Well, with Easter long gone I reflected on a marketing period filled with chocolate and cardboard. That week I made my trip to the supermarket to buy eggs for my family, perusing the numerous shelves stocked to the ceiling with bright, shiny, colourfully wrapped chocolate eggs.
I spent a little time making my choices for the respective recipients, based initially on my expectation of the quality of the chocolate but I was also drawn to the packaging. The price was considered too of course but there was a huge selection of reasonably priced eggs to choose from.
I eventually chose Easter eggs with the least amount of packaging mainly because a lot of it seemed unnecessary. This led me to thinking about how aware we are, as consumers, of the effects of packaging, whether negative or positive, when we actually purchase anything. I didn’t know too much about this myself but had recently read of the negative effects of packaging, in terms of plastic waste. It seems apparent that as global population escalates, the demand for packaging increases and the need to deal effectively with the growing plastic waste becomes more urgent. It is also slightly alarming that, according to a report by the Berkley Plastics Task Force, plastic production outstrips plastic recycling by six to one! That’s a worrying statistic although it does seem that more companies are focusing on sustainability as they become more responsible in reducing packaging waste. BrandPackaging.com suggests that companies can increase packaging effectiveness by displaying information on their efforts to create a more sustainable package design. The use of environmentally responsible packaging thereby creates new opportunities for company branding and building public trust. Something to think about for all of us perhaps?
On a more positive note, I was however, delighted recently to discover French Rabbit, a forward-thinking, French wine company who, some time ago, introduced highly innovative packaging for their vintage-dated, appellation specific French wine. The unique, one litre, octagonal-shaped Tetra Prisma containers with screw-top closures and label free packaging, encourage consumers to, “savour the wine, save the planet”.
Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset America, whose family have been growing wine for two generations, states that preserving the planet has always been important to them: “ Our mission is to be the market leader of quality wine in innovative and environmentally-friendly packaging” .
Statistics demonstrate too that the introduction of this innovation in packaging showed interesting results. When French Rabbit wines were introduced in Canada in July 2005, both in glass bottles and Tetra Prisma packaging, sales for the environmentally-friendly packaging were 21 times greater than for the glass bottles!
I haven’t tasted any of the wines but I love the packaging with their vibrant fluorescent hues (platinum for Pinot Noir, green for Chardonnay, purple for Cabernet Sauvignon and pink for Merlot) and unique design. In terms of making a choice both for moral and aesthetic reasons, this is a definite winner for me and would probably prompt me to try all of the wines in the range.
Debbie Lewis is a Customer Support Executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
