Originally Published PMPN November 2004

Brand Matters

What’s in It for Me?

For savvy consumers, it’s all about the ingredients.

by Dirk Kammerzell
TippingSprung LLC

Dirk Kammerzell

There was a time, not so long ago, when you could walk into a grocery store and simply buy orange juice. And that juice was delicious and healthy.

Judging from the labeling, a consumer buying orange juice today must be a combination of nutritionist, ecologist, and amateur chemist. It seems you can’t make a purchasing decision without determining the precise vitamin content, the level of calcium and acidity, the amount and type of pulp, and the precise method of preparation. Your orange juice might also have the endorsement of Atkins or perhaps a national medical association.

This proliferation of choices and information is not mere marketing—it reflects a fundamental shift in the role of the consumer that has profound implications for life-sciences packaging professionals.

A Thirst for Information

Life-sciences marketers are no strangers to fine print. FDA and other regulatory bodies have long required details about ingredients, warranties, and safety.

What is new is the role of the empowered and curious consumer. Consumers seem to want to know everything about a product—what is in it, how it was manufactured, and how it could affect their lives. They require this information to be clearly presented and the manufacturer to be honest. The transparency of information in the marketplace and tools like the Internet make it easy for the consumer to verify and compare information across competing offerings.

Ingredient Branding

Consumers increasingly base their buying decisions on exactly what is in the product. No longer relegated to the fine print, marketers need to master the new discipline of ingredient marking—drawing attention to specific product attributes that are significant to the consumer. In technology, this concept has been around for a long time, but it is now being transferred to consumer products.

A drug or health supplement, for example, might call out the presence of antioxidants or an ingredient like ginseng, or the lack of carbohydrates, preservatives, or sugar.

The presence or absence of key ingredients is only the start. Some companies try to trademark ingredients or processes, even if everyone else is using something similar. A beverage maker once tried to brand the concept of handpicked, even though until then that concept wasn’t high on people’s list of priorities.

Design Implications

The thirst for information has important design implications. First, the consumer requires structure for this information resurrected from the fine print. For many pharmaceutical and healthcare products, the problem is further exacerbated since there is so little real estate on labeling—especially if the label also includes multiple foreign languages.

Many companies are throwing out old-fashioned conceptions of the front and back of the package. With much of the fine print now among the most important information to some consumers (“How many grams of fat?”; “Is this comedogenic?”), designers are creating new hierarchies of information, with an appropriate new analysis of package geometry and real estate.

In prioritizing information, brand-savvy package designers are asking: What do we own here, and how can we “dial it up” to gain an advantage over the competition? Many life-sciences companies strive to create an aura of authority, often through a certification or seal of approval. This might be through some officially sanctioned process (e.g., certified organic), or through support of an outside organization (e.g., UNICEF, the American Heart Association).

In short, the newfound consumer interest in what’s inside the box is causing life-sciences companies to strike a new balance between legal requirements, consumer interests, and labeling aesthetics. We feel this trend is still in its infancy.

Copyright ©2004 Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News