Packaging Design Differences between China and the West

In Chinese market, packaging design not only serves a function but also plays a role of appealing to consumers. In this article looks at the differences packaging design China and western market.

The components of packaging design is: color, label and typeface; image, patterns and shapes; and material.

Color: Japan, Green is not popular in Japan, France, or Belgium, while it is favored in Turkey and Austria. Yellow is death symbol in Islamic cultures but green is believed to help fight off diseases and evil. Black is mourning in European, they prefer red, grey, green and blue. Orange is a national color. Chinese customer prefer bright and shiny color for food products but tend to prefer white and pastel colors for personal care and household items. For example, Kleenex features brightly color and abstract flowers on the paper package in US but it designs Chinese uses pastel color and delicate and realistic flowers.

Label and Typeface: Label and typeface are critical to attract consumers. This is especially true in China where foreign brands adopt Chinese brand names, and consequently Chinese typeface, to better communicate to the market. Coca Cola in Chinese typeface became part of the brand identity in China and shapes the packaging in an unmistakable way.

Images, Patterns and Shapes: Products brands that are successful on the Chinese market clearly take into consideration how images and patterns printed on the packaging influence consumers decisions towards own products. Mirinda in order to reach younger segment of Chinese market, not only uses brighter colors but also features cartoon characters on the packaging.

Pepsi taps into local culture, people, icon and activities and response to them to the package.

Nivea offers a line of lip balm packaged in smaller solutions than the ones sold in the west. It is because Chinese customers prefer packages of smaller size. This is particular true for food products, they have smaller storage space than in the west.

Material: Package material reflects how much the company understands its market. Chinese customer dislikes products using too much waste material for packaging due to environmental concerns. Colgate, for instance, chose to differentiate its product in China by using different material when the company entered the chinese market in 1992. When the majority of domestic toothpaste manufactures used aluminum tubes, Colgate introduce plastic tubes which was more durable and safe. The new packaging has dominant 1/3 of the market over years.

Vladimir Djurovic. Food and beverage magazine online. 13 April 2010 http://fb101.com/?p=312