PACKAGING AND PRESERVING
The Role of Packaging
The confectionery market is highly competitive. Each brand must stand out against its competitor at the point of sale (the till or counter where goods are sold). The unique design of packaging must appeal to customers. Even after it is sold, the product should continue to advertise itself with its eye-catching packaging.
Packaging protects, advertises, provides information and helps to preserve products. If the packaging is unopened, plain chocolate with no additives will keep for up to eighteen months if stored in a cool, dark place. Other chocolates will keep from eight months to a year.
- Packaging
Materials used:
Various materials are used in packaging chocolate:
- Paper labels which are often very distinctive in their appearance
- Aluminium foil of varying colours and thicknesses
- Cellulose film, used to twist-wrap separate sweets such as Quality Street. It can be transparent or coloured, and waterproofed. Combined with foil, it creates an attractive effect.
- Clear polypropylene is a glossy, plastic film used as an overwrap to improve the appearance of boxes and cartons. The After Eight box is covered in this material.
- Opaque, clear or pearlised polypropylene can be metallised with a thin coating of aluminium, giving an appearance of foil
- Cardboard cartons and tubes are usually coated with china clay to make the surface easier to print on
Design and Production
For successful design and production, various departments and employees must work closely together. Typically:
Marketing Department:
The marketing department will outline its requirements to the packaging department
- Likes and dislikes of consumers in the target market
- The product’s name
- Colour, which should be distinctive and perhaps suggest the flavour of the product (green, for example, is associated with mint)
- Typeface, which should be unique to the product, clear and legible
Packaging Department:
The packaging department will brief the graphic designer. Different packs will satisfy distinct customer needs and packaging must reflect this. Kit Kat, for example, is produced as:
- A two-finger bar, for snacks and for lunchboxes
- Four-finger bars, as a snack for all ages
- A multipack, for planned, teatime snacks
- A seasonal pack, for gifts, perhaps at Easter
Graphic Design:
The graphic designer develops drawings and ideas that meet the marketing and packaging criteria.
Manufacture of Packaging:
A carton manufacturer will produce the packaging, which should be:
- Made from minimal amounts of material
- Capable of mass production
- Easy to assemble and handle
- Economical of space, for storage
- Economical of weight for handling
Environmental Issues:
Nestlé aims to reduce the impact of packaging at every stage. It will:
- Use cardboard made from pure wood pulp from Sweden, where two trees are planted for every tree cut down
- Avoid materials which will have a negative effect on the environment when packaging is being produced and when it is disposed of
- Reduce packaging by using materials that are lower in weight and volume, by simplifying the packaging and by increasing the use of recyclable material.
View Nestlé Nutrition Information for Confectionery & Cakes
