packaging research

When people purchase an item at their local grocery store, they’re more concerned with what’s wrapped up inside the packaging and the packaging itself. But packaging, the technology employed to protect the enclose items for sale, storage, and use, is one of the most critical aspects of the distribution process – here package research becomes necessary for manufacturers and marketers.

packaging research expertise

• upfront packaging research is practiced at the initial phase of design/development process, in order to guide efforts by identifying key issues and objectives:
• base research is conducted to identify and document the strengths and limitations of current packaging and point-of-sale efforts, to identify concerns and areas of competitive disadvantage as well as to uncover visual equity elements that should be leveraged in a new system
• shopper insights studies are conducted to understand shopping behavior and decision making at retail (decision hierarchies), including the influence of different marketing materials (packaging, displays, and so forth)
• midstream packaging research is conducted after developing a range of concepts, in order to screen/siphon these options and guide enhancements:
• qualitative research (group discussion and/or personal interviews) provides the greatest flexibility (to show a wide range of concepts – and probe responses), with the presence of global vox populi moderator. qualitative studies also provide a hands-on experience for marketing and designing professionals in attendance
• web-based screening studies allow for quantitative opinion from larger sample sizes and are often used when the potential change is evolutionary and/or qualitative research has already been conducted
• quantification research is implemented once the final concepts have been developed in order to assess their effectiveness and gauge their ability to meet marketing needs and objectives:
• global vox populi evaluation (in-person interviews in central locations) provides the most comprehensive assessment of proposed concepts, including shelf visibility and package viewing patterns as well as shopping exercises conducted from physical shelf sets
• global vox populi validation combines quantitative online attitudinal interviewing with in-person eye-tracking research technique to gain deeper precise actionable insights

packaging research solutions

• conjoint analysis/trade-off analysis
• graphics research
• eye tracking
• facial coding
• packaging development research
• packaging testing
• shelf testing
• repositioning studies
• test-market research
• test-market simulation