“Competition is a great thing and critically important in any industry. I respect the companies that build their brand through innovation/great product, packaging, sharp marketing and clever ideas” John Robinson. A great product wears great clothes and that must be packaging that
talks directly to prospective buyers. Since you are not there at every shelf, the packaging your product wears brings your ideas of what that product contains to the consumer. Steve Jobs once said, “packaging can be theatre, it can create a story”. The trick is the story packaging
creates lies in the hands of the designer and the philosophy behind the brand. To make your packaging speak for you, understanding the functions of packaging is critical. In this article we would be looking at the basic functions of packaging that makes it qualify as a mouthpiece for your product.

Packaging

A general term used for the functions, materials, and overall concept of a coordinated system of preparation of goods for handling, shipment, storage, marketing, distribution and use at optimum cost, and compatible with the requirements of the product. Well for the latter, a whole new article would be needed to address it thoroughly; shelf-life of products has a direct correlation to the packaging that contains it. The function of packaging lies within its definition, and these can be isolated as follows; contain the product, protect the product, inform about the product, facilitate handling and distribution as well as position the product and promote sales.

Packaging as a Container

Can you imagine a product that has to be sold to the masses but does not have a container? Think about water, processed foods, artefacts, textiles, body lotions, creams, essential oils, pharmaceutical products etc. It is okay to even think about processing in bulk containers but
how do you break such bulk products into consumer units? One major function of packaging is its ability to allow the manufacturer to break bulk into smaller lots by volume, weight, or count. Since the cost of packaging impacts product cost directly, primary packaging affords you the opportunity to fit the exact quantity into the right space. Whilst at it, packaging helps to prevent leakages and escape of products in the case of aerosols. Food Technologists can help in the design of the right packaging for your products to have the advantages above fully covered.

Packaging as a Protector

Urban sprawl has brough in its wake the need to leave home very early and return late. Waking up at dawn everyday to prepare meals is a challenge and one may have to depend on processed food or fresh food packaged and sold by the roadside or fast-food joints. This has created good business for actors in the food industry for instance. Incidentally some food poisoning incidents could be attributable to poor packaging of food leading to the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. If poor packaging has this negative impact, what would have
been the situation if packaging was not available? Hence the protective attribute of packaging cannot be overemphasized. There are several types of packaging for various purposes. The type of product in question will determine the type of packaging that should be employed, type of material for the packaging, thickness, height, width etc. It is therefore a mistake for processors to buy packaging off the market for their products as the type of packaging purchased may not necessarily give that protection the contents may require. For example, olive oil and others in its category must be stored in dark bottles and not plain ones, because it reacts with light on exposure causing degradation and accelerated rancidity shortening the shelf-life in the process. In the same manner packaging must have tight lids to keep out oxygen which can also increase the rate of rancidity. In summary packaging helps keep the product in perfect condition until reaching the intended destination or end user by avoiding spoilage, breakage, moisture damage, contamination, and pilferage.

Packaging as an Informer

An informer is one that imparts knowledge or news. If you look at it from the other definition of one who makes a practice especially for a financial reward of informing against others for violations of penal laws, then packaging can reward the manufacturer financially taking only the first part of this definition. Simply put the contents of a product can be judged from what is written or indicated on its packaging. Have you ever gotten blown away by tasting a product which is poorly packaged? In most of those instances, the attraction to sample was not because
of the packaging but probably out of curiosity or coercion. It is important to note that there are regulatory laws governing what a packaging should carry. According to the labeling rule the packaging must bear the name of the product, ingredient list, manufacturing date, best before
date, weight or volume, nutritional values etc. These pieces of information help the consumer appreciate what the packaging is carrying and plays a key role in the purchase decision.

Packaging as a Handling and Distribution Catalyst

As an entrepreneur going into production, you should be thinking of how your products would move around. One of the functions of packaging is to facilitate handling and distribution. Hence in the design of packaging it is important to understand the movement of same along the distribution chain. What should be on the mind of the packaging developer is the ease at which the package facilitates safe handling of the product from the time of packing until its receipt by the end user. Let’s use Voltic dispenser bottles as an example. The original design just like other designs on the market had no handle and hence carrying them is tedious; must be held by the neck or carried on the shoulder. Lately I have seen a new design with a handle at its midsection which makes handling easier. It is therefore imperative for companies to think of consumer comfort when designing packaging.

Packaging as a Promoter

While you are busily working within the perimeter of your company, and the sales team keep hopping from one outlet to another, the only salesperson you have standing is your product! The graphics you put on your product has the capacity to position the product and promote sales when everyone else in the business is asleep. Structural and graphic design of a package should be optimized to attract and help sell. Again, employ the services of professionals to help you in this direction.

Conclusion

I will conclude with this, “Persuasion has become a kind of force. The more the advertiser knows about what consumers want, and the more desires the product and packaging seek to fulfill, the more coercive the force” Virginia Postrel. As a manufacturer who wants to push products into regional and global markets the lessons learned in this article could lead to successful product positioning if followed to the letter. With the help of Food Technologists and Graphic Designers, the prospects are great for fit-for-purpose packaging that sells its contents by itself.

Johnson Opoku-Boateng is the Chief Executive & Lead Consultant, QA CONSULT (Consultants and Trainers in Quality Assurance, Health & Safety, Environmental Management systems, Manufacturing Excellence and Food Safety). He is also a consumer safety advocate and helps businesses with regulatory affairs. He can be reached on +233209996002, email: johnson@qaconsultgh.com.