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Art of packaging
CONSUMER SURVEY: A CUP OR A POUCH?
¼ pallet size stand and floor display MetsäBoard Pro WKL 160 g/m 2 , 33 lbs/1,000ft 2 B-flute
remain fresh in the closed packaging. Factors related to printing technology also needed to be taken into account when selecting materi- als because Kouvolan Lakritsi’s brand colour is black, and the black printing ink involves certain requirements for the printing surface. “We conducted several shelf-life tests and found that the lid solution worked really well and that the cup kept the liquorice fresh,” says Kallio, de- scribing the stages of product development. Nisula is happy about the fact that the paper- board cup is easy to recycle. He also came up with a fun idea about how to use the mug after all the sweets have been eaten. “You can reuse the mug as a coffee cup, for example. There will be a slight flavour of liq- uorice in the coffee from the mug.” Impressive presentation According to Ilkka Harju , Packaging Services Director at Metsä Board, the work of the pack- aging design team is not limited to planning the form and material of the packaging. “In addition, the design team considers where the product will be sold, how it will be present- ed at the shop, and how the packaging will go through the logistics chain.”
The sales stands need to appear impressive and firm in the shop, and they must withstand the impacts and handling of consumers pass- ing by. To promote the sales of the liquorice mug, the packaging design team designed various sales stands made of Metsä Board’s white kraftliner, which has properties that are perfectly suited to Kouvolan Lakritsi’s needs. Corrugated board made of Metsä Board’s white kraftliner is firm and durable material with an excellent print- ing surface. “The package’s appearance and the sales stand are hugely important. They are the key in mak- ing the product stand out and sell well,” says Nisula. Flexible collaboration According to Nisula, collaboration with Metsä Board is effortless. Thanks to the long shared history, Metsä Board has gained an under- standing of what the client wants, which makes the design work easier. “During the brainstorming stage, we toss around ideas, they pick them up and then pres- ent the final product to us,” says Nisula. •
Before launching the liquorice mug, Metsä Board commissioned a consumer survey to ensure that the innovation would be worthwhile. The survey was carried out by Sense N Insight, which special- ises in packaging research. Virpi Korhonen , the Managing Director of the
company, explains how the survey was carried out, and what its results were.
How was the survey carried out? In the consumer survey, the respondents com- pared Kouvolan Lakritsi’s sweet pouch with the new liquorice mug. The survey sought to find out how much consumers liked the new packaging method compared with the traditional sweet pouch. The respondents did not know the exact purpose of the survey. The survey was started by presenting both prod- ucts to the respondents at the same time. They were asked which product was more appealing based on the first impression, and for which prod- uct they would be prepared to pay the indicated price. After rating the first impression, the respondents could examine both packages in their hands, open them and taste the contents. After this, the respondents first gave their assessment of both packages independently, followed by a group discussion. What did the survey find? The consumers who participated in the survey liked the liquorice mug: it received 73 points out of 100 in the SNI rating, while the sweet pouch received 31 points. This shows that the respond- ents thought that the liquorice mug had clearly more sales potential than the sweet pouch, indi- cating that the innovation would be worthwhile. The SNI rating measures the perceived value of the product, the willingness to pay, and the prob- ability of buying compared with another product. A score over 50 points is a good result. All the respondents found the liquorice mug easy to use, clean, safe, attractive, eye-catching and impressive. For example, the following comment was included in the open answers: “The mug is practical if you eat small amounts. The mug is easy to
close, it stays in an upright position, and you can place it in a cup holder in a car, for example.” In sustainability, the mug received an average score of 7.8 out of 10, while the pouch received 6.1 out of 10.
Table display and transport package MetsäBoard Pro WKL 160 g/m 2 , 33 lbs/1,000ft 2 E-flute
Cup and lid MetsäBoard Natural FSB Cup 1PE, 310 g/m 2 , 17.7 pt
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