The Effects of Food Packaging Materials on the Environment
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of this project work is to examine the effect and importance of packaging on sales and protection of goods. The specific objectives are:
- To also know to which extent packaging could be used in product differentiation and identification.
- to identify the importance of packaging as a promotional tool to the sales of product.
- To know the environmental problems and prospects of packaging, to identify and possible to suggest way of enhancing improved package product.
CHAPTER TWO
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this part is to review what various authors said about the subject matter i.e. effect of packaging on sales of goods. It is necessary because different authors perceived packaging in different ways.
WHAT IS PACKAGING/PACKAGE
Packaging has been given various definitions by various writers. Stanton (1993:2002) defines packaging as “the general group of activities in product planning which involves designing and product”. He also emphasized further that packaging is closely related to labeling and branding because the label appears on the package and brand owe typically on the label.
J.L. Haskett (1996:591) defined packaging as “the placement of product in containers for the purpose of promotion or production”. He further said that there is no doubt that economic consideration and family opinion in addition to individual emotional force are all instrumental in arriving at a buying decision. It also seems probably that the amount of satisfaction are derives from a product and the nature of the product and its cost all impact on buying decision. Properly designed packaging can give the desired connotation to any product. It can be made to appear expensive or economical, feminine or masculine, heavy or light, strong or fragile or any other desired image. According to him, this can be done through the use of proper colour copy and materials.
Kotler (1993:471) also defined packaging as “the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product”. He went further to say that a container or a wrapper is called the package.
In all the definitions above, the three authors have the same view of what packaging is. They see it as an activity for designing and producing a container or wrapper for a product for the purpose of protection, storage and identification.
The researcher agree with these definition because products of a particular company can easily be identified from that of competitors and therefore increase sales.
Mandel et al (1991:292) considers packaging to be “obviously a high priority for most marketers and with good reason. A package contains the products in every sense of the term. The educated consumer expects the package to protect the product contents to be convenient in use and to carry a label that provides information about the contents, raw materials guarantees or warranties and price of the product.
Wilmhurst (1994:43) said that “when packaging the type of pack has to be decided upon” He concluded that a package may have a number of function to perform which include:
- a) Protection
- b) Identification
- c) Display
Carl (1992:193) in his own contribution to packaging said that traditionally, packaging has been viewed as a means of holding contents together. He gave an example using a box of salt. He also went ahead to qualify it as a way of protecting the product as it move through the distribution channel.
Today, however, the package plays a much greater role in marketing oriented firms. The package should have the characteristics of visual appeal and case of handling. It should be easy to open and reclose and also maintain freshness.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The research approach and methodology chosen for the study are detailed in this chapter. Thus, it describes the sampling method and tools used to collect information from the target population. The chapter is divided into two sections; the first section describes the methods and tools used in collecting data for the study. The second section gives a description of the study district and area.
Research Design
Research design situates the researcher in the empirical world, and connects the research questions to data (Punch 2005). It is therefore the basic framework outlining relationships between the activities required in order to effectively address the central stages of the study. A descriptive research as defined by Neuman, (2006) is one in which ‘the researcher begins with a well-defined subject and conducts research to describe it accurately’ (p. 35). It provides an accurate portrayal or account of the characteristics, for example behaviour, opinions, abilities, beliefs, and knowledge of a particular individual, situation or group. The result is a detailed analysis of the respondents. The descriptive design was therefore chosen to meet the objectives of the study; understand and analyse consumer attitudes towards the use and disposal of plastics bags.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PACKAGING SYSTEMS
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method where the environmental aspects and impacts of all of the included steps (from cradle to grave) for a goods or a service life cycle could be judged (ISO 14040-43). An LCA consists of three components, inventory, impact and improvement of a clearly defined system (Lindfors et al., 1995).
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
CONCLUSION
It was proved that packaging as a promotional tools can really stand as a strong means of product differentiation and it can increase a product rate of turnover.
The study has shown that a well closed in a functional package often remain on the shelf of the seller. Package also promote sales at a jet space because it is a “silent salesman”. The success of any product in the market directly depends on the packaging of such product promotion price and place. The package provides an element in these four strategies that can be manipulated in such a way as to directly influence the success of any marketing plan e.g. Lever Brother Plc and Smithkline Beecham Plc that produces Close-Up and Maclean have success in the market based on their well-designed packaged product, influenced by the use of marketing strategies, both companies uses the three level of packaging.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the research, the following are recommended with the hope that, if applied at the right time and under the right condition, products will perform well in the market;
- The management of firms should make it imperative to package their product in an attractive, informative and creative form to help the buyers identify and differentiate product easily. Since packaging is an important promotional tool, the management should emphasize and ensure proper packaging, because it is an endorsement of intent which sometimes creates impulse buying and can also increase sales turnover.
- Firms are advised to seal package properly to avoid unnecessary waste caused by damage which affects both the producer and consumers. Proper sealing will enable the package to perform its functions of protection for the core product or ease of handling the product.
- The organization should enlighten the customers about any package alteration in order to rebuild the product image, convince the loyal customers not to switch preference and make them believe that the quality that is written on the package. This can be done through other promotional activities or tools such as advertising personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, etc.
- The management of firms should take the dynamism of the society into consideration because it has direct influence and effect on packaging. Therefore, the need to conduct research on packaging to suit changes in consumers taste and preferences is inevitable. It also helps in developing better packaging strategy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Arens, B. (1990): Contemporary Advertising, 2nd Edition, Irwin, Home Woodllh, UK, p. 126.
- Carl (1992): Marketing Communication Process, 2nd Edition. McGraw Hill, London Inc. p. 193.
- Foster J. Mersering (1994): Marketing, 3rd Edition, Macmillan Publishers Limited, Hong Kong, p. 24.
- Hasket, J.L. (1996): Marketing, 3rd Edition, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, pg .591.
- Mandel et al (1991): a Model Search Technique of Predictive Motivate Analysis, Journal of the American Association, p. 292.
- Olsson (1993): Package Production Management, 3rd Edition, Aul Publishing Company, New York, pg. 72, 214, 73.
- Kotler P. (1993): Marketing Management Analysis, Planning and Control, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall Inter. London, pg. 471, 451, 492, 482, 484.
