Food Biz Directory

                                               buying with the eyes

 

Technical innovations now offer product managers high-quality print and packaging even across short runs, which are ideal for product trialling, sampling and promotional stock. Here, I’ll explain how brand values can be achieved – even over short print runs.

For all the work provided by television and magazine advertising, packaging remains the on-self face of every product – and the brand that it represents.

This is especially true with the food and beverage packaging, where customers’ reasons for purchasing are often emotional as well as logical.
 
Packaging has to work particularly hard because the customer is considering buying a product which, in real terms, is non-essential.

So, if brand managers are creating aspirational products that make purchasers feel better about themselves, these goods need to begin their work by stirring consumer responses to the shape, texture, and colour of their packaging.

Customers really do buy food and beverages with their eyes and emotions, and the latest developments in print technology mean that pack quality can currently be very high. This helps product managers to utilise packaging that truly reflects the value of their brands.

Recent innovations in packaging print and production now enable retailers to match the premium nature of their products with an equally- high finish.

For a distinctive finish to luxury food and beverage products, companies are turning to iridescent films that can provide an eye catching decorative look.
The effect of this packaging can begin even before the customer picks up the item. High impact retail display lighting can highlight the shimmering quality of iridescent films, helping the products to attract customers as they pass. Once picked up, the top quality, tactile nature of the packaging – plus visually strong print – increases customers’ desire to buy.

Cold foil finishes enhance the luxurious look and feel of high- end food and beverages, although the base packaging material – on to which designs and finishes are printed – is often expensive. Cold foiling enables the graphics to be applied and dried without heat, so that the substrate isn’t damaged during the printing process.

In turn, this means that the materials like films and other ‘flexibles’ – which, until recently have been difficult to manage through a print production process – have now begun to enhance packaging and improve product sales.

Screen print has advanced since you produced your stunning tee shirt in the art room at school. Rotary screen can now be added as an extra station on specialist presses, to achieve a combination- print effect across different areas of the same piece of packaging. Moreover, impactful colour blocks may be produced alongside a raised surface finish.

Innovative, special-purpose, textured films can enhance the tactile appeal of food and beverage products and make them feel more luxurious.

TRANSFORMATION IN LABELLING
                           

Labelling has also been transformed by new developments. Not so long ago, a self-adhesive label meant something that was white, opaque, and plainly printed. Now, the latest advances in clear labels can combine fantastic print quality with complete product visibility, and improve the sense of product purity for customers.

As packaging technologies have developed in recent years, so too have the design and shape of containers for food and beverage lines.

Food and beverages have accelerated product life cycles, and increased demand for faster, flexible development and production processes

For product managers and print buyers, the aim is to develop a print-production process that minimises waste, permits short runs with very high quality, and combines several print-production techniques on the same press rather than using a series of separate print processes.
                           
The economic reality of food and beverage packaging is that printers are often dealing with expensive raw materials. So, our role as specialist printers is to find ways of using innovative technology that produces visually – striking packaging – and at the same time minimises waste and production costs, and shortens lead times for the food and beverage manufacturers.

With the increased demand for quicker routes to market, food and beverage product managers have recognised that short run printing enables them to test new packaging rapidly and cost effectively.

Forward looking printers like the OPM Group are presently inviting client print buyers into their factories, to advise and train them on the technical innovations that enable more distinctive packaging to be produced.

Dramatic improvements in print technology over the past few years mean that they can now produce trial packaging for new markets with quality comparable to gravure. This enables customers to meet demanding product launch schedules and test innovative packaging, before scaling up their print production.

In years past, product development meant a commitment to large volume printed packaging. Now, innovative print and production methods provide the opportunity for economic short runs, with high quality definition, colour balance, and detail. As stated earlier, technological packaging advances afford an excellent platform for product trialling, sampling, and promotional stock.