Packaging / Advertising & Office

Recently, SeesawCoffee released a tweet on its public account, announcing a new upgrade of the packaging of the full range of Seesaw classic coffee. This dressing uses the concept of four animals, including flamingos, Asian elephants, giraffes and zebras, colliding the interesting elements of animals with modern minimalist styles, replacing the original kraft paper elements.

Would you choose to buy a product because of packaging?

A few days ago, Ipsos released the "2021 Food and Beverage New Trend Insights" mentioned: "Packaging is also an important factor in determining consumers to buy products. In the survey, 58% of consumers pay close attention to the packaging design of food and beverage, 62% Of consumers say that innovation in packaging design makes them more willing to buy this product."

When you don't know a brand or a product, packaging is often the first to attract consumers. In fact, the truth is the same as looking at people. When you don’t know a person, the first thing you pay attention to is appearance.

For the food and beverage industry, packaging can be said to be as important as products. Packaging not only plays a role in protecting food, but also serves as a bridge between consumers and brands and conveys the value of the brand to consumers.

"Aesthetics is also productivity", catering packaging aesthetics is also the key to the reform of the catering industry. With the continuous improvement of consumer demand and the continuous younger generation of consumers, the awareness of packaging has risen to multiple levels such as appearance, traceability, efficacy, and environmental protection. In the face of new consumption upgrades, how do brands use packaging to empower product brands?

#01Close to the interest of young people

Looking at the service industry and consumer market today, "Generation Z" (referring to the post-95s generation in general) has become the mainstream consumer group. The "Generation Z Trend Drink Consumption Trend Report" released by iResearch mentioned that the monthly per capita disposable income of Generation Z in 2020 is 4,193 yuan, and the entire population has reached about 380 million, and the proportion of medium and high consumption power is as high as 45. %, online users accounted for 27%.

More and more catering brands are beginning to get younger. For example, Tao Taoju, one of the time-honored brands in the catering industry, is famous for its mooncakes. Tao Taoju, which was born in 1880, has a history of more than 140 years. In addition to the way of marketing, another key to Tao Taoju’s youthful transformation is the rejuvenation of manifestations, including appearance packaging.

The first is the renewal of the store's packaging, which is like the elegant design of the Lingnan courtyard, with retro tiles, Manchurian windows, bird cages, etc., making Tao Taoju a popular spot for online celebrities, attracting countless young people to come here.

On the product packaging, the traditional Lingnan culture and the new style design are combined. For example, Tao Taoju’s latest "Moon Full of Jiuzhou" features a large number of local characteristic buildings on the packaging, such as the Guangzhou Tower, Liede Bridge, etc.; there are also three-dimensional portraits of Chang'e, Yutu, and Reunion Dinner. The packaging conveys to us the importance of Mid-Autumn Festival to the Chinese nation, and at the same time injects brand impressions into the minds of consumers.

Earlier, Tao Taoju and the Summer Palace jointly launched the "Yihe One Box" moon cake gift box. The design pattern of the gift box originated from the Cantonese embroidery Hundred Birds Chaofeng screen in the Le Shou Hall of the Summer Palace. This cross-border design has once again enhanced Tao Taoju's brand influence.

#02Diversified packaging breaks scene restrictions

An epidemic has made the "home economy" one of the hot topics at the moment. In fact, there has been a "lazy economy" in the past. In the "2021 Food and Beverage New Trend Insights" released by Ipsos, it is mentioned: "Consumption of convenient and fast food has increased, and the lazy economy has opened the 2.0 era." There is also a situation where one person goes shopping, one person sings, and one person eats. These people have brought about "one-person consumption" and the "single economy" has risen.

Earlier, the "JD Daojia Snack Food Instant Consumption Trend Report" pointed out that casual snacks present a full-scene consumption trend, including personal exclusives, snack replenishment, outings, gathering moments, and holiday gifts. Among them, the home scene has become an important growth point for snack consumption.

People's diversified dietary demands have promoted the continuous emergence of personalized packaging, and each type of packaging is not only amazed by consumers, but also quietly unlocking more edible scenarios.

For example, self-heating food, self-heating hot pot, self-heating rice, etc. Brands such as Haidilao, Xiaolongkan, Dalongyi, and Little Sheep have all launched self-heating hot pot products. On the one hand, it is easy to operate. "Self-heating" does not need to open fire and plug in to heat. The self-heating hot pot contains vacuum-packed ingredients, base materials and supporting tableware. There is also a heating pack for heating. The innovation of packaging technology is also packaging. The key point of continuous facilitation.

The "one-person food" scene has also brought about the rise of the takeaway business. In addition to satisfying the basic insulation needs, take-out packaging also has the power to be reckoned with.

Good-looking packaging makes it easier for consumers to have a desire to share. I don't know if you have any experience like this. When you encounter a good-looking takeaway package, you will want to take pictures and share them on social platforms. Like the Nay Xue cat cup introduced by Nay Xue's tea before, the small element of cat scratching is added to the lid of the cup. The appearance is super high. While sharing, it also captures the companionship of modern people to cats.

#03Green environmental protection gives new potential for the development of catering companies

Environmental protection or sustainable development strategies have been advocated in recent years. As early as June 2008, the "Plastic Restriction Order" was implemented. In April this year, the Beijing Plastic Restriction Order issued new regulations. For the catering industry, in addition to the full use of non-degradable disposable plastic straws and disposable plastic tableware, etc. The regulations also emphasize that non-degradable plastic bags must not be used for take-out (including dine-in packaging) services in built-up areas.

At the same time, consumers are becoming more and more aware of environmental protection. In the "2021 Food and Beverage New Trend Insights" released by Ipsos, it is mentioned: "According to the survey, 85% of consumers believe that the selling point of the food and beverage promotion of'packaging can be recycled and redeemed for small gifts' is in line with their needs. Starting with packaging, focusing on sustainable development, the use of recyclable packaging is becoming popular."

More and more catering brands are beginning to pay attention to environmental protection. Starting in 2019, the specialty coffee brand has implemented the "Coffee Return Plan" for three and a half years, and it has been four seasons. The core of the return flight plan is to exchange empty coffee cans for new coffee or theme surroundings. Three and a half cups of coffee packaging small jars are made of 100% recyclable materials and can be recycled and reused. The implementation of this plan has also made three and a half brand culture deeply rooted in the hearts of consumers.

In addition to three and a half meals, Starbucks began to use the "slag residue pipe" in April this year. This "slag residue pipe" is made from coffee grounds for resource reuse and processing. Seesaw, a specialty coffee brand, also launched an eco-friendly cup event, that is, bring your own cup to stand down.

From a marketing perspective, environmental protection can not only fulfill social responsibilities, but also create topics and attract attention for the company, which is a positive marketing method. At the same time, as young consumers are increasingly inclined to environmentally friendly products, such environmental protection promotion is also combined with brand rejuvenation strategies to benefit from the retail side.

In the post-epidemic era, consumers continue to pay attention to food safety issues, and product traceability has become a major entry point for brands to build an image of peace of mind. On the other hand, consumers no longer pursue gorgeous and special exteriors, and how to simplify the complex and be green and environmentally friendly has become a new topic in the brand's packaging design.

In the "2021 Food and Beverage New Trend Insights" released by Ipsos, it is mentioned: "To create an environmentally sustainable, safe and traceable premium through packaging design, and to break through the restrictions on food and beverage consumption scenarios with innovative product forms can greatly help brands expand influence."

As mentioned at the beginning, if a catering brand is compared to a person, taste is his inner mind and an important factor affecting core competitiveness, then the visual image design of a product is the appearance of a person. Especially in an era of looking at faces, outstanding visual design, convenience, and environmental protection concepts will leave customers with a deep and strong brand impression.