Answer to Question #257349 in Management for Thembi Doda

Question

Explain the importance of packaging and identify type of packaging that Woolworths will focus on according to their strategy.

Answer 1

Discussion

Packaging, whether it is a food packaging, cosmetics packaging, electronics packaging or packaging of a piece of clothing, it has a purpose why it is there. Packaging has many different roles. For example, providing protection, safety, enhanced usability, attractive looks, sustainability etc. However, what is often perceived with packaging, is single-use purpose. Packaging is there to fulfill its mission one time only. Either it is pulled off in order to start using the product it holds inside, or it is thrown away as soon as the packaging content runs out. The result is the same. It is there just temporarily.

• Protection- The primary purpose of packaging is to protect its contents from any damage that could happen during transport, handling and storage. Packaging retains the product intact throughout its logistics chain from manufacturer to the end user. 
• Safety -packaging has an important role in keeping its contents and consumers safe. Packaging should contain important information of the product and its safety. For example, for food products the packing date, best before date and a list of ingredients must be clearly visible on the packaging.
• Attractiveness- Packaging counts an important part of the product brand and marketing. A unique packaging can increase the product attractiveness and thus affect to the willingness to buy the product. 
• Usability - Consumers are looking for fit-for-purpose packaging. They demand a functional, “life-saver” packaging that is incredibly user-friendly. The usability of the packaging is judged by the consumers only. A packaging which is simple to open and close, easy to fold and sort after usage, and which can be reused or recycled will satisfy some of the consumers’ requirements. 
• Sustainability- The packaging design has a crucial role in defining how easy it is to separate the materials from each other and thus how easy the packaging is to reuse and recycle. Making more with less not only saves resources but also leaves less material for the consumer to handle properly.

Woolworths sustainable packaging team are progressively working across the supermarket's entire own brand range and fresh produce to either remove plastic packaging altogether, reduce the volume of plastic used, increase the use of recycled materials or make packaging 100 per cent recyclable. The new packaging, launched nationwide in Woolworths stores, features a punnet with a ‘kraft-box’ base made from 63% recycled paper, and covered with a fully recyclable shrink wrap made from South African-manufactured Superthene and polyolefin polymer, which is fully recyclable, unlike the PVC of before. The new kraft boxes are 100% fully recyclable, biodegradable and Forest Stewardship Council certified. It has been a long road to get to this point, according to Pierre Geldenhuys, Business Manager: After months of planning and testing, the team finally put together the ideal environmentally friendly packaging and managed to finalize the kraft boxes.

Reference

Silayoi, P., & Speece, M. (2007). The importance of packaging attributes: a conjoint analysis approach. European journal of marketing.