This blog post examines whether excessive packaging is simply consumer deception or an inevitability driven by changing consumer demands.
These days, many packaged goods—such as food, cosmetics, and gift sets—face consumer criticism. The reason is clear: excessive packaging deceives consumers to maximize profits. The term “excessive packaging” is often used pejoratively by consumers to describe products with little content but flashy outer packaging. It literally means packaging beyond what is necessary. How else would we have the saying, “I bought nitrogen and got snacks as a bonus”? This expression is frequently used when consumers criticize companies that focus more on packaging than on the actual product contents.
The basis for judging that products today are overpackaged lies in their past appearance. Products that once contained substantial amounts of contents have gradually reduced their contents while becoming more elaborately packaged. This leads to the perception that companies selling snacks, alcohol, gift sets, etc., today are deceiving consumers and seeking profit through excessive packaging when compared to the past. While products of the past prioritized functionality and practicality, packaging has become increasingly important in modern times as one of various marketing strategies aimed at catching consumers’ attention.
But is this change merely a ploy for companies to maximize profits? I believe it’s not excessive packaging, but rather an evolution to meet consumer demands. Today’s consumers increasingly value design and are heavily influenced by it when making purchases. While a product’s practicality remains essential, its outward beauty—its ‘packaging’—has become a significant consideration.
Visual elements play a particularly crucial role in modern society. Snack bags must catch consumers’ eyes, and in restaurants, the design of the interior, tableware, and the food itself contributes to customers’ perception of taste. Apple, arguably the hottest brand today, has built a large fanbase with its simple yet sophisticated design. Thus, beyond a product’s functionality, its outward appearance—its design—has become a key factor consumers consider when making purchasing decisions.
Furthermore, if a company or seller targets young people, they must pay even greater attention to product design. Young people place particular importance on visual appeal. Young consumers want the products they use to offer value beyond mere functionality.
For example, the tendency to seek out well-packaged gift sets during holidays, the excessive desire for luxury bags or clothing, or the purchase of expensive water bottles with eye-catching designs all clearly demonstrate modern consumer trends. These behaviors reflect a social atmosphere that values the ‘joy of ownership’ as much as the functional value of a product.
For clothing, accessories, and cosmetics, quantity alone doesn’t guarantee competitiveness, and products are often qualitatively similar. In such cases, improving the product’s quality through technological advancement is necessary. However, if competitors produce the same type of product, their technological capabilities will likely be comparable. Therefore, gaining a competitive edge through packaging becomes essential. Packaging now serves a role beyond mere product protection; it is increasingly considered an integral part of the product itself.
This holds true even for edible products where the contents are more important than the packaging, especially snacks. Of course, individual preferences vary, and some consumers may not prioritize packaging. However, expectations about a snack are often formed by the images and text on the packaging, which also provides information about taste and quantity, stimulating consumers’ appetite. Before purchasing a product, consumers already gauge its quality through the packaging design. Consequently, the product’s ‘first impression’ significantly impacts sales performance.
Now, globally, good packaging has become an integral part of the product itself. Therefore, sellers, whose duty is to satisfy consumer desires, must pay close attention to product packaging tailored to the interests of their consumer base. To satisfy consumers’ aesthetic desires and capture their attention, sellers or producers transform product packaging to be more vibrant and eye-catching. This transformation often results in a relative reduction in the proportion of contents within the product. Consequently, discovering that a product contains less than before might raise suspicions that the producer deceived consumers to increase profits. However, the reality is that product quality evolves in response to shifting consumer interests.
Of course, reducing quantity or degrading quality solely to cut production costs without improving packaging constitutes consumer deception. This is common in snacks, where the contents may be more important than the packaging, as mentioned earlier. Often, while packaging improves, the quantity of contents noticeably decreases compared to the past. Any company or seller engaging in this practice should naturally face penalties.
Currently, crackdowns on excessive packaging are being enforced in various countries based on guidelines set by environmental ministries and agreements signed by producer groups and consumer advocacy organizations. These regulations serve as a crucial factor contributing to environmental issues, going beyond mere consumer protection. Excessive packaging leads to unnecessary resource waste, which can have serious long-term impacts on the global environment.
Meanwhile, in today’s society, design has become increasingly important in most product sales, especially given the tendency among younger people to place significant emphasis on appearance. While the priority between a product’s contents and its packaging naturally varies depending on the product’s characteristics, it cannot be ignored that packaging is growing in importance, and producers have little choice but to follow this trend. Considering these points, the diversification of packaging designs and the increasing size of packaging relative to contents can be seen as product development aimed at expanding the consumer base. Before criticizing excessive packaging as inherently bad simply because the contents are unsatisfactory, reflect on how appealing that packaging was in convincing you to purchase the product in the first place.
