This is a saying that has a lot of origin stories, and regardless of who said it first, this is actually something that is true and is relatable to packaging. Why is that? Well, we’ve realized that humans rely a lot on our eyes when we consume food.
It gives us satisfaction, and in our modern world, we’re often looking at the way something looks, and through smart devices, TV channels, and social media, we definitely will look at the way the food seems to look. that’s where the term “food porn” comes from, and its why cooking programs and celebrity chefs have brought forth the trends of pretty dishes, and it is a way to mask unhealthy foods through the way that it looks. Visualization is so important, and for food packages, this is something that can benefit them a lot.
Why?
Well, the average home-cooked meal back in the 1940s took 150 minutes to make. Nowadays, you can make it in less than a half hour. The demand for these pre-cooked meals is high, and you want to make it look good so that it entices the customer. After all, nobody wants to eat stuff that looks like spam.
There has been a study that’s shown that people will make a judgment on something within 90 seconds of the initial investigation, and 93% of people will buy a product based on the visuals it has. The damnd for these ready meals is so important and it provides feelings of an authentic and home-cooked dinner when it needs to be sustained. This is a great way to get customer awareness about sustainability, and having awareness and sustainability through sourcing the ingredients is very important.
Food manufacturers don’t understand the importance of the right material and packaging. If customers are making a judgment within 90 seconds, you can’t get this wrong. Selecting plastic makes it look cheap, and people will think it’s a microwave meal, but aluminum makes it look high quality, and it also can make preparation and cooking a lot faster, and it is also highly recyclable and reduces the food waste. According to the European Aluminum Foil Association, the best material is Alufoil, and it provides a barrier that’s against moisture, oxygen, and light, in order to keep the food fresher for longer, and it also saves a lot more resources than are consumed within production throughout this.
Plus, it can be used again, with ¾ of it being in use due to the recyclability. You can also create good packaging designs, and using foil trays is perfect for those pre-cooked meals. We use eyesight in order to spot the food that we want, and with eating starting at our eyes, it’s changed the packaging game forever, so as a product manufacturer, you should make sure that the packaging is good enough for the people that it will not only get their attention but make them salivate as well too.