Main Decision Areas: PACKAGING & LABELING

Packaging:
Packing means wrapping of goods before they are transported or stored or delivered to consumer. Packaging is the enclosing of a physical object, typically a product that will be offered for sale. All the activities of designing & producing the container for a product. In modern days packaging has become an important part of product management. With competition increasing marketers are turning to innovative packaging to establish a distinctive edge. This is especially so in the marketing of consumer products like processed foods, soft drinks, toiletries, cosmetics & other personal care products.
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The following are the main decision areas in packaging. (a) Package Materials (b)Package Aesthetics (c)Package Size/ Convenience
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(a) Package Materials : Changing trends - from wood to paper & plastics In the earlier days, wood was the main material Paperboard cartons, paper bags, have become popular forms of packaging for a variety of products from groceries to garments. Metal containers are an excellent packaging medium for processed goods, fruits, vegetables, oil, paint etc. Aluminum foil, packaging are used in products like tea, coffee & spices.
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 Plastics, the New Packaging Material : Plastics as a group are now dominating the packaging field in India. Popular brands like Tata Tea, Nescafe, Dalda, Amul Milk chocolates have gone for plastic packaging. Merits: water proof & moisture proof capacity to provide resistance to sun exposure light weight Thermal stability attractiveness & transparency Tetra Packs : Frooti, Slice, Amuls buttermilk, Fruit Juices like real havegone for tetra packs.

(b) Package Aesthetics : For enhancing the sales appeal of the package, more & more attention is new being given to package. For Eg. Doy soap with different animal structures. For the first time in the soap category, the customer could see the shapes, colour & appearance of the product.
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(c)Package Size & Convenience : (i) Ponds cold cream & Brylcream in tube (ii)Application conveyance of Harpic (iii) The cold drink cans (iv) Economy packs (v) Sachets (vi) Reusable containers (viii) Refill packs
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Kinds of material used for Packaging: 1. Earthen wares 2. China Jars 3. Wooden boxes 4. Card Board containers 5. Straw baskets 6. Gunny bags 7. Tin containers 8. Plastic containers 9. Glass bottles 10. Clothes etc.
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Requisites of Good Package: It must 1. protects the contents 2. looks attractive 3. establish identity 4. provide convenience 5. less cost 6. develop the interest to possess 7. arouse the people to re-purchase 8. enhance the image of the product 9. occupy less space 10. give brief idea of the product 11. build confidence 12. clean look 13. like an asset 14. possess a status to display 15. minimize the sellers job 16. resist soiling 17. trade characters 18. label pasted 19. eye catching look 20. simple in design 21. convenient to handle 22. look like fast seller

Functions of Packing: a. Product Protection b. Product Containant c. Product Attractiveness d. Product Identification e. Product Convenience f. Effective Sales Tool
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Labeling : Sellers must label products. The label may be a simple tag attached to the product or an elaborately designed graphic. The label might carry the brand name or a great deal of information. Labels identify the product or the brand. Eg. The name frooti is stamped on Mango Juice. The label might grade the product, they might describe the product, who made it, where it was made when it was made, expiry date, what it contains, how it is to be used. Finally the label should promote the product through graphics. It is mandatory to print MRP on all packaged products.

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Mandatory labeling is the requirement of consumer products to state their ingredients or components. Moral purchasing and avoidance of health problems like allergies are two things which are enabled by labeling. It is mandated in most developed nations, and increasi ngly in developing nations, especially for food products. With regard to food and drugs, mandatory labeling has been a major battleground between consumer advocates and corporations since the late 19th century. Because of past scandals involving deceptive labelling, countries like the United States and Canada require most processed foods to have a Nutrition Facts table on the label, and the table's formatting and content must conform to strict guidelines. The European Union equivalent is the slightly different Nutrition information table, which may also be supplemented with standardized icons indicating the presence of allergens.
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