David Frank
As a baker of pies (and the occasional accidental demon baby pie), I get it – bags of flour come in paper bags that constantly shed flour with every movement, and are not even remotely sealed against air or vermin. You definitely should transfer your flour to something airtight once you get it home from the supermarket, for no other reason than to reduce the decline in quality as it oxitizes over time. They even make containers to fit standard size flour and sugar bags.
Nonetheless, it has not gone unnoticed that flour (and sugar) bags suck.
“here’s your flour in the worst possible container. fuck you.”
-flour companies
— B. (@ArtLesb0) March 22, 2022
Well, here’s why…
Hi, my name’s David, and I’m a marketer. I wrote my Master’s of Science in Marketing thesis on just this.
1. Sensory association
There’s a reason why some bread and most chips come in crinkly packaging. The sound enhances our perception of crunch. The talk I link to below has many more examples. Similarly, a product we associate with soft should is likely to sell a little better if it comes in soft packaging. Put competitors next to each other and put one in cardboard and it won’t sell as well. It’s worth noting some people are more tactile than others. We actually measure this on a “need for touch” scale.
2. Category cues
Shoppers don’t have time to find the right product. By clustering not just in location on the shelf, but in packaging and design style, conforming to established norms means a customer can spend seconds scanning the shelf and picking the product they want and move on. The best example of this is a laundry detergent bottle. Yes, you can buck category packaging and design trends (like Pringles), but unless you pair it with an expensive promotional campaign (like Pringles) your sales will plummet. Flour was sold in paper bags a century ago, and may very well a century from now.
3. Cheap cues
You can’t get cheaper packaging than paper.It’s not just that it will drive up the price, but people associate cheap flour with cheapness. Put it in a glass jar, emboss it, and add a label on the jar with a reflective gold seal of high quality and the inconsistency will raise consumer skepticism. This is why only premium flour, wheat flour alternatives, or established brands (like Bob’s Red Mill) come in alternative packaging.
4. Price
Most consumers won’t pay more for better packaging for a staple like standard flour, but will for premium wheat flour alternatives.
5. It’s not just retail flour, proving there’s a practical reason
Paper is good enough for all sorts of cheap powder or granulated products. Wholesale size bags of flour for professional bakers, sugar, cement sold in both small and large amounts, sand, and other cheap products all come in paper based bags as well. Though not the strongest material, paper packaging has a low enough failure rate for products that are cheap enough, but there is no return on investment in skimping for higher end goods. This factors in both leakage and complete failure, as anyone who has ever had a bag of flour or cement split can attest to.
More info
I have a 15 minute talk on just this, with examples of the above concepts, and slides you can download. Visit thedavidfrank.com/sensorymarketing
Feel free to ask questions in the comments below. I’d be happy to answer them! Or just post your best “lesser of two weevils” joke.
References
Becker, L., van Rompay, T. J. L., Schifferstein, H. N. J., & Galetzka, M. (2011). Tough package, strong taste: The influence of packaging design on taste impressions and product evaluations. Food Quality and Preference, 22(1), 17–23.
Celhay, F., & Trinquecoste, J. F. (2014). Package Graphic Design: Investigating the Variables that Moderate Consumer Response to Atypical Designs. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(6), 1014–1032.
Karana, E., Hekkert, P., & Kandachar, P. (2009). Meanings of materials through sensorial properties and manufacturing processes. Materials and Design, 30(7), 2778–2784.
Krishna, A., & Morrin, M. (2008). Does Touch Affect Taste? The Perceptual Transfer of Product Container Haptic Cues. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 807–818.
Peck, J., & Childers, T. L. (2003). Individual Differences in Haptic Information Processing: The “Need for Touch” Scale. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(3), 430–442.
Spence, C., & Gallace, A. (2011). Multisensory design: Reaching out to touch the consumer. Psychology and Marketing, 28(3), 267–308.
Spence, C., & Wang, Q. (2015). Sensory expectations elicited by the sounds of opening the packaging and pouring a beverage. Flavour, 4(1), 35.
Velasco, C., Salgado-Montejo, A., Marmolejo-Ramos, F., & Spence, C. (2014). Predictive packaging design: Tasting shapes, typefaces, names, and sounds. Food Quality and Preference, 34.
