Posted by Katie Breton on under Packaging

Summer is all about bright, vibrant colors that catch a buyer’s attention.  If it’s shiny, people will look.  The folks here at Whitlam Group are no different; we look, too!  In the case of summer products, if the packaging or labeling is colorful, then half your battle has been won.  Do you recall our previous blog post about Corona and a certain infamous radio celebrity who started his own brand of iced tea?  Same thing.  But there’s been a recent trend in other areas of the beverage market that’s traditionally been based on what packaging says to convince you to buy it versus the packaging itself.
Packaging Digest recently ran a story on a supermarket chain (Weis Markets) that made a change to their own brand of Raspberry Lemonade and regular Lemonade.  What was the change?  Instead of the standard cartons we’ve all come to know and recognize, they’ve been replaced with clear carafe.

Now, there’s always been a popular misconception about store brands versus name brands and how one is lesser than another.  This isn’t always true and Weis seems to be out to turn that belief around.  What will consumers like about this new packaging design?  They’re easy-to-grip–so no awkward fumbling or at least hopefully less of it–they’re shatter-resistant (always great if you have kids who like to get their own juice), can be reused and recycled (depending on the community where you live).  What’s not to like?
The marketing director, Joseph Koch, for Country Pure Foods who produces and bottles the lemonade had this to say about the new development: “The bright colors are appetizing and consumers are attracted to the product when they can see the juice.  A clear carafe is a wonderful marketing tool; the bright yellow, pink, and orange of the actual juice says more about quality than a printed carton ever can.”

Koch has a very valid point.  If consumers can see the product and they find it appealing to the eye, chances are they’ll be more apt to try it than something they can’t see sitting in a carton next to it no matter what that carton states about the product.  Now, does the color of what you see actually speak to the quality of the product?  That’s best left up to the folks who take the juice home and drink it.  In the meantime, the folks at Whitlam Group take our hats off to Weis Markets for embracing a new and innovative approach to their products as well as the summer season itself!