COP 2 - Essay - First Draft

Since 1980, worldwide obesity has nearly doubled. In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults were obese, and more than 40 million children under five were overweight. A key factor within this rising obesity crisis is the development of food brands, the commercial pressure that comes alongside that and the element of persuasion. This essay explores how food packaging influences the choices we make, how brands present themselves through packaging and the sophistication of design.

Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of modern society.  From an industry that began with a handful of independent hotdog stalls, fast food is now available almost everywhere we go, from stadiums to airports to schools and petrol stations. We now spend more money on fast food than films, books, magazines and music combined. On any given day, one quarter of the adult population visits a fast food restaurant (Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation). Fast food giants such as McDonalds and Burger King are often under fire from the media for pushing this unhealthy lifestyle upon us. In 2015, McDonalds launched a commercial named ‘540 Meals: Choices Make the Difference’ in which it argues that McDonalds food is not as unhealthy as we think. One particular quote from the film stands out - “It’s not McDonalds that makes us fat, it’s the choices of what we eat that makes us fat” (John Cisna). These choices, however, are very much down to the packaging of the food itself. According to a study by Wolfram Schultz, a professor and leading researcher in neuroscience, the colourful wrapping and attractive advertising encourages people to purchase high-calorie and unhealthy items. Professor Schultz says that the way fatty and sugary food is packaged triggers signals in the brain – a dopamine response -that is hard to resist. In the 1950s, two Canadian physiologists ran experiments with implanted electrodes in specific brain regions of rats. The rats were given the chance to stimulate these particular ‘reward centres’ of the brain by pressing a button, which in turn showed that the rats were unable to focus on much else after this discovery. Since then, researchers have shown that this reward centre in the brain also plays a key role in substance addiction, such as cocaine or heroin. Some people who eat lots of high-calorie food show similar behavioral patterns to those with drug addictions – a longing to experience the drug over and over, whilst in many cases, regretting the behavior. Schultz suggests that junk food should be sold in the same way as cigarettes, in plain packaging without branding. “We should not advertise, propagate or encourage the unnecessary ingestion of calories” (Schultz).

Colour theory plays a large part in this attraction we have to food packaging. Often, colours are used to trigger sensory reactions and emotions and prompt consumers to make decisions and assessments about the brand. According to specialists in marketing, WebpageFX, consumers make a subconscious judgement about products in less than ninety seconds of seeing it. Furthermore, 62-90% of them base their assessment purely on colour, as it registers much faster than text or complicated graphics. Colour must be used in the right context of the product’s marketing objectives, for example, bright colours are more attractive to children, whereas softer shades are appealing to older consumers (Nikki Clark). Fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s and Five Guys all have one thing in common – the use of red within their branding. Red is a powerful colour that is known to excite and stimulate. It can even heighten nerve impulses and increase our heart rate – similar to how our bodies react when we are hungry - it enhances the appetite. Yellow follows as a close second, again extremely popular in the fast food world. It is the fastest colour that the brain processes, making it ideal for grabbing attention. Like red, yellow is an appetite stimulant and causes the brain to release serotonin – the ‘feel good’ chemical. Works Design Group suggest that this response could also link to the yellow element of starches and breads. Red and yellow together help the body create the perfect response to food – making it harder for us to resist these unhealthier options. In contrast to this, blue is subdued and actually suppresses our appetite – it is rarely seen as a colour choice for food packaging. It is deemed the most unappetizing colour and is thought to even turn some of us away. A classic example of this is a study from the 1970s, in which consumers noted a loss of appetite and even feeling ill when they were presented with a steak that had been dyed blue with food colouring. Comparatively, blue also represents honesty and trust. It alludes to water and freshness, making it a good choice for milk, seafood or bottled water. Recently, we are seeing blue used frequently in low-calorie options such as Weight Watchers – an ideal colour choice as it reduces hunger. Green is the main colour associated with healthy, natural, organic and fresh produce. It is a perfect choice for emphasizing well-being or health benefits within a food product, also carrying connotations of being ecological and environmentally friendly (Nikki Clark).

Within the food industry, there is great commercial pressure to produce something that will sell to the largest audience in the greatest quantities. Rick Braithwaite from Sandstrom Design states that name brands are where the profits are, but niche brands are where the awards are. He claims that ‘packaging is the manifestation of the brand in the hand’ – it performs a critical function. Companies push brands at their consumers – a packet of crisps with the right packaging could be aspirational, the wine you drink can become more important than the trainers you wear or the car that you own – companies are selling a lifestyle, not the product (Eat Me). As consumers tastes in food and drink are becoming more sophisticated, so is the awareness of packaging design. Similarly, Mark Greene from Pecos Design argues that communication is key within the food packaging industry. He comments on his ‘billboard by the freeway’ theory and how it is similar to an aisle in a supermarket store. He claims that the branding must communicate the value and benefit of the product instantaneously – any confusion or lack of clarity and the customer is gone. In recent years, the branding style has altered dramatically – it is becoming more honest. Photography of food is becoming more realistic, and modelmakers no longer have to create ‘immaculate facsimiles’ of food that bare little product resemblance. Tamara Williams, creative director at Parker Williams comments on how biscuit crumbs no longer have to be “vacuumed up” during shoots, and designers are happy to let the ice cream melt a bit whilst the photographs are being taken. Similarly to Williams, Jacqui Sinnat from Butcher and Gunderson claims that “people are more into the naturalized presentation of food”. Consumers can’t be conned anymore as they grow wiser to the way food packaging works. An example of this would be Ben & Jerrys ice cream – the text on the packaging is fun, witty and personalized. Their flavor names such as ‘Truffle Kerfuffle’, ‘Oat of this Swirled’ and ‘Imagine Whirled Peace’ are whimsical and familiar and the conversational voice used on the packaging creates a distinctive tone for the brand that communicates on a personal level with the consumer. This honest approach builds trust with the people buying the products. Ben Hargreaves, author of ‘Eat Me: Successful Food Packaging Design’ comments on how the “babyboomer patter of language is a little hackneyed”, claiming that this approach can be seen as unoriginal and overused. However, he does comment on the similar approach of Innocent Fruit Smoothies – stating that the copy is “designed to charm the consumer, presenting the brand not as the work of another anonymous corporation, but as something with real people behind it.

A positive trend in the communication to the consumer via food packaging is that marketers and businesses are beginning to recognize the value of simplicity and clarity within their graphics. This can be seen in breakfast cereals very clearly – historically there has been lots of visual disorder in this area, but certain brands such as Dorset Cereals have responded by simplifying their package presentation. “You don’t need five-colour printing to achieve a great design: you can do really good things with two colours”, says Domenic Lippa from Lippa Pearce. She also makes a comment about keeping things simple, not stupid. “The packaging for value ranges often treats the consumer like an idiot. It says: ‘You can’t afford anything better than this basic monochrome design that screams: you are poor!’ To me, that’s quite offensive”.  Rocket Design Consultants won the DBA Gold award in 2014 for their rebrand of Tesco’s ‘Value’ range. Since its launch in 1993, the products had their own simple blue and white branding, but in recent years Tesco realized that the range had become relatively stagnant. Commissioning Rocket Design Consultants, they hoped to eliminate any stigma associated with purchasing Value by rebranding the packaging to more accurately reflect what the consumer wants. They found the name carried connotations of low quality, with outdated colours and an unwelcoming rigid typeface. The name was changed to ‘Everyday Value’ and several new colours were incorporated to enhance the packaging and make it more appealing to consumers, alongside the use of product photography. Eighteen weeks after the relaunch, Tesco’s Everyday Value sales rose 9.8%, demonstrating an improved impression of the retailer. Aldi, one of the world’s most popular discount supermarket chains, has also demonstrated the sophistication of packaging within their own brand Specially Selected range. The range consists of ‘high quality, premium products at affordable prices’ (Aldi). The logo for the range is made up of both an elegant hand-written typeface alongside a capitalized, luxurious serif typeface, often hot foil blocked in gold onto dark packaging. This immediately makes it stand out on shelves as premium product, regardless of the fact it comes from a particularly inexpensive discount supermarket. The uniquely designed ‘Aldi six’ black was created by Graphic Packaging International’s Technical Team, who say Aldi wanted a dark packaging that was different to other retailers. Other premium finishes are used throughout the range, such as silkscreen varnishes, glossy stamps and a matt lacquer gravure which Coveris, packaging manufacturer, describe as a “multi-sensory, luxury appearance”. Using features from other high-end luxury brands creates a sense of classiness and status within an otherwise budget store, giving consumers the impression that what they are buying is of a premium quality. This again demonstrates the ways in which manufacturers and brands can use food packaging to influence, convince and persuade us to engage with their products.

Trends in food packaging are what help brands and competitors decide which direction to take in order to best appeal to the consumer. Ben Hagreaves, author of Eat Me: Successful Food Packaging has created a list of six of the most visible trends in food packaging, the first being ‘The irresistible rise of own-label packaging’. He comments on how a decade ago, own-label packaging was poor in quality and undesirable, with lots of ‘copycat’ designs and variations of existing brands. Mark Greene, founder of Pecos Design, makes a similar statement, adding that “in the US, private label packaging used to be just throwaway… in the past ten years, private label packaging has come to directly challenge national brands in terms of the sophistication of the design”. Hargreaves’ next trend is ‘Beautifying the norm’. Here he claims that when consumers are buying something like water, the differentiation between brands must come through the packaging. He states that the packaging for common kitchen commodities is taking on a sophistication and style that makes it worthy of display, as consumers are expecting attractive brands in even the most basic area of their lives. Following on from this, the next trend is ‘All the world is staged’. Hargreaves comments on how theater and ritual have become increasingly important for brands, with Guinness using the concept of “waiting for the perfect pint” as an essential part of the qualities and meaning of the product itself. Using their selling point as the ritual of waiting, this element of theater sets Guinness apart from other beverages. ‘The fame game’, trend number five, suggests that using celebrities faces on product packaging infact helps it sell more. The idea that a famous face is connected with a certain product in turn convinces the consumer to purchase said item. Hargreaves also adds ‘Playful pillage’ to his list of trends – stating that brands “borrow from other types of products or experiences” for their marketing. An example of this is Hollywood Video; designers at Sandstrom recommended adopting a movie poster-like graphic style alongside product names closely aligned with well-known movies. “Bucket and the Butter” plays on film titles such as “Lady and the Tramp” and features cartoon imagery to imply a romance between the two objects. The sixth and final trend in Hargreaves’ list is ‘Provenance = premium’. Here he states that nowadays people are interested in where their food comes from. Consumers like a sense of the product’s origin and authenticity. Tamara Williams from Parker Williams also makes a similar comment on this, stating “provenance is especially critical on premium lines – you’ve got to have a good reason to buy”. Adopting some of these common strategies can help brands advance within the market and place them alongside competitors with similar approaches.

Food packaging plays a vital role in communicating with the consumer – we buy the things we are attracted to. Looking at trends in the market and analyzing the way consumers respond to packaging helps brands decide which route to take – with fast food chains grabbing our attention with colours our brain responds to, to luxury brands using impressive finishing techniques to provide us with a sensory experience. Junk food advertises itself to us in such a way that we cannot resist, which helps contribute to a rising obesity epidemic. If healthy food were to use some of the same techniques, colours and approaches, would we be more inclined to make better choices? Could the way food is packaged be the solution to this health crisis?