Global or local packaging?

In this globalized world, companies manage products and packaging in different ways. The report notes that Estée Lauder packages in Canada some products made in the United States that are then exported to the entire world. Nestlé packages in France or Brazil coffee that originates in America and is then reexported back to North America.

On the other hand, L’Oreal has it both ways, the report says. Its large megabrands are managed by an international marketing group, usually in a single format. But most products are sent to subsidiaries that have their own marketing facilities that “ask for products, sizes, and specific packaging.”

Nonetheless, packaging has a strong local dimension. “Packaging production sites are situated as near as possible to packaging sites, which, in turn, are situated close to the consumer,” the report points out. A worldwide spirits brand, Smirnoff vodka, for example, is produced and packaged locally, using different producers that are bound by the brand to manufacture the same shape of bottle. “What appears simple and obvious from the point of view of the marketing person is much less so for the manufacturer, because glass technologies are not historically the same in different countries,” says the report. For example, silica content is not the same in different countries. The same principle holds true for metals used for drink cans; an identical shape masks a multitude of “little differences” of a manufacturing or technological nature, the report points out.

However, there are exceptions to this localized packaging, especially for high-end products like cosmetics. France, Japan, and South Korea now all supply specialized parts for cosmetics packaging, because each country has unique capabilities. Estée Lauder in the United States, for example, imports injection-molded parts from France for packaging at its North American factories.

‘Branding’ vs packaging

Brands seem to be far more universal than even the products themselves, much less the packaging. “Is the worldwide success of Coca-Cola due to its product, or is it because it is to be found almost anywhere?” the report asks.

When it comes to packaging, size becomes a local issue. For example, the report notes that PepsiCo’s Tropicana markets fruit juices in 2-L containers in the United States. That size, however, is too large for most European markets and is far bigger than what the Japanese market would desire. The copy reports: “Packaging is much smaller in Japan because the Japanese have limited space, and enjoy a remarkable network of convenience outlets.”

In London, Procter & Gamble launched P13 to replace Olay for Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. The aim, according to the report, was to design packaging adapted to the different types of bathrooms and to the cultural customs, for example, a small refillable package for Japan.

The report also discussed sustainable packaging development and suggested that packaging may face “a reintroduction of Economies of Energy in the production process.” However, this theory won’t be easy for Americans to adopt, the report says.

“Rapid climate change may lead to a new awareness among consumers, including Americans, for whom the right to as much cheap energy, air conditioning, and automobiles is almost a part of their constitutional rights. Sustainable development is therefore an abstract notion, or even contrary to individual freedom of the majority of Americans...”

This Eurocentric view pervades the report, especially when discussing packaging development. However, given the sources interviewed, it’s not surprising. The only North American interviews in the credits were with representatives of Estée Lauder and Landor Associates, both of New York. That contrasts with at least 10 interviews with France-based companies, four from London, and a few from the Far East. The report was developed by Loeb & Innovation (www.loeb-innovation.fr).