Packaging Design and Perceived Healthiness

The phenomenal breakthrough in the eating habits of more health-conscious consumers has intensified the competition among manufacturers and marketers of processed food products/ brands. An excellent communication vehicle in marketing is the product's packaging itself. This particular study shall examine the effect of different non-verbal attributes of packaging towards consumers' perception regarding healthiness of processed food products in the category of dairy and beverages. This study is quantitative in nature using field experiment for collecting primary data from the consumers to measure level of rationale and intrigue onto the effect of packaging design attributes onto the perceived healthiness of processed food and beverage products in Pakistan. The findings reveal that amongst Color, Shape, Graphics and Visibility, the most significant package design attribute in terms of the healthiness expectations they create is the "graphic image". Therefore "graphic image" must be taken as a super attribute, as it lets the customer have the perception of what the product must look from inside the packaging, if the image of product itself is on it.