Packaging

JAZZING IT UP

Making something look premium is pretty easy if you know how. Selecting the right colours, typefaces, language, mode of delivery and environment it's delivered in, can all sway a consumer to invest that few pennies more in a product. 

We are all being sold to

Everything we do, every day, in all walks of life, we're being coerced - and for want of a better word... 'tricked' into parting with our money. Some products may be better quality than others but quite often, we find that some items will actually be inferior to other products but appear more valuable by simply having a stronger marketing/advertising appeal.

It really does boil down to the power of the advertising. And with food, it's the packaging that works so well. Take this example from packaging agency Design Group Italia, who have done a great job with Lays Crisps. Look at this product subjectively without packaging around it. Crisps or potato chips, are just slices of potato fried in oil. But put them in a gold foil bag with classy black and gold outer packaging, a signature-esque 'Gourmet' script/font, descriptive terms like 'exquisite' or 'excellence' and some quality photography & layout design to further instil a premium feel. Voila, you now have an expensive fried potato.

It's knowing when the premium products really are what they say they are and not just jazzed up with packaging, that we can make better choices. So, are crisps really as gourmet as this pack of crisps say they are? No. But we are all easily hoodwinked when it comes to a bit of jazzy wrapping - even on a pretty simple (but tasty) product, like a bag of crisps. Once we realise this, we can understand where clever marketing draws on our inner desires, address this addictive behaviour and beat our impulse buys.

True & False

TOO TRUE

Every day we learn something that we accepted was true yesterday, is now false. Especially when it comes to food.

Red wine. It was believed we should drink small amounts as it contains antioxidants and could actually be better for us drinking this particular kind of alcohol to prolong life as apposed to being a tee-totaller. It's popped up again recently and there's a reversal on this thinking suggesting it's now NOT something that's good for our health. The odd glass of wine can work wonders after a stressful day or enjoyed with friends.
Butter. Avoid it. Use spreads and olive oil. NOW it turns out - it's all based on flawed research.
Cereals. I grew up on Coco Pops, Shreddies, Corn Flakes, Sultana Bran...cereals oh yeah and white bread. I'm still alive and pretty well? Yet, there's now a real hate campaign on grains. AVOID! I have to say, I'm kinda taken to this one as there's so much negativity surrounding it and haven't touched cereal in a few years now. But, stick to the least processed variety and the ones lowest in sugar and pretty I'm sure it'll be fine.
Bread. Staple of the French, Italians and Europeans. AVOID. I'm only eating decent wholegrain or rye bread occasionally now but really, is it that bad?
Fruit juices. Get your five a day. WRONG. Low in fibre, high in sugars, acid, and calories. Just eat some fruit or make your own juice using fresh fruit and vegetables. Get a decent cold-press juicer.

And the list goes on - here's 7 more foods that have had a reversal.

Thing is - we're being constantly advertised to with deceptive marketing spiel and the media is full of fantastical rubbish designed to get us reading their papers etc. It's no wonder people are so confused what's good and bad for them - and this is just the food. Exercise is now being linked to shortening life and even taking health supplements could increase chances of cancer. What does it all mean? It means stop reading the papers (especially The Daily Mail!), question the information being fed to you via advertising and gossip, make your own investigations, do what you enjoy in moderation and if there's anything that you know makes you feel bad, keep a diary of what you do & eat and asses the results yourself. Over time you'll see/feel the results and know. We're all different and what works for some, doesn't always work for all.

Question 'truths'
I'm now half way through Counter clockwise: mindful health and the power of possibility, written by Ellen Langer. She encourages us to be more mindful and question science, research and results. We are all different and nothing is set in stone, yet, science bases it's results on facts - facts that can not be clear cut if you take into consideration there's so many factors not included in this research that affect everything and everyone, so we need to have 'shades of grey' answers. The consequence of this type of black & white reasoning is that we set our minds to 'facts' and it's this definite inflexible mindset that makes the result and consequently we become inflexible too. Telling ourselves something is bad, can and will end up becoming true if we allow our minds to tell us so.