A Wren Says

Perusing the frozen foods aisle at the grocery store, I was intrigued. In the sea rof ed boxes, this white box, with a sharp V stood out. “Vital Pursuit.” I opened the freezer door to learn more about this quick pizza option, that was clearly a better for me choice. Of course it was the healthiest, quick option, and of course it would help me reach my fitness goals. Just look at the box.

We can easily focus on the advertising side of the marketing mix. And don’t get me wrong, building awareness about your product is important. But what about when they are already in store? Then it’s your packaging that has to do the job. If you design your packaging well, it will draw the customers’ eye and intrigue them to learn more, and just maybe inspire an impulse purchase.  

In the case of this pizza box from Vital Pursuit by life cuisine, I noticed the use of color that created a sharp contrast against the other offerings. The angular lines were less cluttered and indicated strength. The aesthetic was more masculine than many low-calorie options. For me, it was clear they were targeting fitness and health focused shoppers by indicating the protein content twice on the box. And finally the name, Vital Pursuit, seemed active itself. It is a pursuit, which means you are still in motion, moving towards that thing.

In the moment, it is likely that most people are not going through that analysis, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention to your packaging. How can you make your packaging in such a way that you draw them in and encourage them to try your product? How can you design it so that it catches the eye of the people you designed the product for in the first place?

(By the way, I did go ahead and buy that pizza. I took it home and followed the directions and ate it and was disappointed. It is still very much a low-calorie freezer pizza. The flavor was not as vibrant as the box. Maybe the other varieties would be better.)