For many brands, the package has taken on a new role, beyond just being a delivery device for the product or an alluring brand image on shelf. With renewed recent attention from regulatory entities in the United States and European Union, the package is increasingly being viewed and regulated as a legal document. It is effectively a micro-contract with the consumer.
Our friend Bob Carpenter, CEO of GS1 US recently said, “Your grandmother bought on availability, your mother bought a brand, your daughter buys on product attributes.” The package is the contract of product attributes.
Think about consumer expectations. When a woman wants to buy orange juice and is in a grocery store, she examines the packaging, searching for information to suit her preferences. She looks at the nutrition facts, ingredients, claims statements. She makes a decision to buy or not based on the offers on the package. When she hands over her money, the product package testifies to what she thinks she is getting.
After buying, if the product doesn’t live up to the claims or expectations created by the package, the consumer may prefer to enter into another micro-contract with a replacement product. However, if the package didn’t list an allergen and she consumes it and has an allergic reaction, she may sue the product manufacturer. The arguments in the courtroom are likely to be around what information was or was not available on the package at the time of purchase and its effectiveness at communicating risks and dangers to the consumer. The package is the representation of the product, so it’s treated like a contract and argued about in litigation.
Sometimes one broken contract with a consumer can devastate a brand with bad press, negative social sentiment, or (worse still) product recall.
It’s so important to give extreme attention to detail from the right people with the right expertise examining the right information on packaging artwork.
Many people think that brands are the most valuable assets a business can possess. But, as the world continues to stretch and morph into the future, consumer trust is an asset businesses can’t afford to neglect. The ways in which companies have managed packaging will not meet the needs or mitigate the risks of the future without deep changes.
If you’re ready to arm yourself with information and start improving trust in your packaging, get the Fast Facts here for your Consumer Goods, Retail or Pharmaceutical company. Find out how you can incorporate complete quality and regulatory compliance into your processes to help alleviate the increased pressure on packaging.
