Packaging In Product Concept Development And Positioning: A Study Of Selected Firms In The Food And Beverage Industry In Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study examined the role of packaging in product concept development and product positioning in the Food and Beverage industry in Nigeria. It explicitly assessed the effect of package design on successful product concept development; ascertained the effect of package size on product acceptability; determined the effect of package colour uniformity on product attractiveness; and examined the effect of package information on product distinctiveness in Nigeria’s Food and Beverage industry. Survey research design was adopted in this study. The population of the study comprised of 208 staff and 240 customers of twelve (12) firms in Nigeria’s Food and Beverage industry. The customers and staff of the twelve (12) firms were randomly selected across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Data for the study were garnered through questionnaire and hypotheses were tested with simple linear regression. The findings of the study include that package design significantly influence product concept development, package size greatly influences product acceptability, uniformity of package colour significantly impacts on product attractiveness, and package information significantly affects product uniqueness. The researcher concludes that packaging is a potent business activity that is important to the customers as much as it is to the manufacturing and service firms. It begins from when the idea of a product is conceived, as it largely determines the product concept that would be fully developed and commercialized, then follows the product through its journey in the marketplace. Recommendations made include that product concepts should be presented to the management in varied attractive packages that could factually elicit approval; and information on the product package should be made unique, succinct and unambiguous in a manner that distinguishes the firm’s product from those of competitors.