10.24.2007

“HartBeat” is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

Archives »
Click here for an archive of past HartBeat articles

FOLLOW US

Comment »

Print »

E-mail »

Subscribe »

Share »

• digg
• del.icio.us
• facebook
• Linked in
• newsvine
• reddit
• twitter
• friendfeed
• StumbleUpon

E-mail:

Message:

Please write the image text in the given input box:

[ Different Image ]

Label Profusion

In the midst of an ever-rising sea of labels, consumers are reading them more than ever...but why?

The range of words, images and symbols found printed on today's food and beverage packaging is diverse and highly complex. It used to be the case that the realm of package design and marketing was entirely that of manufacturers, but today retailers have entered the packaging and labeling game, further complicating an already patchwork world.

As such, not only do consumers get "marketed" to by a mass of brand names, product images and health claims printed on packaging, but as was recognized long ago, boxes, bottles and cans are ideal storyboards for telling product narratives. At the same time, and almost as if in counterbalance to a product's on-package marketing mix, the nutrition facts panel and the ingredient list add a level of government enforced "reporting" on a product that many consumers are only beginning to understand how to use. Today, we live increasingly in an era where phrases and symbols designating myriad cues and causes are becoming as diverse as corporate logos stamped on NASCAR race cars.

For the average consumer faced with the potential learning of such a broad lexicon of words and symbols, we might expect them to shy away from the business of reading labels. And in general, we can say that this is true, because really, in the context of everyday life, careful label reading remains a largely unnecessary activity. In most instances reading labels is typically undertaken only to demarcate the intrinsic identity of an item that is being purchased or consumed. We place emphasis on the word "careful" in the context of label reading, because in truth, the business of carefully reading labels has become at least an item of increasing interest in the lives of many consumers. One sign of this from our upcoming Pulse Report, Food and Beverage Labeling from a Consumer Perspective lies in the 30% of Americans who recently reported that they read labels much more frequently today than a year ago. Another 31% said they are reading labels slightly more often, underscoring in total that label reading is an important element of several different aspects of consumer lifestyle for more than half of the population (Figure 1).

Elements of Lifestyle that Lead to Label Scrutiny

Today, label reading can be seen as elements of lifestyle, meaning there are a number of driving forces that trigger consumers to "interrogate" the packages they purchase: One relatively simple way to look at label reading behavior is to observe that the depth of interrogation increases as consumers become more active in health and wellness lifestyles, with the most thorough analysis conducted at the Core of the World of Wellness.

Interestingly, while consumers are apt to say they check labels at the shelf in stores, we know that from our study Shopper Insight: How Cultural Occasions Frame Consumer Experience that many of the influences to purchase a product - and read a label - are controlled by events and forces occurring in the home as opposed to in the store. In the case of label reading, when we consider what tips the everyday, casual glance at packaging labels into the region of "careful" analysis, we must take into account a broad range of influences that drive consumers to scrutinize labels, not the least of which include the effects of the media, consumer lifestage, household structure, religion, health conditions, food safety and freshness concerns, as well as diet and weight management programs.

These elements can be synthesized into the following five key areas of influence on what drives consumers today to carefully study labels, in no order of importance:

1. Authenticity and the quest for truth in production: consumers increasingly want to know the truth behind production, source of ingredients, quality of ingredients, or signals of ethical production
2. Shopping for one's self or others: self-directed vs. other-directed shopping, and the influence of diagnosed and self-diagnosed health conditions; food preferences; religious and dietary restrictions
3. Looking for or avoiding key ingredients: avoiding or seeking ingredients that might be linked to weight management training or self-informed nutrition needs, and perceptions of the positive or negative effects of such ingredients on physical or mental health
4. Food safety and freshness concerns: reflecting rising consumer interest in fresh products, with a renewed interest in expiration and freshness dates
5. Media and the news: the influence of nutrition research reports, imported and tainted food scare reports

In support of these behavioral influences on why a consumer might scrutinize package labeling, we also know that similar sentiments are reflected attitudinally because when asked to rank a number of common influences on why they might consult package labeling, we find that health, curiosity about "what's in" food, freshness concerns, weight management and worries over ingredient origins are the top five drivers behind reading a label (Figure 2):

Beyond the realm of worries and concerns that drive consumers to examine labels, there are also occasions where labels are largely ignored, many of which derive from moments of enjoyment, which may include:

• Indulgent occasions ("when I splurge, I don't look at anything"),
• Seasonal influences (summer cookouts, school vacations),
• Travel (for business or pleasure) and
• Special events (parties, sporting events, dining out).

Looking Forward

Consumer food purchase decisions are becoming more and more complex. Marketers struggle with explaining increasingly complicated stories to consumers about what a food product is and how it's good - from diverse standpoints ranging from health to ethics. Mainstream consumers want simple explanations as to why food products they choose are healthier, functional or otherwise not just plain old food. Evolved health and wellness consumers often want a fuller story, with more technical detail about their foods.

Matching the product story to the consumer can be challenging - what works for mainstream consumers is insufficient for evolved wellness consumers, and what attracts the latter often scares off the former. In general, label reading itself may soon be classified as a lifestyle hobby, with a diversity of influences driving consumers to "learn" (or ignore) certain elements of a package. While specific influences tend to tip consumers to consult label components carefully, rising interests in freshness, authentic product narratives and the origin of ingredients speak for interesting times ahead for manufacturers and retailers seeking to influence consumers by package design.

Comment »