Guest editorial: Package design: overcoming challenges for brands
| Date | 13 February 2025 |
| Pages | 153-157 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2025-028 |
| Published date | 13 February 2025 |
| Subject Matter | Marketing,Product management,Brand management/equity |
| Author | Polymeros Chrysochou,Ulrich R. Orth,Alexandros Skandalis,Linda Brennan |
Guest editorial: Package
design: overcoming
challenges for brands
Packaging products (rather tha n marketing them unpackaged
or loose) benefits both firms and consumers, m aking it a
crucial marketing tool. In terms of con sumer benefits,
packaging is associated with conv enience, aesthetic appeal,
content preservation (e.g. Gran ato et al., 2022), and safety
(Schifferstein et al.,2022). Benefits for firms include
attracting attention to the br and (Clement et al.,2013),
communicating brand-related va lues (Khan et al., 2022),
personality (Littel and Orth, 2013), he althiness (Bou-Mitri
et al., 2021), sensory qualities (Schi fferstein et al.,2022) and
overall product quality (van Ooij en et al.,2017). However,
not all effects of packaging are po sitive. On the downside,
packaging is often perceived as a so urce of waste, which
negatively impacts the natural environment (Brennan et al.,
2021). In addition, packaging has been criticized as a
manipulative tool, such as misleadin g consumers by distorting
content perception (Wilkins et al. ,2016)an d concealing price
increases (Aditya, 2001).
Product packages uniquely provide consu mers with a
multisensory experience (Krishn a et al., 2017;Velasco and
Spence, 2018) that involves vari ous sensory modes, typically
including vision and haptics (e .g. Briand Decr
e and Cloonan,
2019;Littel and Orth, 2013), but pot entially also
encompassing olfaction (e.g. Kr ishna et al., 2014) and even
sound (Wang and Spence, 2019). Particularly in brick-and-
mortar settings, packaged consu mer goods serve as an
effective means of persuading sho ppers (Orth and Crouch,
2014). In digital environment s (e.g. online shopping
platforms like Amazon or virtual realit y settings), a package’s
appeal is more constrained; neve rtheless, the preeminence of
the human sense of vision (over othe r sensory modalities) and
cross-modal inferences (Spence , 2011) render visual package
design a powerful means of communic ation in online contexts
as well (Branca et al.,2023).
A preliminary review of the lit erature indicates that between
2010 and 2024, 119,464 articles r eferencing packaging and
consumer-related keywords (e. g. “buyer”or “customer”)
were published in English-langu age academic journals (see
Figure 1). Notably, the number of publ ications has steadily
increased, nearly doubling betwe en 2020 and 2024. Among
these publications, 31,571 ar ticles (26%) referred to “brand”
or “branding,”reflecting a consist ent upward trend –from
24% in 2010 to 28% in 2024. Presenting the st ate of research,
these articles connected a wide arra y of elements, factors and
holistic impressions of package design with a similarly
substantial range of consumer beha vioral responses
(Chandon, 2013;Cronin et al.,2022;Deng and Kahn, 2009;
Lunardo et al., 2021;Raghubir and Gree nleaf, 2006).
As research progresses from describi ng associations to
elucidating underlying mechan isms, the importance of
causative factors grows (Hayes , 2018). Previous packaging
research has primarily concent rated on establishing evidence
of a relationship between package elements and c onsumer
responses, specifically investig ating whether this relations hip
is causal or merely an artifact. As research on the package –
consumer response link develops an d matures, the emphasis
gradually transitions from merel y demonstrating the existence
of an effect to understanding the mechanism(s) through
which that effect operates and establi shing its boundary
conditions or contingencies. Ad dressing questions of “how”
(mechanism) and “when”(boundary condit ions) package
designs affect consumer responses leads to a deeper
understanding of the phenomenon or pr ocess being studied,
offering valuable insights for manag ers on how to apply this
understanding productively.
However, managerial decisio ns regarding package design
remain challenging, as a package’s d esign can evoke
undesirable consumer responses . For instance, using package
design to position a brand as sustainab le can backfire (Felix
et al.,2022), if consume rs perceive discrepancies between
claims and facts (Steenis et al., 2023) or w hen responses vary
substantially between more and le ss environmentally
conscious consumers (Magnier and Sc hoormans, 2015).
Furthermore, reducing the overall am ount of packaging can
lead to negative reactions, eve n though there is a general
consensus that minimizing packagin g waste is preferable
(Monnot et al., 2019). Overall, more insig hts are necessary on
how package design impacts consu mer and brand-related
responses, especially regardin g the interplay between the
benefits sought by firms, consumers and society at large.
In this special issue, we invite d original research exploring
the role of packaging in brand-bu ilding processes. We aimed
to highlight the influence of package d esign on consumer and
brand-related responses while al so addressing the
complexities and challenges it poses for brand managers.
Below, we summarize the contribut ions of each article
featured in the issue. We then prop ose a conceptual model
that synthesizes the insights from these articles and provid es a
foundation for future research in this area.
Articles in the special issue
Buschgens et al. (2025) examine the re lationship between
visual elements in packaging desig n and diasporic consumer
identity, focusing on aesthetic appre ciation. Based on a
mixed-methods approach, the auth ors reveal that diasporic
consumers favor hybrid visual des igns that balance heritage
and contemporary aesthetics, e nhancing their feelings of
diasporic identity and aesthe tic appreciation. Their study
contributes to the literature on vi sual package design by
demonstrating how visual elem ents can engage diasporic
consumers and support their dual ide ntities. It further extends
the understanding of hybrid visual designs to the domain of
cultural aesthetics, highligh ting aesthetic appreciation derived
from visual designs to diasporic identity.
Favier et al. (2025) investigate the impa ct of embossed
product labels on consumer purchase in tentions and
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableon
Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
34/2 (2025) 153–157
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-03-2025-028]
153
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
