5 December 2014 441 words, 2 min. read Latest update : 3 November 2020

Idea in brief : rejuvenate your products with a new packaging

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab PhD in marketing, director of IntoTheMinds
To follow up on our post dedicated to innovation in the food & drinks sector, we wanted to give you another example of how you can attract customer’s attention very simply, through a small innovation brought to your product. The […]

To follow up on our post dedicated to innovation in the food & drinks sector, we wanted to give you another example of how you can attract customer’s attention very simply, through a small innovation brought to your product.

The idea behind this post was inspired by two very new products we spotted at SIAL 2014. Keep in mind SIAL is a must when it comes to food innovation and analysis of the trends in this sector. If you are interested to attend this event, remember to read our survival guide.

On the booths of Terra Creta (Olive oil producer from Greece) and Terra Delyssa (olive oil producer from Tunisia) we noticed a 2L plastic bag filled with oil and equipped with a tap.

Whereas large recipients for olive oil have been on the market for a long time (think for instance about 5-Liter metal cans), it was the first time we’ve seen a bag-in-a-box-type of packaging for olive oil. It was actually so new that the two producers hadn’t had the time to fill it up with oil; it contained only water.

This new type of packaging has several advantages. First of all it’s light (hence the consumer will not pay for unnecessary transport costs if the olive oil is bought online). Second it’s perfect for online purchases as this plastic bag is obviously less fragile than traditional glass bottles. Third it’s cheaper than traditional recipients and hence the consumer will pay only for the content, not for packaging that have to be thrown away afterwards anyway. Fourth, the bag is opaque which is better than transparent glass bottles for keep the properties of olive oil.

The main disadvantage of this recipient is that it looks … cheap. This type of recipient may well not be suitable for premium olive oil, the choice of which is based for large part on exterior aspects. If you need more information on the subject you may want to look at work of Delgado and colleagues (for instance, Evaluating bottles and labels versus tasting the oils blind: Effects of packaging and labeling on consumer preferences, purchase intentions and expectations for extra virgin olive oil. )


Advice for your marketing strategy

Intrinsically this packaging is not new. It has just been used in a different context.

It may also look cheap indeed. But its strength may well be there! It’s a no-frill option for those who are savings-conscious (and there are many with the current crisis). Moreover this packaging is so different from the traditional bottles that it will undoubtedly attract customers’ attention in the shelves, a highly-sought after feature !



Posted in Innovation, Marketing.

2 comments

  1. BONJOUR
    JE SOUHAITERAI AVOIR LES TARIFS DE CES SACS POUR DE L’HUILE D’OLIVE AINSI QUE LEUR CONTENANCE 2L,3L, 5L?
    en vous remerciant par avance
    slt
    C.BIOLCHINI

  2. Bonjour,

    malheureusement nous n’avons pas relevé les prix à l’époque mais entre temps ce type de packaging est assez répandu et vous devriez pouvoir obtenir facilement des prix auprès des fournisseurs d’emballages alimentaires.

    Bien à vous

Post your opinion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *