Precious de Leon stares into the 'eye of the dragon' for a glimpse of the seven social macro-trends that are shaping consumer attitudes, particularly towards packaging.
Marketers focus too much on fads, which typically appear on the tail end of deep societal shifts, says Sophie Romet, MD and partner, Dragon Rouge, and as a result lose sight of the bigger picture and therefore usually engender "me-too" strategies.
The branding and design company believes a fad is only a micro-trend, part of a wider trend called a macro-trend and, like all fads, won't last long or have much influence. The trick is to identify the macro-trends that shape consumer attitudes and behaviour in order to market effectively.
Dragon Rouge has identified seven macro-trends which the company calls "Eye of the Dragon" that are having an influence on consumer attitudes and behaviour in today's marketplace. This article will examine how each of these macro-trends is influencing food packaging.
Conscience
The most important of the seven macro-trends is growing ethical awareness.
Consumers are increasingly losing faith in once-established authorities instead, they are embracing brands and purchase occasions as ways to create and assert their own belief systems. This phenomenon emphasises consumers' growing respect for themselves and for others, a developing sense of human citizenship and respect for the environment. People are becoming more ethical because they are becoming more conscious of the impact their habits and desires have on nature and on other people.
"They are increasingly saying, 'If I want a good life, people should share it with me'," says Romet. "Therefore, consumers will embrace those brands that align with their beliefs.
"People are putting the notion for ethics in everything they do. This is not because they have suddenly become more unselfish but mostly because they have now realised that what they are doing will affect their own health, as well as the future world they are building for their children."
Examples of micro-trends that form part of this macro-trend are going green, voluntary simplicity, and a desire for health and wellness. In packaging terms, this translates into increasing pressure to reduce waste in manufacturing and for sustainable, recyclable packaging. It also means a move towards minimalist design. "Less waste will probably become the new motto," she says.
Enough
"We live in a society of excess," says Romet, and this, she says, has provoked a consumer desire for more simplicity and clarity, and less clutter.
Consumers know that marketing exists, but they simply don't want to see it any more. More and more, they are drawn to products whose concept and packaging celebrate human craft as opposed to machine production, and which represent an invitation to take a break from their hectic lives, and from visual pollution and other excesses triggered by mass consumerism.
Dovetailing with the "Conscience" trend, "Enough" is a harking back to a "pre-marketing" era, amounting almost to a rejection of overly exposed brands. This is more apparent in the West than in Asia or the emerging markets.
As with "Conscience", minimalism is the reigning design philosophy and there is a desire to adopt packaging materials recycled paper, wood or glass that can be reused. Packaging design is becoming more nostalgic, capable of evoking the consumer's childhood experiences, and therefore lending a feeling of "safety" and a focus on craftsmanship.
Silicone
Paradoxically, as consumers return to things natural, there is a move towards acceptance of new-generation materials. An example is silicone, from which baking molds, for example, are now made.
"Because consumers are exposed to an increasing number of innovations, they are asking for brands that are simple and playful," Romet says. "They seek simplicity in the product's benefit or in its usability, and playfulness in the colours and shapes of its packaging, and in the product's ability to de-dramatise a chore or minimise unpleasant experiences."
This points towards more functional packaging, such as cheese sold in re-sealable bags, with playful graphics.
New materials, Romet says, create an opportunity to experiment with new shapes and customisable packaging.
Gattaca
The most futuristic of the seven, this trend looks at the intrusion of technology into everyday life. It acknowledges the potential for a merger between the virtual (tech) world and the real one. The technology of multi-player gaming and online social networking has the potential to spill over into other aspects of our lives.
Motion-detection devices such as those used in the Wii controller, for example, could aid in the rehabilitation of people with movement disabilities. Though mass marketing - and public acceptance - of such ideas will probably take a while, use of sophisticated new technology in packaging is much closer to becoming a reality.
Products following this trend address the growing need for more fluidity and escape in consumers' lives and features packaging design that reinforces technology with visual cues from the consumer electronics industry.
A chip embedded into a can or bottle that is capable of sending signals to a satellite would make it possible for merchandisers to locate an item or gather information about its condition. By examining the life of a product from the day it leaves the factory to the day it is thrown in the bin - it will be possible to better understand consumption patterns and consumer preferences. An already existing technology is Xerox's cured gel ink, which gives users the ability to create branding on materials that digital printers up till now have not been able to print on, such as plastic and foil.
(Gattaca is a 1997 film that "presents a biopunk vision of a society driven by new eugenics", according to Wikipedia.)
Aesthete
"People want to put beauty in their lives," says Romet, and one way to do that is with packaging that shows individuality and style.
How can this trend be squared with the "Conscience" trend, which indicates that consumers want packaging that is minimalist and environmentally friendly?
Romet says consumers want balance. Yes, consumers want packaging that is basic and natural, but they also want elegance, what she calls "quiet or simple sophistication". It is also about what Romet calls "emotional packaging", the use of colours, shapes and textures for maximum effect.
Precious
The "bling" trend. Consumers still want to show off what they've got. Status symbol products and brands are still in vogue. As Romet says: "Consumers are still going 'eco', but at the same time they want more from the real world."
Consumers want their own space to indulge in rituals and seek shelter from the outside world, which is increasingly complicated, harsh and unpredictable.
There's a move for positioning products towards self-indulgence. Promoting pleasure-seeking experiences with a brand or product also comes into play.
"It's a trend that centres on more sensorial things. It's about the unique and premium experience," says Romet.
Packaging that follows this trend will create a mixture of feminine colours and textures that denote premium positioning. "There is continued hedonism and at the same time a desire to show spiritual or emotional connections," says Romet.
All togetherness
The final trend highlights what Romet calls the global alignment of brands. It's about being multicultural through experiencing multiple communities as the world gets smaller.
"Brands that went global used to be very uniform, with the likes of McDonald's and Starbucks putting out the same standard ingredients even in their foreign markets. But now there is a move towards more ethnic flavours in the popular cultural arena," says Romet.
Spices and traditional foods from Vietnam, India and Brazil, for example, are now more accessible even through mainstream outlets.
"More cultural and ethnic brands are becoming global," says Romet. "As a result, what can be defined as "exotic" has changed. Exoticism is now about blurring the lines between industries and cultures, and an exciting wave of innovative productions and combinations are doing just that."
Even the likes of McDonald's are coming out with flavours that suit the local community McArabia burger, for example. This all-encompassing trend will also see a movement towards the creation of packaging that will have the characteristic of more than one of the social macro-trends. All togetherness sees the union of more than one characteristic to cater to a wider variety of consumers.
"Obviously, you might recognise that some of these trends are actually a mirror of each other," Romet says.
"These contradictions are simply a reflection of just how complex and ambiguous consumers and consumer culture really are."
As a last word, Romet shares this thought: "As a brand marketer, you cannot decide what is right or wrong for your consumers, but you can try to determine how these macro-trends can help shift your own thinking and develop breakthrough innovation."
© Gulf Marketing Review 2009
