Instructions: Assume you are given the task of developing retail packaging for a new product. The product and package will be produced in a small town in China and then shipped and sold in the United States.

The product will be small runs at first and the package will be a folding carton with a three color print. What print methods might you consider for the first smaller runs? Would you change to a different method if the product does well and goes into larger production runs? Justify your reasoning and considerations.

Your assignement will be in APA format and must include a properly formatted reference list. You paper must be 1200 words, excluding title page and reference page.

ANSWER

New Product Packaging

The development of new products is fundamental for an organization’s strategic development, growth, and success. Introducing and bringing a new product into a market successfully requires an enormous team effort, which can become even more challenging when penetrating a foreign market. This means a company must understand their new target customer’s needs and preferences, geographical trends, as products are designed to meet specific consumer demands and wants. Product development includes numerous stages, which for a successful process, an organization must have a well-equipped team developing a new product with the modern and necessary technology, and most importantly, present a successful and customized market orientation that seeks to discover and meet their target customer’s needs through the product and marketing mix (Hussain, Ali, Ibrahim, Noreen, & Ahmad, 2015). The product mix includes four dimensions: the product’s width, length, depth, and consistency. On the other hand, a marketing mix consists of controllable marketing tactics and tools a company uses in response to their target market, including the product price, place or distribution channels, advertising, and promotion.

This paper focuses on the importance of thriving and customized product packaging for a new product produced in China to be shipped and sold in the USA. It argues that the lithography printing method meets the marketing orientation and philosophy that drives more customer responsiveness, integration, and success of the new product.

Packaging in the marketing mix is a process taken when designing and producing a consumer product container or wrapping serving to contain, identify, describe, protect, display, and promote it. Most people and companies have viewed packaging as functioning to secure and hold a product; however, this function keeps changing and evolving to meet the changing and evolving consumer needs and market trends (Hussain, Ali, Ibrahim, Noreen, & Ahmad, 2015). The contemporary corporate world is characterized by stiff competition of companies producing similar products, leaving companies to differentiate their products through effective promotion, even in packaging. Whenever we walk down supermarket isles seeking to buy biscuits, we find many brands providing the product, and it is left for the customer to purchase that which attracts them in terms of display, branding, and quality. Therefore, effective packaging is an integral marketing tool that can be perceived as a rare, valuable, not easy to imitate asset for an organization. According to Klimchuk & Krasovec (2013), almost 50% of new products fail in the market upon introduction in their first year despite the extensive effort, surveys, and research conducted among organizations (Klimchuk & Krasovec, 2013). Hence, it is crucial that effective packaging is done for increased customer responsiveness and product integration into the American market in addition to research and customer survey.

The chosen printing method is offset lithography, a process involving the transfer of offsets or images from a plate to a blanket and finally a substrate. This method meets all criteria necessary if the Chinese company seeks successful foreign market penetration and does not want to be part of the first-year product failing company statistics. Offset lithography provides consistency and high-quality printing of folding cartons, providing a sharp longer lifespan outcome with variants of color gradients. The method is cost-effective for long runs but could be pricey for small runs and having a custom-made plate. However, a company’s ability to own its custom-made plate maximizes sustainability and reduces increased production costs (Velarga, 2018). During the printing of the packaging box, 3 color print is mandatory, and a branding that is hyper-personalized, customized, and regionalized will be printed. The purpose of choosing this printing method, despite its limitations of being pricey for small runs, is that it provides a differentiation factor for the new product: consistent high-quality, which aligns with the product mix of consistency and maximizes competitive advantage. The first impression, including the quality of a product’s packaging, is vital as the packaging draws customer attention, becomes a trendsetter, and communicates its high-quality and value, hence quickly influencing customer purchase behavior.

Organizations compete stiffly in the markets, hence, realize the power of packaging in creating brand recognition among customers. For instance, if the product is a new biscuit brand, competition in the American market includes internal biscuits and confectionery companies over 100, including large, medium, and small scale manufacturers. Moreover, competition comes from other foreign multinational corporations, even in China. This means supermarkets and other selling centers stock over 100,000 products, creating a highly competitive operating environment. It requires effective packaging that promotes and differentiates itself from other products. Customer reaction and responsiveness to products are based on psychological and behavioral aspects such as individual tastes, wants preferences, and product presentation. The presentation may involve the easiness of using elements within the product mix, as a product mix determines how the packaging will look. Therefore, when the packaging provides this sense of safety, easiness to use, efficiency, and comfort, it influences customers’ purchase behavior as they feel the product possesses similar qualities (Agariya, Johari, Sharma, Chandraul, & Singh, 2013). Secondly, the presentation may involve aesthetics, which should be distinct, providing the company’s brand identity and product. The brand may be a logo, attractive designs, appealing names, symbol, or a sign. The first appearance and impression dictate much in customer responsiveness and reactions. Having a distinct branding of the product communicated by catchy packaging words with appealing aesthetics, including wording and symbols, may easily maximize product integration into the foreign market, influencing consumer perceptions of the product and company. Many customers will attach meaning to brands, such as seen with Coca-Cola, Walmart, Tesla, and McDonald’s brands compared to their competitors. Hence, an effective and appealing packaging with high-quality and sharp printing outcome provided by the lithography printing method will persuade customers to further investigate this new product by buying it and may create brand loyalty, which is critical in the future if the product does well in the market (Agariya, Johari, Sharma, Chandraul, & Singh, 2013).

If product integration and customer responsiveness of the new product are a success, this would mean the product is doing well in an international market: the USA, and requires larger production. The offset lithography printing method would be maintained for larger production runs because it is cost-effective and most suitable for producing large volume print runs but expensive for a low volume such as in the small runs. However, despite its pricey limitation, investing in this method presents more benefits than costs, including long life span, sustainability, high-quality, presentability, customization, regionalization, personalization, providing sharp, unique outcomes that maximize product memorability, likeability, meaningfulness, protectability, and transferability (Hassan & Mostafa, 2018). These are the crucial reasons the offset lithography printing method would be used for larger volumes, with this time being cost-effective, hence operational and production efficiency. Secondly, this method meets all product and marketing mix criteria for successful penetration into the American market. Finally, this printing method provides a differentiation factor for the new product: consistent high-quality, which aligns with the product mix of consistency and maximizes competitive advantage.

For the new product to be successful in the American foreign market, the packaging must promote and differentiate itself and the product with high-quality printing traits achieved through offset lithography to maximize customer responsiveness, reaction, product integration into the target market, and success.

References

Agariya, A. K., Johari, A., Sharma, H. K., Chandraul, U. N., & Singh, D. (2013). The Role of Packaging in Brand Communication. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Vol 3(2). ISSN 2229-5518.

Hassan, A. A., & Mostafa, D. H. (2018). The importance of packaging design as a banding factor in consumer behavior. Fifth International Conference of the Applied Arts, https://www.academia.edu/38617966/The_Importance_of_packaging_design_as_a_branding_Factor_in_Consumer_Behavior.

Hussain, S., Ali, S., Ibrahim, M., Noreen, A., & Ahmad, S. F. (2015). Impact of Product Packaging on Consumer Perception and Purchase Intention. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, Vol 10, pp; 1-10.

Klimchuk, M. R., & Krasovec, S. A. (2013). Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding From Concept to Shelf, 2nd Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Velarga, M. (2018, June 28). Digital vs. Offset Printing for Packaging: Which one to choose? Retrieved from https://pakfactory.com/blog/digital-vs-offset-printing-for-packaging-which-one-to-choose/