Abstract
Although governments have implemented regulations to inform consumers on important product properties and protect consumers from deceptive information, empirical research on how consumers perceive, interpret and experience food packages have shown frequently that consumers may be misled by how information is presented and packages are designed. While communication in some domains is strictly regulated (health), claims in other domains are largely free (nature) and do not require substantiation. Subtleties in wording, image use and image style may affect the impressions consumers form. To support consumer decision making, legislators should not only provide rules and regulations that are formally correct, but also consider the effects a message and the way it is communicated (e.g., content, typeface, size, use of images, stylistic features) may have on buyers. While it may be unclear how best to support desirable behaviours, companies that take social responsibility can build on our work to develop their strategy.
Highlights
Product packaging design could play an essential role in changing food-related behaviour, because packaging plays an influential role when consumers make their food purchases
In this paper we focus on the use of voluntary verbal claims, images and general packaging features, as these will be most relevant as in struments that can be used creatively by packaging designers
Within the EU, health claims are regulated by the Nutrition and Health Claim Regulation (NHCR), which deals with all kinds of statements that a food has particular beneficial characteristics based on its nutritional content and that are voluntarily put on the label (EC, 2006; EU, 2011)
Summary
Product packaging design could play an essential role in changing food-related behaviour, because packaging plays an influential role when consumers make their food purchases. Similar tools are used in communicating these benefits through product packaging design, such as specialised front-of-pack logos (providing an assessment or sign of approval), verbal claims, images, general pack aging features, like colour, shape, and material, most of which are connected to the defined brand image and branding guidelines We consider both aspects simultaneously in this paper and we explore the possibilities of related, adjacent concepts in our search for ways to communicate these aspects in a more effective and truthful way through packaging design. In this paper we focus on the use of voluntary verbal claims, images and general packaging features, as these will be most relevant as in struments that can be used creatively by packaging designers For each of these three categories, we first discuss legal aspects: what are the rules and regulations regarding the ways in which each of these instruments can be used in order to support a healthy or environment-friendly message? We will end with a discussion of ethical dilemmas related to communicating the actual origin and constitution of products versus communicating aspects that are effective in changing people’s behaviour in a specific direction
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