proved difficult to open the door, but the struggle to get into everyday packaged goods is seen as something we must tolerate."

If you want your brand to speak to your consumer and create a positive experience, that experience should continue after they've taken your brand off the shelf. You owe it to your consumers to create a positive product and packaging experience if you expect them to consider purchasing your products again. Making your packaging easy to open, and easy to re-seal (if applicable) should be one of your top packaging considerations.

"If you bought a car you'd be furious if it proved difficult to open the door, but the struggle to get into everyday packaged goods is seen as something we must tolerate."

Make it easier to use

We've seen several companies lately improving on their openablility and increasing the function for today's modern consumer, our favorite being the new dip cups from Wholly Guacamole. They started with a good product (and package)... the 100 calories packs keep your guacamole fresher for longer as you are only opening one single serving at a time. If you were to ask their consumers they probably would have said that the packaging was great... but that didn't mean there wasn't further opportunity. With the newly designed packs, they've utilized a slightly more rigid plastic to create a dippable cup, increasing the usage of their product and making it easier for mom to hand off to her kids for a quick snack. Easy to open, easy to use.

Theft protection doesn’t have to be frustrating

We understand that you don't want the package to come apart in-store, especially when dealing with electronics or other high end goods. When we developed new packaging for Chargz, we developed a structure that was the best of both worlds. With an opening in the back to allow the consumers to test the chargers with various electronics, we provided convenience in a package that prevented in-store theft. 

As an industry we should be doing everything we can to make everything we package easy to open and a pleasant experience from retail to home. Isn't that really the key to brand loyalty?

Originally Published at: http://pkgbranding.com/consumers-say-make-it-easy/