Packaging - First Impressions Matter

• By Stefani LiDestri
• 5 June 2018

My mother loved the cliché never judge a book by its cover, but experience tells me most people do. According to Packaging of the World, 70 percent of consumers form their impression of a brand based solely on packaging.

At LiDestri Food and Drink we’re determined to help our partners create the best first impression possible…and for that matter, the best second and third impressions, too

We begin with the realization that today’s shoppers are better informed and more specific about what they want. Smart packaging needs to reflect this change.

Take for example, the movement toward environmentally friendly packaging.

A study by Cone Communications, found that 91% of global consumers expect companies to operate responsibly and make efforts to address environmental concerns. With 84% of shoppers seeking out environmentally responsible products whenever possible.

We recognized these trends early on and developed the Living Jar™. This innovative substitute to glass packaging is lighter, shatterproof and significantly more environmentally friendly. The ultra-clear, blow-molded, high barrier plastic PET Jar is designed to reduce its environmental impact at every stage in its product life. Wegmans, a regional supermarket chain, headquartered in Rochester, New York, took notice and in 2016 used the Living Jar™ for their “Food You Feel Good About” line of pasta sauces.

While glass will continue to be a good option for various products, today’s environmental challenges, consumer demand for sustainable packaging and e-commerce supply chain requirements often make the PET Jar the better choice.

A just-released study proves conclusively the Living Jar™ is an environmental success story. Based on the findings from a Life Cycle Assessment conducted by Skeo, a renowned researcher in life cycle assessments used to calculate the environmental impact of a product over its full life cycle, it was determined the Living Jar™ produced 173% less human health particulate, 47% less global warming potential, 76% less smog into the air, and was 18% more energy efficient than glass. Furthermore, at the end of the lifecycle, 85% of glass goes into our landfills as compared to only 55% for the Living Jar™ -- which is also recycled at twice the rate of glass.

Creating packaging with an eye towards environmental needs helps build consumer loyalty, but with hundreds of products competing for on-shelf attention, a package must stand out.

Research conducted jointly by the University of Miami and the California Institute of Technology highlights the need to make packaging visually appealing, noting that people have a predisposition to packaging that is colorful and eye catching. This type of engaging packaging influences everything from where people look, how long they look and ultimately which foods they choose.

 

Colorful and eye-catching packaging can sometimes be the answer, but as Italian design firm AGBLD states: “Minimizing the elements used in a package design can elevate a product…as long as it gets the point across,” the firm says in its 2017 packaging trend reports.

During product design, predicting the type of packaging needed can be a risky proposition. The LiDestri Innovation Center features a Pilot Room where we mimic the processing and packaging conditions a product will face in full-scale production – but on a much smaller scale. This enables our brand and private label partners to test various packages before committing to a wide run.

Taking away the guesswork and providing our partners with smart, up-to-date packaging solutions is one of the cornerstones of our business. Consider the Living Jar™-- it’s beautifully designed, fundamentally strong, environmentally friendly, and in every way the embodiment of meaningful innovation at LiDestri.

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  About the author

  Stefani LiDestri
  Co-President and Chief Marketing Officer

  Stefani LiDestri is the Co-President and Chief Marketing Officer of LiDestri Food & Drink—an innovator in food, beverage and spirits manufacturing.