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z Designing fun packs for modern kids can be seriously good business
Deepak Manchanda
Top corner: Eyeballs to grab eyeballs Below: Luring kids towards a brand remains an aesthetic challenge for companies
es, the pester power of modern day kids has influenced buying decisions in a dramatic way, obser ves Shweta Mohare, Creative Group Head, DY Works the design group that works on Kellogs Chocos and Cadburys packs among others. Especially, with the growing modern trade shopping experience, the kids can touch and feel the product and just toss it in the cart. Moreover, todays kids have easier access to things. They are aware of whats happening around them and across the world. They are constantly in search of new things. It is thus important to constantly churn out innovative and engaging ideas that will keep this generation hooked on at all times, she continues. (www.dyworks.com) Around the world, brands have realized that investment in child-centric pack design pays off. Children have emerged as a significant consumer group that cannot be overlooked. It is acknowledged that while parents may be doing the spending, it is their offspring who dictate where the money goes. In Western Europe children between the age of 5 and 14 are said to represent between 9 to 12% of the population and they have specific demands
Note:*Brat Pack: With apologies to the original group of young Hollywood actors to whom this term is usually ascribed.
when it comes to food and drink, requiring a unique approach to marketing and product development. (www.packagingtoday.co.uk) Sudip Mondal, Head of Packaging Development at Perfetti Van Miele India, agrees. Branding for children is big business, he says. Children offer a captive audience and wield enormous purchasing power directly and indirectly. They are seen as a future as well as current market. Brand loyalty developed at a young stage helps in the quest for continued sales, later. However, in India as yet Shweta Mohare observes, There are very few childrenoriented packs in the Indian market today.Mostly, all packs follow the conventional structure, barring a few like the Junior Horlicks or Cadbury Wowiess. We hardly see any innovation in terms of the structures, printing techniques or substrates, as most emphasis is paid on graphics only. Whilst, international markets display immense emphasis on child-centric packs starting from Lego to Crayola which have built in the sensorial experience of using crayons. The recent launch of Perfettis Alpenliebe Mangofillz confectionery pouch shaped like a funny mango shaped face perhaps is just the kind of holistic approach to which Shweta Mohare is referring. As Sudip Mondal says, the unique Mangofillz pouch was conceptualized to be shelf and self appealing to kids. It was designed to catch the attention of kids with shiny big bright holographic eyes and unusual shape while being displayed on the shelf promote interactive exploration and imagination, with its leaves which also work as an easy-open notch while being held in hand. Shweta Mohare appears to agree with the above approach. While creating a pack for children, she says the visual power and experience plays a key role in wooing the audience. An element of unexpectedness or a sense of surprise makes it that much easier to connect with kids. Playful being the operating word, the colours and graphics need to be bright so as to catch the eye immediately and more so, the childs attention. While all this may seem easy and fun at a marketing level, the technology challenges in such a process can be daunting. Steve Osborne of Osborne Pike aptly terms it the serious business of designing for fun. (www.mediapost.com/publications/article/). Sudip Mondal refers to the challenges of minimizing material waste arising out of a non-geometric mango shape pouch; making profile-cut pouch sealing and cutting dies as well as having to lay down standard manufacturing quality
parameters for a non-regular pouch shape. In addition there is a dire need to ensure the use of safe, non-toxic inks and lacquers. Shweta Mohare refers to the necessity of adhering to easy product nomenclature, category codes as well as Nutrition Tables which almost all mothers would like to see even if they are not necessarily the final consumers of the product.
Deepak Manchanda, Consultant Packaging Design & Technology, www.firstouch.in, Over 35 years experience in the packaging industry; From the Central Design Services of Metal Box, to Packaging Development in Ranbaxy, Dabur and Oriflame India. Currently, with Firstouch Solutions, a division of Autumn Design, he offers packaging design solutions to a wide range of clients in varied industry sectors. deepackmanchanda@gmail.com; deepakmanchanda.firstouch@gmail.com
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