In a recent article, there was a large discussion about the views of consumers, and how packaging can be misleading.  The consumers, when faced with a product packaged in a loud red and black container, or one of the exact same design but featuring green instead of red, the buyer would most likely opt for the green one.  Why?  People are looking for all-natural, organic products that feature healthy ingredients.  They associate these things with green food pouches.  Green, of course, is the color that has been attached to the organic movement.

However, that isn’t the part of the conversation that really intrigued us.  Our packaging designers were far more interested in the phenomenon that took place from one store to another.  The findings, after all, were not consistent across all store chains.  While the shoppers at grocery stores that placed emphasis on healthy eating saw their shoppers swayed by the color of the label or the color of the flexible packaging.  Meanwhile, at other store chains, where the all-natural movement was not so readily highlighted, consumers cared far less about the color of the packaging and were more swayed by the flavor descriptions on the plastic pouches.

While many are busy arguing the fact that the color is deceptive, not always indicative of a healthier option, we are looking at how product packaging design performs in various stores.  What we learned from the research was that the very same stand up pouches could sell very well in one store, but see less success in another, because the buyers’ buying habits differ. Does this mean that your company needs to consider various package printing designs for each store?  No, of course not.  You want to put out a consistent product, but it should make all of us think about how we can design packaging that can appeal to both the health-conscious consumer, and those more concerned with flavor.