What is packaging and positioning?
Packaging refers to the physical design of a product's container or wrapper — things like colour, shape, text, and images. Positioning refers to where a product is placed — both physically in a store and mentally in the consumer's mind (how it is perceived compared to other products).
Both packaging and positioning are powerful tools that companies use to attract buyers and increase sales.
Gift-Wrapping
Gift-wrapping is when a product is presented in a special wrap or attractive outer covering, usually associated with giving as a present.
How does gift-wrapping affect consumers?
- When a product is gift-wrapped, consumers tend to value it more highly than an identical unwrapped product. This is because the wrapping adds a sense of specialness and effort.
- Gift-wrapping creates a feeling of anticipation and excitement, which increases how much pleasure the consumer expects from the product.
- Even when consumers know the product inside is the same, the wrapping alone can make them willing to pay more for it. This is sometimes called the gift-wrapping effect.
- The effect works partly through psychological associations: wrapping is linked to celebrations, generosity, and receiving something valuable.
- This has practical uses for businesses — even online retailers now use premium packaging and tissue paper to give products a "gift-like" feel, increasing customer satisfaction and perceived value.
Food Package Design — Becker et al. (2011)
Context: Food products compete heavily on supermarket shelves. Packaging is often the only thing a consumer sees before deciding whether to pick up a product.
What Becker et al. studied:
Becker and colleagues investigated how the visual design elements of food packaging affect what consumers think and feel about the food inside — even before tasting it.
Key findings:
- Colour is extremely powerful. Colours on food packaging trigger associations. For example:
- Green and earthy tones suggest the food is natural, healthy, or organic.
- Bright colours (like red and yellow) suggest energy, taste intensity, or excitement.
- Pastel or muted tones can suggest luxury or delicacy.
- Shape and imagery matter too. A round, soft shape on a package may suggest the food is mild or sweet; sharp, angular designs can suggest strength or boldness of flavour.
- Consumers made taste predictions based solely on packaging. If packaging looked "healthy," people expected the food to taste less indulgent. If it looked indulgent or rich, they expected it to taste better.
- This is an example of cross-modal perception — the idea that one sense (sight, through reading the packaging) influences another sense (taste, when eating the food).
- Importantly, consumers are often unaware that packaging design is influencing their judgements. They believe they are making independent choices.
Why this matters: Food companies spend enormous amounts of money on packaging design because it directly affects whether consumers pick up a product and how much they enjoy it.