Mondi Consumer Packaging International AG | AUSTRIA

Story validation

There is a story to everything on the market. When it comes to pets, it nowadays tells a lot with regard to the humanization of pets – about health, agility, delicious treats, playfulness or pure happiness. At the shelf the shopper is confronted with a huge variety of stories that also have a look and feel to it, triggering the final purchase decision. 

Which product will make it to the basket? If the decision is not driven by price, it is the product that is the most attractive in the eye of the purchaser. So, what makes a product appealing? First, visibility helps. Second, the packaging has to live up to the story that was told prior: via advertising and brand image. Third, the look and feel has to transport the story. Fourth, the packaging has to appear convenient and handy. In other words, the entire ‘package’ has to be convincing.

Deputy arbitration

Given the current research, people are willing to spend a lot of money on their pets, sometimes even more so than on themselves. The pet owner nowadays does not only want to provide the pet with basic pet food. The ‘humanization of pets’ calls for a different type of decision-making from the pet owner. As pets get humanized, it is no longer their original needs that count. The decision taken by pet owners is based on their own taste and bias’. Some pet owners will be attracted by packaging that communicates high-class content, while some will care for organic content and an organic look and feel. Purchase decisions are often taken in just a few seconds. So, following the brand, the packaging needs to convince the shopper by reflecting the respective brand story. The rule of thumb for this trend is: what is currently trending in the human nutrition industry will soon enter the pet industry, too. 

Convenience and sustainability

Now is the moment where the shopper’s full attention is on the product. The story fits, the packaging looks good, it has an appealing haptic. But what about convenience? This is where the five ‘easy’ rules come in: easy to carry, easy to open, easy to dispense, easy to reclose and easy to store. And if all those topics are rated positive, there is room to consider sustainability. There are not many alternatives on the shelves yet, but a lot of research and innovative thinking is invested into making packaging solutions more sustainable – from bio-based to biodegradable, from down gauging to active packaging. We need to take a holistic view on sustainability here, especially when it comes to food safety and reduction of food waste. Things are slowly moving forward and towards the mass market. 

Perseverative momentum

After all this thinking, the product finally makes it to the basket. But this is not the end of the story. Even if the packaging successfully convinced the customer, the decision is in limbo at every walk through the supermarket corridor. With new products, trends and technologies popping up, the market is changing rapidly. This asks for continuous cooperation between the supplier and the pet food manufacturer. And that is why Mondi, as a producer of high quality pet food packaging, strives for long-term cooperation with their clients.