• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Packaging Matters study: Here’s what consumers look for in packaging

October 9, 2018CBB Editorial Staff

beer packaging
Functionality, like this Dogfish Head pack that converts into a cooler, is a big driver of consumer satisfaction, according to the Packaging Matters study.

Understanding what motivates today’s shopper to complete a purchase is critically important. Consumers are increasingly satisfied with their overall experience with packaging, which has increased by 46 percent over six years, according to the 2018 Packaging Matters study from WestRock, a provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions. Findings from the study indicate brands are keeping up with — and responding to — consumer preferences.

Conducted online by researchers at Reputation Leaders among 5,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, the study identifies three key components of packaging that matter to them and impact shopping decisions: functionality, trust and aesthetics.

The Packaging Matters study concluded:

  • Secure delivery is essential to satisfaction, with 75 percent of consumers indicating delivery features (for example, being securely closed) are important.
  • Consumers are more likely to trust products if the packaging protects against tampering or contamination (79 percent), are made with safe materials (71 percent) and if packaging honestly indicates the contents’ ingredients and any potential dangers.
  • 52 percent have changed brands from a product they have purchased in the past because of new packaging.

Functionality

WestRock’s Packaging Matters study reveals 84 percent of consumers indicate a top driver of packaging satisfaction is the package’s ability to ensure the integrity of the product, with 77 percent reporting that packaging that promotes easy emptying of the contents is also important.

On-demand packaging: Four ways craft breweries are using Berlin Packaging’s economies of scale

A primary component of functionality, consumers indicate that packaging must keep products safe. In fact, 75 percent of consumers say that a key component of their purchasing decision is whether the packaging is made from materials that prevent the product from leaking or breaking.

While safety is a non-negotiable factor of best-in-class packaging, convenience is also critical to ensuring positive experiences:

  • 76 percent of all respondents report they want packaging that is easy to open; among these, 80 percent of women and 71 percent of men value packaging that is easy to open.
  • Resealability is also an important factor in satisfaction, according to 76 percent of respondents.
  • 20 percent more millennials than other generations value packaging that is easy to find on a shelf.
  • Packaging that is easy to store at home matters more to millennials (80 percent) than other generations (69 percent).

Trust

Although functionality determines how consumers interact with packaging, trust is a major factor in how those interactions translate into positive brand and product perceptions. According to the Packaging Matters study, consumers are more likely to trust products if the packaging protects against tampering or contamination (79 percent), are made with safe materials (71 percent) and clearly and honestly indicates the contents’ ingredients and potential dangers. Consumers trust packaging for medicine and non-alcoholic beverages the most (73 percent) and online food service delivery packaging the least (59 percent).

Purchasing Behavior

Although the Packaging Matters study reveals that packaging satisfaction is most closely tied to benefits that connect back to consumer values — functionality and trust — purchasing behavior is influenced primarily by packaging’s appearance.

Since the first Packaging Matters study, the percentage of consumers who purchased a product because of the innovative nature of the packaging increased by 45 percent, and consumers who compared different products’ packaging to make a purchase decision increased by 43 percent.

In fact, the study revealed aesthetics are the primary driver impacting a consumer’s decision to try something new, buy something again or switch brands. Findings include:

  • 81 percent of consumers said they have tried something new because the packaging caught their eye.
  • A packaging’s appearance or aesthetics compelled 63 percent of consumers to purchase a product again.
  • 52 percent have changed brands from a product they have purchased in the past because of new packaging.
Distro update: Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing goes to Colorado + news from Surreal, New Sarum and more
Distribution update: Cleveland’s Saucy Brew Works announces new home market distributor + news from WeldWerks, Wiseacre and more
Conn.’s Two Roads Brewing announces new packaging, stronger master-brand architecture
Distro update: NA brand Surreal Brewing expands across Washington, Idaho and Wyoming + news from RationAle, Vault Brewing and Crafted Exports

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Cheers to 10 Years: We should all strive to be Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
  • Watch famed gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman discuss his Flying Dog beer labels
  • The all-new Papago Brewing taproom opens Friday
  • Michigan’s Dog Star Hops wins Chinook Cup for second year in a row

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Arizona Wilderness BrewingCheers to 10 Years: We should all strive to be Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
    February 2, 2023
  • Watch famed gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman discuss his Flying Dog beer labels
    February 2, 2023
  • Michigan’s Dog Star Hops wins Chinook Cup for second year in a row
    February 1, 2023
  • fort point both-ciders-3Fort Point Beer debuts cider line, explains why ciders instead of seltzers
    January 31, 2023
  • Watch a drone release insects over hop yards for sustainable pest control in this Yakima Chief Hops video series
    January 30, 2023
  • Distro update: Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing goes to Colorado + news from Surreal, New Sarum and more
    January 30, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC