As part of our file on packaging, we interviewed Anne-Sophie Denmat, Consulting Director at Nouvelle Vague. You may have already read her in the blog article The consumer facing the panel of food labels.

ACCORDING TO YOU, WHAT IS A GOOD PACKAGING?

I think a “good pack” must already assure its primary function of use (protect, preserve, transport…): a pack, no matter how attractive it is, that is not useful or does not fulfill its basic contract (with a faulty opening system, for example), is not a good pack in my opinion.

Then, it seems to me that a good pack is a “just” pack, which successfully amalgamates its endomorphic dimensions (taking into account the invariant codes inherent to its market/product category, which guarantee its belonging) and exomorphic dimensions (integration of singular elements, unique to the brand and its identity, which aim to produce differentiation and to stand out).

It is therefore a matter of achieving the right balance in its design between:

• the communication of cognitive messages, informational, and others of a more affective nature;

• the dissemination of the brand culture, through highlighting its identity and semantic attributes.

A “good pack” is also a pack that will not leave anyone indifferent and that will influence the act of purchase (at least the handling) through the emotion it provokes: reassurance, questioning, desirability.

HOW CAN GOOD PACKAGING TRANSFORM THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE? WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE NARRATIVE PACKAGINGS, CHATTERING PACKAGINGS. HOW DOES STORYTELLING INFLUENCE A BRAND'S POSITIONING AND STICK IN CONSUMERS' MINDS?

The pack is fully integrated into the customer experience, in the relationship that binds the brand to its consumers and of which it is a vehicle. A beginning, continuity, astonishment, reassurance, sometimes rupture and perhaps even reconciliation or re-enchantment? It is one of the expressions of the trust contract that the brand establishes with its buyers.

The brand's discourse can take root on the pack and extend to other channels (website, social networks), and reciprocally, for an enhanced experience.

For example, the social integration brewery Tête Haute created a range of ephemeral beers called Pow Wow, whose recipes are developed by its workers at the end of their contracts. Workers who all have a story during which, at some point, they left the workforce for some reason, and to whom the brewery has allowed to relaunch their professional trajectory through an integration contract. The narration of this journey begins on the beer can… and continues on the brand's website, which the consumer is directed to by a QR code system.

Another example: the bedding brand Eve, whose product packaging is a concept in itself, a journey until the encounter with the bed or mattress. Packaging with an atypical cutting system, replicating the shape of the logo, notices with a friendly tone, typography twists, flashy colors… nothing is left to chance to engage with the brand, even before experiencing the product.

LABELS, LEGAL MENTIONS, NUTRISCORE, ETC. OBLIGATIONS OR MARKETING LEVERS?

Mostly obligations. They are part of the key reference points that have become essential, expected by consumers to guide their choices (which, in any case, will seek information elsewhere if it is missing. Example: Yuka). However, the overabundance of elements on pack can create a saturation effect or generate a complexity that goes against the readability they are supposed to provide.

The challenge for brands is once again to deliver the “right information” on their packaging, to which certain claims can contribute, in order to reassure the consumer in their purchasing act.

WHAT PLACE DOES DESIGN OCCUPY AND WHAT IS ITS IMPACT ON THE ACT OF PURCHASE? BY THE WAY, ON THE DESIGN SIDE, HAVE YOU OBSERVED TRENDS IN COLORS, TYPOGRAPHIES, ILLUSTRATIONS?

Design is central and undoubtedly influences buying behaviors: 44% of consumers even believe that packaging, which is sometimes their first contact with the brand or product, is “determining” in their decision.

For equivalent products, or whose differentiation is not fundamentally perceptible, design determines the choice by the added emotional value it brings. But once again, it must not be “gratuitous” and must align with the brand's spirit. Unless it transforms a usage and/or challenges the codes of a category in an unprecedented way, a new design but off-base, that does not make sense, falls in my opinion into the realm of marketing fantasy.

In terms of trends, we can obviously note the growing concern among manufacturers to create sustainable, reusable packaging, by opting for eco-friendly or biodegradable materials (e.g., Florette's paper bag for its Agrilogique range, which has been validated by the organizations responsible for recycling sectors in France).

The less is more principle remains in vogue, with minimalist packs, stripped to the maximum, transparent or monochrome, similar to what “green” cosmetics brands like Avril or Typology, or the coffee brand Norlo offer. Furthermore, nostalgia, which is at work more broadly in society (e.g., the film release of Dragon Ball Z, the resurgence of 90s fashion among students…), is also reflected on packaging through the use of vintage codes: illustrations, typography, geometric shapes, bright and saturated colors. For example, the brand “La Vie” has developed a global expression territory in a seventies “flower power” spirit, almost a bit “psychedelic”, which gives its plant bacon packaging a unique and unprecedented identity. A way to engage consumers from the pack itself in a story and a totally unexpected universe, in a category of products with rather standardized codes.