Is What's On The Outside Of Your Packaging What Is Inside?

Packaging News You Can Use
Tip Of The Week
Issue #1272 - March 16, 2007
Publisher: JoAnn Hines
packagingdiva@aol.com
http://www.packaginguniversity.com/
http://www.packagingdiva.com/
http://www.packagingbootcamp.com/
http://www.packagingcoach.com/
© Packaging News You Can Use
By JoAnn Hines The Packaging Diva


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I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE:
Missed out on some of the information packed insightful articles from the Packaging Diva? I have created the Best of the Diva 06 Anthology just for you.
From Topics as diverse as How To pPackage A Lobster to "Are You Wanted By The Packaging Police?" this compendium cover all the recent "hot" packaging topics.
Part one includes the following 23 titles. Email me at packagingdiva@aol.com for a more complete description.

Packaging By The Numbers - Demographic Challenges
Bombed Out With Boomers? Your Package May Be The Problem
13 Packaging Trends That Will Make Consumers Buy In 06
What Can NASCAR Teach Us About Packaging?
The Outside Of The Box Is As Important As What Is Inside
Is Your Package A Candidate For The "Oyster" Award?
A Valentine Heart Should Be More Than Just A Box Of Chocolate
Fear Factor Packaging
Tips For Packaging Products SHE Will Buy
Has Your Packaging Gone To The Dogs?
Package Design Trends That Connect With Consumers
Today's Consumer Is A Moving Target
What's In Your Bottle?
How To Make Your Product Packaging Newsworthy
Earth Day Battle: Packaging VS. The Environment
Retail's First Moment Of Truth - The Package
Beer Profits Drop. Could it be the Packaging?
What Wal-Mart Wants Wal-Mart Gets
It's Easy Being Green - Packaging Your "Green" Brand
Packaging That Sells Products or Not By JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva
How To Package A Lobster
Are You Wanted By The Packaging Police?
How To Package "Skinny"

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FROM THE DIVA'S READERS:
From Kevin at Point Of Purchase Online Network Kevin@popon.net
i just read and posted this article...AWESOME ARTICLE!
The reality begs this question. Are you packaging "greenwash" to capitalize on a current media trend or are you saving the environment with "true" environmentally friendly packaging?this statement above in green hits the nail right on the head. there was a few "green" sections in the trade show we attended and i am sure these people/organizations have good intentions but the question you posed above should be asked by all involved. i, as you, have seen trends come and go...... this trend must become common practice for every good reason you can think of....good stuff here

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IN RESPONSE TO MY ARTICLES:
"Baby's Got Bling - You can Packaging Anything" November 06
The latest dirt on Intel comes in a three-ounce bottle for $20
Austin American-Statesman (subscription) - Austin,TX,USA
Take the Berlin Wall, which was boxed up in small containers after it was torn down and sold at malls in commemorative packaging. Then there were the wooden ...

"What Can Nascar Teach Us About Packaging?" Febuary 06
MARKETING FLAG DROPS ON NASCAR
Retailers and brands again illustrated the popularity of auto racing by ushering in the 2007 NASCAR season with a bevy of promotions.

"10 Packaging Trends - Trend #10 Code Orange" January 07

FDA Announces New Safety Guidelines for Fresh-Cut Produce

In light of contaminated produce scares that have rattled American consumers since September, U.S. health officials on Monday (March 12) released a draft of proposed guidelines for commercial processing of fresh-cut vegetables and fruits.

The voluntary guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggest ways that food industry processors can minimize contamination of ready-to-eat produce by harmful bacteria that are common in the processing of these products.In light of contaminated produce scares that have rattled American consumers since September, U.S. health officials on Monday (March 12) released a draft of proposed guidelines for commercial processing of fresh-cut vegetables and fruits.

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FEATURE ARTICLE:

Is What's On The Outside Of Your Packaging What is Inside? by JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva

The Prevention Institute, a nonprofit health advocacy group out of California, studied 37 heavily marketed foods with pictures of fruit on the packaging. Fifty-one percent of the products contained absolutely no fruit, a few had minimal amounts! Yikes, you have to be vigilant on all of these fruit claims. Just take a stroll down the fruit juice isle and try to figure out which product is real 100% juice.

We all have had that experience of buying something based up its package or label and then find out what is inside is not what we expected. I know it’s wishful thinking that we can believe all those fantastic marketing claims (a lot of people do as evidenced by the product’s popularity). Think get thin quickly, eliminate wrinkles in 10 days and, the new favorites, protect your heart or lower your cholesterol. The last example is a tribute to the fact that marketers are finally talking advantage of marketing to an aging population.

Consider the recent flurry of activity regarding misleading claims on trans-fats. Companies are taking this seriously and changing their claims. I have learned this: Trans-fats, which very rarely occur naturally in unprocessed food sources, have no known nutritional benefits. The sole utility of trans fats is to increase product shelf life by retaining flavor and texture, through the technique of partial hydrogenation. ICK, no wonder they are making changes.

People are concerned with what we perceive to be "healthy" as listed on the package’s ingredients statements and then find out that it is misleading or false. Some claims (even though they are within the context of the law) can lead consumers astray by giving foods an undeserved "aura of health."

Here is the definition for false advertising which includes packaged goods:
False Advertising -"Any advertising or promotion that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods, services or commercial activities" (Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1125(a)). So think about that when you are developing your product packaging. Can your claims be substantiated or are you "stretching" the truth, as in the case of fruit pictured on the outside but not actually inside?

I found lots of great information on how to read and UNDERSTAND a packaging label. WOW, it is confusing even to a seasoned professional. It is almost as if they are deliberately (ha, ha) confusing the consumer into make a purchasing decision. I did a little investigation before writing this article and was shocked by the number of product manufacturers that have been sued for false adversertising claims. This is a huge expense to defend the claims or pay to settle one that we consumers pay for in the product price.
From cold sore treatments to orange juice, they all have been sued for making unsubstantiated claims on their product packaging. Things as simple as this lawsuit against cereal packaging claims was aimed at food companies including Kraft Foods, General Mills and Kellogg alleging that "low sugar" breakfast cereals are leading the customer astray.

The suit claims that these cereals are misleading because they are not any healthier than cereals with regular levels of sugar. The food industry, in general, is coming under increasing pressure from food lobby groups and parents, to “clean up its act” and offer healthier alternatives to help combat the obesity epidemic facing America. Sugary cereals are frequently cited by these groups as guilty culprits, encouraging children to eat empty calories instead of nutritional whole foods.

No product packaging is immune. Consider these "hot" buttons currently being scrutinized if you manufacture products that make claims on any of the following attributes:
• Weight loss claims to reduce or lose weight in a specified manner or period of time;
• Healthy choice claims which imply or state benefits to a consumer from consuming;
• Organic or natural food claims that indicate the product is uncontaminated or pure from chemicals and additives;
• Nutrition claims such as rich in vitamin C that can not be proven or the alleged benefits proven.

This is just a start. Look for proof of environmentally friendly packaging and materials to be in the next wave of packaging being heavily scrutinized. Is it really "green" or just "greenwash?"

You can't stop the lawsuits and media spin; however, you can ensure you do your best to prove to the consumer that what is on the outside of the packaging is also what is inside.

Get the Packaging Diva on your team. Visit http://www.packaginguniversity.com/ to find out about the latest packaging innovations and "Consumer Trends That Can Make Or Break Your Business" or call me for more details at 1-678-594-6872.


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THE DIVA'S PICKS OF THE WEEK:
Costco Challenges Vendors To Adopt X-Ray Inspection

Costco Wholesale Corp. Assistant Vice President Craig Wilson, who heads the club store's food safety department, recently challenged its vendors to consider adopting X-ray inspection systems. In an article in Food Engineering magazine, Wilson said Costco would soon require X-ray inspection systems in addition to metal detectors as a critical quality assurance tool in food and beverage manufacturing.

Boycott of Dove Products Urged As Nude Ads Air Prime Time
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, New Jersey, March 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new series of prime-time ads for Dove beauty products featuring shots of naked senior women is coming under criticism by pro-family and women's groups for contributing to the sexualization of women as a commercial tool, as well as exposing children to adult nudity.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07030501.html

Wal-Mart Announces Initial Results of Packaging Scorecard ...
said Matt Kistler, senior vice president of marketing, research, and insights for Sam's Club and captain of Wal-Mart's Packaging Sustainability Network. "We are in a unique position to drive positive change in the area ...
North Coast Green Spieler - http://northcoastgreenspieler.blogspot.com/index.html

A Worldwide First - Cascades Launches Bioxo(TM) Oxo-Degradable ...
Packaging & Converting Essentials (press release) - Antwerp,Belgium
... the TDPAC additive gives the polystyrene foam special degradation properties without compromising the performance of the packaging products. http://www.packagingessentials.com/news.asp?id=2007-03-15-18.15.15.000000

Chicken of the Sea’s New ‘Peel & Eat’ Cups Answer Consumer Demand ...
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
And as noted in the December 2006 issue of Packaging World, "The emphasis on convenience drives so many food and beverage packaging developments today, ...
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070305005885&newsLang=en