The many routes to a winning pack design | Packaging For Retail Success Review

Delegates at November’s Packaging for Retail Success conference were handed a raft of ideas on how to get the best out of the packaging supply chain and creating engaging packs for consumers. By Philip Chadwick

There was plenty of food for thought for delegates at last month’s Packaging for Retail Success conference in central London. The conference sought to give delegates insight while also demonstrating success stories from retailers and brands including Iceland, Harrods and Danone.

Delivering his state of the retail landscape address, Ed Garner, communications director at Kantar Worldpanel,  noted that both Aldi and Lidl’s market share was rising considerably – Aldi at 30% per year and nibbling into Asda’s share. But while the discount stores’ fortunes are rising, so too is the fortune of the higher end retailer Waitrose. “It is possible to go in two directions at once,” added Garner.

The big four remain Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. While the line-up hasn’t changed, their approach to retail theatre is evolving. Tesco is developing a “store within a store” concept, creating a department store feel to its Watford site, while Morrisons has been using a “misting” effect in its fresh fruit and veg section.

Retail technology

The drive to deliver a more hi-tech in-store experience for shoppers is already underway, noted Andrew Revel, commercial manager at Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence. From interactive chiller units to motion capture technology, companies are developing ever-more innovative ways to interact.

Smart phones are also offering brands the opportunity for a meaningful one-to-one relationship with the consumer. Andy Johnson, business unit director at Sun Branding Solutions, demonstrated the power of augmented reality to delegates while also showing that packaging has to work on several levels.

“We have a formula when it comes to packaging design: ‘More copy plus less packaging equals think differently or else’,” explained Johnson. “It’s more than the graphics – it’s about smart pack formats and packaging with personality.”

There are challenges and opportunities in the retail arena, noted DS Smith market development director Terry Morgan, particularly in retail ready packaging (RRP); smart RRP can prove to be an effective in-store communication tool. “It interacts with the shopper,” said Morgan.

In today’s in-store environment, it’s getting trickier to get stand out on shelf – it can be a ruthless business and even market research can throw up problems. David Howlett, strategic planning director at MMR, noted that consumers are now “saturated by choice”. Even products that are liked by focus groups can fail in store. “You need to understand what people are going to stop buying for your product to be a success,” he said. “Communications, product and packaging have to be in line with each other. If all those touch points are met then you have a chance of success.”

Success story

New products can prosper. Danone linked up with design consultancy Dragon Rouge to create the branding for Danio, a new range of very thick yoghurts designed to provide a more filling alternative to other snacks. Targeting 25-45 year olds, the brand needed to offer something that was “emotional and fun” according to Julia Lowbridge, marketing manager of innovation at Danone. The result was a strong marque that created a major point of difference in the chilled aisle – a section that could be sterile.

“The packaging design underpins the brand and it had to be very different,” added Marie-Thérèse Cassidy, creative director at Dragon Rouge   The result, to date, is a brand that’s achieved 8.5m retail sales in eight months (Danio launched in May this year).

So what of the retailer’s view on the end to end process? Phil Huggett, head of packaging at Wilkinson, said that  selecting a  design agency is down to “trusting your gut”. He also pointed out that designing packaging by committee is a big mistake. “You need to have a very clear idea of who the creative stakeholders are,” he added. “At Wilkinson we have four people.”

Similarly at frozen food retailer Iceland, there’s no danger of too many people having an opinion. According to Ian Schofield, own label manager at Iceland Foods, the whole process isn’t complicated by committees and the retailer can be responsive; if it wants to roll out a new product to a new market, it just does it. And Schofield noted that things don’t always go to plan. “We love failures because we learn from our mistakes faster,” he said.

At the opposite end of the retail scale, Harrods director of foods Bruce Langlands explained how changes to the packaging and colour have helped give in-store products a consistent look. Harrods also rolled out augmented reality technology on packs as part of its Archive Collection. “Technology has been a huge buzz with customers,” added Langlands.

Realising a dream

But good old fashioned jam can be a hit with consumers too. The founder of Super Jam, Frazier Doherty, spent years trying to realise his dream of getting his product, based on his grandmother’s recipe, into stores.

His first attempt was met with rejection by Waitrose so  Doherty went back to the drawing board and smartened up the packaging.

A year later Waitrose gave him the green light making him the youngest supplier ever to secure a listing at the supermarket. Now 24, Doherty is overseeing a fast growing brand in the UK and all over the world.