As trusted suppliers of industrial coding and marking solutions, REA JET realizes there is a relationship between the packaging companies choose to use, and the consumer. The challenge is improving that relationship, according to a recent article at Packaging Digest!
How well the package is designed in regards to how the consumer uses it is essential, and according to Proctor & Gamble, this “point of use” is when the relationship between consumer and package emerges. When it comes to product packaging with consumers as the target audience, manufacturers want to consider:
Consumer’s age. Ergonomic design is key to ease-of-use for middle-age and elderly consumers, who often have problems with packages that are difficult to handle or open. The amount of strength and dexterity an individual possesses determines whether he/she can open certain packages such as a jar of mustard or mayonnaise, a can of soup with a pull-tab, and other products.
Whether the consumer lives an active or on-the-go lifestyle. Busy career professionals often drink or eat while on the go. Add to that the fact that today, nearly everyone you come across has a cell phone in their hand, and it all becomes more complicated. Whether driving with one hand, carrying a briefcase, or talking on a cell phone, those who are on the go would interact better with products designed to be used with one hand, and this includes opening. Kelley Styring, principal at InsightFarm Inc., researched how those who have only one hand interact with packages and products, and found these consumers are highly creative. Essentially, those who only have one hand to open packages and use the product are “more highly evolved” than the rest of us, and can give a few lessons to designers for the future of packaging design.
Packaging that trains the patient. Consumers who give self-injections or use inhalers or other medical devices are often not properly instructed on how to use these devices. Packaging of the future may involve training of the patient, so that auto-injectors and other devices become easier to use for consumers. Smarter packaging may involve the use of video clips or audio scripts, or even help consumers with timing.
Packaging has come a long way in the last decade, but we can only imagine the coming innovations in packaging to help improve the relationship between consumers and the packaging of products they buy!
At REA JET, we provide a wide array of industrial and coding solutions designed for indelible, reliable marking on an even wider array of substrates and packaging materials.