Master Thesis
A study of the chips packaging among
young consumers in Sweden
- From the perspective of customer satisfaction and
customer’s purchase decisions
Authors: Yifan Liu yl222df@student.lnu.se
Xi yang xy222am@student.lnu.se
Hanbing Zhu hz222bs@student.lnu.se
Examiner: Malin Tillmar Supervisors: Frederic Bill Term: VT20
Subject: Business Administration with
specialization in Innovation, Degree Project (Master), 30 credits & Business Administration, Degree Project in Entrepreneurship (Master), 30 credits
Level: Second level
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to understand the satisfaction of young customers living in Sweden for a long time with the packaging of chips and the impact of packaging on their chip purchase and to discuss corporate social responsibility in connection with environmental sustainability. In this study, theoretical analysis, interviews, and focus groups are used as the research methods. Through the analysis of collected data and combined with the theory to carry out a comprehensive analysis. Through the analysis, it is found that the color, picture, and shape of packaging in the chips market in Sweden are the main factors affecting customers' purchase. It is also found that young customers still attach great importance to the sustainable development of the environment and think that the company should be responsible for this. The findings of this study can be considered to provide customers with real ideas for companies who want to understand the Swedish chip market and help them develop the Swedish market. Due to the lack of research on the packaging market in Sweden, the researchers hope that this study can be helpful to the relevant research.
Keywords: Packaging, Customer satisfaction, Purchase decision, Environmental sustainability,
Acknowledgments
Table of content
Background ... 1
Problem discussion ... 4
1.2.1 Communication ... 5
1.2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ... 8
Research Gap ... 9
Statement of purpose ... 10
Research question ... 10
Delimitation ... 11
Outline of the study ... 11
Epistemological ... 13
Interview ... 14
Focus Group ... 18
Packaging design effects ... 22
Customer’s purchase decisions ... 23
Customer satisfaction ... 25
Sustainable packaging ... 26
Interview ... 28
Focus group ... 36
Packaging design effects to customer’s purchase decisions ... 40
Customer satisfaction ... 41
Sustainable packaging ... 43
General answers to the research questions ... 45
Future development and recommendation ... 46
Interview ... 55
Focus group ... 67
1
Introduction
Background
At present, the evidence from the natural sciences that humans are severely damaging the planet is today obvious. This can be expressed as that the natural resources are being used over nature’s carrying capacity (e.g. Lovins et al., 1999; Rockström et al., 2009) and the speed at which these changes occur today offers warning signals (Young et al., 2006). Food is needed by all humans daily and needs to eat a lot of food every day, and these foods need a lot of packaging and therefore cause large environmental impacts. This research is about food packaging, especially chips packaging is the focal point of the researchers.
The packaging is the container of a product-contains the appearance of the container, including design, color, shape, label, and materials used (Silayoi & Speece, 2004). From the consumer's point of view, packaging plays an important role in product purchase - both as a reminder and as a source of information (Kumar Agariya et al., 2012). Also, packaging plays an important role in attracting the consumers’ attention and creating hedonic and sensory expectations, which may affect actual product experience (Sousa et al., 2020). The packaging is a very important element because it's the first thing the consumers has to look at before making a final purchase decision (Kumar Agariya et al., 2012).
A product, in addition to good quality, must have exquisite packaging so that it can be favored by consumers (Ye, 2012). The importance of packaging is self-evident. In daily life, the close relationship between food packaging and food has long been recognized by the public. Whether in stores, supermarkets, or in every home, beautifully designed, practical and convenient food packaging can be found everywhere. Food packaging is the last process of the modern food industry. It not only plays a role in protecting and promoting food but also facilitates the storage, transportation, and sale of food (Dong, 2010). The continuous improvement of people's requirements for food packaging is the driving force behind the continuous development of the food packaging industry (Ye, 2012).
2 packaging can provide consumers with convenient methods of use, and also provide producers with logistics information to implement supervision. However, the function of food and beverage packaging has gone beyond the initial purpose to control portions and preserve the product (Sousa et al., 2020).
In past decades, packaging has always been an issue on the environmental agenda. It has been discussed and debated as an environmental issue in society, and the point of discussion is always on packaging materials (Robertson, 2006). However, as Svanes et al. (2010) state, packaging could affect the general environmental impact of the system with a few other modes. For example, packaging design can affect allocation efficiency and usage attributes. Therefore, instead of considering packaging only as an environmental problem, this thesis focuses on the attributes of packaging that can be used to preserve the resources more efficiently and reduce the environmental impact.
Product packaging is an aspect of cross-functional and multi-dimensional marketing (Bone & Corey, 2000). According to Wu and Sun (2003), food containers and packaging materials can be divided into eight types according to different raw materials: plastic products, rubber products, coatings, ceramics, metal food containers, glass food containers, food packaging paper, and composite packaging materials. At present, packaging has been playing an important role in the quality of food products by providing protection from environmental and other challenges (Risch, 2009).
Packaging materials have the three important functions, which are providing protection, utility, and communication. The development of food packaging develops with the change in people's lifestyles. For a long period of time, people just ate what they could collect in their surroundings. Until the 1800s, the industrial revolution brought about the development of new manufacturing processes and new materials. Although many of them were not intended to be used for food at first, they have been used as food packaging materials (Risch, 2009).
3 After the Second World War, many materials developed for war applications after the war entered food packaging. In addition to the extensive development of materials, there are many specific packaging that not only creates new food categories but also changes the way we provide products to consumers. Metal cans made of tinned steel began to be used in the early 1800s, and aluminum cans began to be produced and used in the 1950s. Nowadays, aluminum cans have been widely used (Risch, 2009).
Food packaging technology has undergone two hundred years of development. The types of food packaging containers and packaging materials are diversifying, and many new materials and technologies have been applied to food packaging (Ye, 2012). For example, the food industry uses reusable packaging materials, which can greatly reduce the use of raw materials. In addition, a number of new packaging materials such as edible packaging materials, degradable materials, and new paper materials have been developed, which have effectively promoted the sustainable development of the food packaging industry (Ta, 2013).
Sustainable packaging contains three elements of economy, society and environment, and follows the "4R1D" principle of Reduce, Recycle, Recover, Refill and Degradable (Li & Zhang, 2016). It is of great significance to explore the sustainable development of commodity packaging for building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society (Li & Zhang, 2016).
Among the various functions that package performs it also serves as an important vehicle for promotion and, in today’s self-service retail environment, provides the manufacturer with the final opportunity to persuade potential buyers (McDaniel and Baker, 1977). The information contained in food packaging, as one of the components of marketing information, is a factor that greatly influences consumer’s opinion about the product, because the diversity of food products traded in the market, leads to the need to provide consumers with complete and reliable information about the products sold (Wyrwa & Barska, 2017). Packaging displays and promotes products on the shelf by attracting the consumer's attention and the creation of a positive impression in a highly competitive market (Rundh, 2005).
4 both a goal and a marketing tool for customer-centered companies (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Customer satisfaction is a significant factor that leads businesses to success. Customer satisfaction has received new attention during recent years (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1994). According to LaBarbera and Mazursky (1983), companies can achieve customer satisfaction by meeting the needs and needs of customers. Customer satisfaction is the judgment of the satisfaction and pleasure degree related to consumption provided by the product or service function or the product or service itself (Oliver, 1997).
Jones and Sasser (1995) mentioned that achieving customer satisfaction is the main goal for most service firms today. The improvement of customer satisfaction may directly affect the company's market share and greatly affect the company's image and survival (Pizam & Ellis, 1999). Researchers suggest that the packaging of the product also plays an important role in achieving customer satisfaction. By listening to customers and learning from them, the packaging of products could even help to change the perception of the product.
Problem discussion
Packaging is for products, and its life cycle is very short. It basically becomes waste after the packaging function is completed (Ta, 2013). Under the background of vigorous development of sustainable development, the sustainable development of food packaging is the general trend, which can not only save resources, but also generate good economic benefits. With the strengthening of environmental awareness, the improvement of laws and regulations and the increase of social supervision, the newly developed food packaging materials at home and abroad are not only required to have high performance and convenience, but also to be environmentally friendly, non-toxic and harmless (Qi & Chen, 2016).
5 1.2.1 Communication
While verbal communication was used in ancient times, symbols and images were still used to portray information. This was only the beginning of communication. Later, people invented writing and invented the printing press, information exchange becomes more convenient. It supported the flow of information among people. That is the true purpose of communication: sending and receiving messages (Mary, 2019). Still later, with the birth of newspapers and post offices, the ways of information exchange became diversified. Radio and television became a great source of information in the 20th century. Telephone and the internet have also become one of the ways of communication (Mary, 2019). In modern times, there have been many ways of information communication, and information communication about packaging will be discussed in this article.
Communication is much more complicated than people usually think. Metts (2004) believes that communication is based on a process in which information creates meaning, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information and understanding (Keyton, 2011). This definition emphasizes the fact that there is no communication unless there is a common understanding through the exchange of information. The following figure reflects the definition of the communication process and identifies the important elements of the communication process (Cheney, 2011).
Figure: The communication process
6 terms of chips packaging, the sender is the packaging of chips, and the customer obtains information through the packaging of chips and then makes a decision, which can be understood as the feedback to the chips.
The elements in the process of the communication control the quality of communication (Keyton, 2011). Chips communicate with customers through packaging, so the overall packaging will affect customers' perception of chips. When the packaging is in line with customers' ideas, it will bring good feedback. When the information meets the needs, it is easier to have a good impression on the information (Keyton, 2010).
Because packaging can quickly give consumers a first impression of the product, packaging can convey to consumers whether the product is good or not (Underwood et al., 2001). If the packaging of a product is of high quality and well-designed, consumers will tend to think that the product is of high quality (Underwood et al., 2001). On the contrary, if the packaging quality of the product is poor and the information conveyed is useless, consumers may think that the product quality is poor, thus reducing their trust in the product (Underwood et al., 2001).
The packaging is defined as all activities for the design and production of product containers by Kotler (2000). The packaging is the outer packaging of products. The packaging is often the most relevant element of a trademark and conduces to advertising or communication, it conveys information and achieves the purpose of communicating with customers (Kotler, 2000). The role of packaging is changing from that of protector’ to information provider’ and persuader’. The original function of packaging was to protect products, but now it has been used as an important sales tool to attract customers' attention and to describe products (Kotler et al., 1998).
7 contact with a product, the communication function of the packaging can quickly help buyers establish an initial impression of the product or even the brand (Harckham, 1989). This kind of communication does not only bring a simple impression. Consumers can even obtain much detailed information through packaging, including product color, size, weight, production location, and so on (Underwood, 1993).
To convey information through packaging. With the aggravation of market competition, some packaging practices lacking social responsibility have been noticed, which may cause a bad brand image for the company. Such packaging practices mainly include deceptive and misleading product packaging and non-environmental protection packaging (Kumar et al., 2012). There are not all consumers have the same evaluation criteria for packaging. Therefore, when companies want to flexibly use the communication function of packaging as a marketing tool, they must take into account the needs of consumers and their response to packaging (Nancarrow et al., 1998). In the process of product packaging as a communication tool, consumers need to convey information that is consistent with the corporate image and values, which is also a common marketing tool (Underwood & Klein, 2015). As consumers become more aware of the social and environmental impact of their consumption, they are demanding more ethical product alternatives (Shaw & Shiu, 2000). Companies use the communication function of packaging to show consumers the best corporate culture and intangible values created by the company, such as environmental protection information and public welfare information to influence consumers (Underwood & Klein, 2015).
The industry also recognizes the need for a socially responsible approach, which also includes improving the environmental impact of companies, their products, and services (Kumar et al., 2012). CSR benefits to business can include an improved reputation and improved brand image, which can help create an extended base of loyal customers (Peters, 2001).
8 1.2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The 20th century saw a transformation in the way food was produced, distributed, consumed and
controlled, with multiple consequences for policy and governance (Lang, 2003). Under these circumstances, private actors are seen by some as stepping in and behaving as political actors (Scherer, Palazzo, & Matten, 2014), developing private governance in various ways such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Fuchs, Kalfagianni, & Havinga, 2011). In 1953, Howard Bowen published a book entitled “The Social Responsibility of the Businessman” in which he explains why companies should be interested in being more socially and environmentally accountable and gave the first “recognized” definition of CSR. Moreover, with the development of environmental concerns in recent years. More and more consumers are criticizing companies and wanted them to be more respectful to the environment (n.d.).
There are many different types of CSR. Auld, Bernstein, and Cashore (2008) identify seven types of which some include standards, codes of conduct. CSR is defined very broadly by Windsor (2006) as a way in which firms should deal with public policy and social issues. This behavior goes beyond what is required by law and the market (Auld, Bernstein & Cashore, 2008). There is no single formula as to how CSR can be carried out. In fact, there is no consensus in the literature on its very definition (Chandler, 2014). According to Wood (2017), The basic idea of CSR is that business and society are intertwined rather than independent entities. Therefore, society has certain expectations for appropriate business practices and results.
More widely, the European Commission defines CSR as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”. According to the standard ISO 26000 , “CSR is the responsibility of
an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior that contributes to sustainable development, including health and welfare of society, takes into account expectations of stakeholders, is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behavior and is integrated throughout and practiced in an organization’s relationships.” Companies in Sweden
9 New CSR involves a firm’s engagement in the promotion of social and environmental standards through modifying its core practices and internalizing negative externalities, rather than deflecting them (Auld, Bernstein & Cashore, 2008). It engages in specific environmental and social activities. Engaging in CSR is constructive, genuine, and is based on the promotion of the well-being of stakeholders rather than solely on financial goals. Anselmsson and Johansson (2007) propose three possible dimensions of CSR for classifying retailers: Human responsibility, product responsibility, and environmental responsibility. So, the environmental responsibility could also be one of CSR.
According to the words from Pavlik and Belcik, it is very important and meaningful to deliver CSR to all stakeholders of products through the communication function of packaging. In this process, companies can introduce many of their ideas and information to stakeholders (Pavlik, Belcik, 2010). For consumers, the strategic significance of this behavior is more obvious. When companies convey the concept of corporate social responsibility to consumers through the communication function of packaging, consumers can understand the latest corporate culture and philosophy of the company, which is an additional content of products and services and has an intangible impact on consumer behavior (Pavlik, Belcik, 2010).
Research Gap
A research gap or a literature gap refers to such unexplored or underexplored areas that have scope for further research (Fatima, 2019). The researchers use digital tools to help expand search to close the research gap. Websites such as OneSearch, ScienceDirect can identify the most-cited papers in the field, as well as the field's emerging offshoots, influential contributors, publications and countries, to useful understand what topics are considered important. Also, the researchers use Google trends to learn more about common questions in this field which simplify the search for unexplored areas in the research area, realized there are some areas that have significant scope for more research, but the area that this article discovered have not been tapped by other researchers.
10 range of products with sustainable packaging so as to understand consumers’ pro-environmental behavior as well as the relationship between product and packaging in the context of consumer purchasing behavior which is one of the areas that are discovered in this article.
There have indeed been many articles written about research on customer satisfaction, commination, customer purchase decisions and environmental sustainability, but few studies have combined these aspects with chip packaging. The research conducted solved the gaps found in the literature. In the absence of theoretical understanding or hypothesis establishment, the research is exploratory.
Statement of purpose
The purpose of this research is to understand the information that packaging conveys to customers and how does it affect young consumer satisfaction.
Research question
Research Questions:
• RQ1: How does chip packaging communicate with young customers and impact their satisfaction?
11
Delimitation
Firstly, the project took place in a limited period of twenty weeks which forced researchers to focus on a certain aspect related to the role of packaging to that. From the view of the whole world, there is a huge market of snacks, there are different situations in different countries, it is a complex phenomenon and it needs different views to understand. So, it is difficult to identify the snack packaging according to the whole world, to come up with good analysis and clear understanding we have to limit our analysis.
Since it was not possible to gather data globally or from many countries under the limitations of this study, so for academic purposes, this study is delimited to the Swedish market, particularly just focus on chips packaging. So, the result might be different if it is studied in various countries.
Moreover, for the purpose of this study, it only considered the information trans from chips packaging to customers. Other attributes such as respectability etc. are not considered for this research. Regarding the interviews, it should be taken into consideration that they were all conducted in English. As both the interviewer and most of the respondents are not native English speakers, the ability to communicate was potentially limited.
Outline of the study
12
Methodology
Qualitative research methods are particularly appropriate for studying people, groups, organizations and societies (Van Aken et al., 2012). Qualitative methods are those that aim to discover the nature of things, that is the nature of objects, phenomena, situations, people, meanings, and events (Van Aken et al., 2012). The research is about object and people, to discover the relation between chipis packaging and customer. Because there may be huge and multifaceted differences between every customer, Van Aken et al., (2012) pointed out that it is often not effective to employ a standardized measuring instrument.
One of the main tasks of qualitative researchers is to observe through the eyes of research participants (Bryman & Bell, 2015). So, qualitative research is mostly used by the researchers to participate in observation and in-depth interviews to obtain first-hand information (Greenwood & Lewin, 2006). Since the research conducted solved the gaps found in the literature. The research is exploratory in the absence of theoretical understanding or hypothesis establishment. The role of this research is to formulate research ideas for further exploration. Therefore, the researchers have chosen qualitative research methods in this research to collect the first-hand data.
The qualitative research method includes interviews, focus groups (participants), observations, diaries, sampling, etc. to collect the data. To collect the empirical data, the researchers select semi-structured interviews which according to Bryman and Bell (2015) characterize the interviewee has a great deal of leeway in how to reply. Questions may not follow on exactly in the way outlined on the schedule, and the interview process is flexible (Bryman & Bell, 2015). Since doing interviews with young customers is to understand how the packaging impacts customer satisfaction and how the packaging impacts customer’s purchase decisions in the context of environmental sustainability. The interviewers should prepare a series of structured questions for the interviewees and should give the interviewees the freedom to discuss and elaborate the opinions related to the question. Therefore, the semi-structured interview method is preferable.
13 combination with other methods, such as interviews and questionnaires. Focus group analysis can add qualitative elements to quantitative data, making research more "vivid" and intuitive. The focus group will be used as a complementary method to the interviews. Therefore, the empirical data will be collected from the researchers by using two different qualitative research methods which are interviews and focus group.
Qualitative data analysis is the classification and interpretation of materials and what is the contents. Qualitative data analysis is also used to identify and describe problems in the structure. Qualitative data analysis usually combines the rough analysis method with the detailed analysis method (Flick, 2013). The ultimate goal is usually to make a general statement by comparing various materials, texts, or situations (Flick, 2013).
The researchers interview seven young customers in Sweden and hold one focus group to collect useful data. In order to better analyze the empirical data that the researchers collected, the researchers use four-steps procedure:
(1) Data Collection: In this research, special attention is paid to moral considerations to obtain the true opinions and attitudes of the interviewees. All data collected are from online interviews and focus group with phone calls. Also, documenting the data and recording voice under the permission.
(2) Coded: The transcripts were manually coded and interpreted according to the conducted interviews and the data analysis process. Meanwhile, the code is given to the respondent to protect their privacy and encourage them to express their true ideas.
(3) Data: All data that gathered from interviews and focus group are through analysis and explanation to the research questions.
(4) Conclusion: At this step, researchers achieve the result and link to the purpose of this research.
Epistemological
14 customers who live in Sweden. In order to collect useful data, researchers used a variety of data collection methods in the early stages, such as analyzing previous literature and referring to similar cases to understand the situation of food packaging; interviewing target groups to obtain consumer opinions; to gain qualitative data through focus group methods. The implementation of these research methods is based on the Swedish market and is mainly targeted at consumers in Sweden.
The research on product packaging and consumer behavior is not limited to the information conveyed by packaging. More and more researchers have begun to pay attention to the impact of sustainable recycling packaging and how corporate social responsibility is reflected on the packaging. According to Han (2014), the concept of sustainable development has become an important concept in packaging design. More and more companies and consumers are considering how to minimize the impact on the environment. Achieving this goal requires research on consumer purchase decisions, corporate social responsibility, customer and the information conveyed by packaging, to understand the interactions between these factors.
In general, the methodologies used in this research are from the perspective of consumers, to understand their behavior and needs when choosing potato chip packaging. At the same time, researchers hope to be able to understand what factors have affected consumer purchasing behavior and satisfaction. Through these research methods mentioned later, researchers have collected the primary data needed for research.
Interview
2.2.1 Definition
15 However, in spite of the apparent proliferation of terms describing types of interview in qualitative research, the two main types are the unstructured interview and the semi-structured interview (Bryman & Bell, 2015). For the semi-structured interview. The researcher has a list of questions on fairly specific topics to be covered, often referred to as an interview guide, but the interviewee has a great deal of leeway in how to reply. Questions may not follow on exactly in the way outlined on the schedule, and the interview process is flexible (Bryman & Bell, 2015).
Because the research questions are directed, and the aim of the research is to understand how the packaging impacts customer satisfaction and how the packaging impacts customer’s purchase decisions in the context of environmental sustainability. The interviewers should prepare a series of structured questions for the interviewees and should give the interviewees the freedom to discuss and elaborate the opinions related to the question, the semi-structured interview method is preferable to use.
2.2.2 Participants
Because the research object is young customers who are living in Sweden for a long time, and all participants live on university campuses. So, it's easy to find university students who are studying in Sweden. At the same time, researchers also contacted other young Swedish who don't live on campus to participate in the interview. In order to ensure the persuasiveness of the data, the interviewees need to maintain a consistent gender ratio. Considering the diversity of Swedish society, participants not only interview Swedish students, but also international students who live a long time in Sweden, which makes the collected data more consistent with the Swedish market. In general, considering gender and nationality, the interviewees should be Swedish students of different gender and international students of different genders.
2.2.3 Procedures
16 The background questions are to understand the basic situation of the interviewee and ask if the interviewee is interested in snacks. Before entering the main question, the interviewer will provide eight pictures of potato chip snacks to the interviewee (the form is attached in 8. Appendix - 8.3), including plastic packaging and Kraft paper (more environmentally friendly materials) packaging and carton packaging. And the packaging design of the snacks on the pictures is not the same, there are abstract pictures that are designed with the actual picture of potato chips as the packaging and are not related to the actual picture of potato chips, such as pictures of nature, sailboats and other designs. In order to let the interviewees, talk about their thoughts on the packaging of these potato chips. The main questions are divided into three parts, communication (packaging to customer) and purchase decisions, customer satisfaction and CSR to environment sustainability. So as to obtain the information feedback to the interviewee through the packaging.
At the start of the interview the problem solver will introduce the problem-solving project and its background, what the objectives of the interview are and why the interview is important to the problem-solving project. In addition, the issue of confidentiality must be mentioned and how the results of the interview will be fed back to the interviewee for checking (Van Aken et al, 2012). To make sure effectuation of the interview and avoid the interviewer to prepare the content related to the topic before being interviewed, the interviewees won’t know the interviewing topic before the interview to collect the interviewees’ first responses to questions related to the topic.
17 2.2.4 Data collection
The purpose of qualitative research is to describe a phenomenon from the perspective of participants' interviews. Researcher's intention: Listen to participants or observe them in their natural environment (field & Morse, 1992). Interviewing, the transcription of interviews, and the analysis of transcripts are all very time consuming, but they can be more readily accommodated into researchers’ personal lives (Bryman & Bell, 2015). To easily analyze the data, the interview will be recorded by the interviewer on audiotape and transcribed.
At the same time, a table of information about interviewees is made to change to collect and analyze the interview contents of interviewees which is table 2.2.1 The Basic Information of the Interviewees.
Interviewee Gender Form Location Hometown Type
A Online B Online C Online D Online E Online F Online
Table 2.2.1 The Basic Information of the Interviewees
2.2.5 Ethical Consideration
There are ethical problems in any kind of research. Ethics relates to the right of participants to maintain privacy. The nature of ethical problems in qualitative research is different from that in quantitative research. In qualitative research, the desire to participate in a research study depends upon a participant’s willingness to share his or her experience (Orb et al., 2001).
18 to be aware of the ethical issues that may arise from this interaction. In qualitative research, researchers rely heavily on interviews, observations, written materials, and audio-visual materials to collect data (Orb et al., 2001). According to Ramos (1989) words, there are three types of problems that may affect qualitative research: the relationship between researchers/participants, the subjective interpretation of data by researchers, and the design itself. Therefore, the researchers must deal with the relationship with the interviewees, and properly communicate the interview theme and question design with the interviewees.
Therefore, in this topic about the packaging of potato chips, the researchers decided to look for young people who have lived in Sweden for a long time as interviewees, and designed interview questions based on the research theme. Before the interview, the whole introduction was introduced. Interview process and subject background and inform the interviewee in advance. This interview will be recorded and used for this research, and in the analysis of research data, the privacy of the interviewee will be guaranteed. The researcher will obtain the interview. After the consent of the authors, a complete interview was conducted.
Focus Group
2.3.1 Definition
The focus group approach is a group discussion, during which participants express their attitudes towards a particular activity or product of that activity. Focus group discussions give participants the freedom to answer questions and express their truest ideas in a relaxed, informal environment. By focus group, researchers can get very real and reliable primary data (Bryman and Bell, 2015).
Focus groups are completed by researchers and participants. The number of participants is usually four to ten. These participants are usually selected because they have some relevance to the subject of the study. The group was formed for research purposes. The duration of the discussion depends on the purpose of the study and can be one hour or more. A researcher moderates the discussion as a moderator and the assistant helps him or her to record the specificity of the statement (for example, emotions, non-verbal characteristics, body language) (Bryman and Bell, 2015).
19 Focus group is a qualitative research method and a flexible method of collecting sociological information. This method can lead to reliable conclusions and does not require a lot of time. Focus groups are usually conducted in the final stages of research related to obtaining quantitative data (Bryman and Bell, 2015).
Because this research is closely related to people, and the researchers decided to use qualitative analysis to conduct research, it is very appropriate to use the focus group method. In the focus group discussions, researchers can get richer and real data based on the diversity of participants. When comparing a variety of chips packaging, focus groups can get more intuitive data and more in-depth data after discussion.
2.3.2 Participants
There is one focus group, which is designed by researchers. Because the research object is about young customers in Sweden, all participants are composed of university students. To ensure the representativeness of the data, participants need to be kept the ratio of men and women the same. Considering the diversity of Swedish society, the participants included some international students who have been living in Sweden for a long time, which can make the collected data more consistent with the Swedish market. The meeting was held by a video chat on Skype for an hour and its participants consisted of four people. All participants are informed in advance that the topic of discussion is about how chip packaging affects consumer satisfaction and purchase decisions from a sustainable perspective. All participants volunteered to participate in the focus group.
2.3.3 Procedure
20 entire discussion process using pre-designed questions. The other two were responsible for recording and taking notes on the interview. Recordings were made throughout the meeting, and the researchers then converted the recorded content into text messages for use.
2.3.4 Data collection
During the discussion, the researchers provided participants with eight bags of potato chips. These potato chips are purchased from supermarkets near the university and come in different brands, packaging, flavor, sizes and shapes. Researchers try to keep the samples as diverse as possible, choosing from factors such as the color, design, text information, and patterns of potato chip packaging. Participants are free to manipulate these packages, which helps researchers get participants' opinions and ideas about these packages, and what factors drive them to make choices and affect their satisfaction.
After researching these packages, participants need to pick out the chips they want to buy and explain what factors influence their choice. In order for participants to express their opinions freely, researchers need to indicate that there are no right or wrong answers here, and all opinions will be respected. In order to gather useful data, discussions have always focused on the subject of the research. The host guided participants to think about how the packaging of potato chips communicated with consumers.
The design of the question and the collection of information mainly revolve around three factors. First of all, how the packaging design affects consumers' purchasing decisions. Packaging has always been a very important part of the process from production to sale. An excellent packaging design can even have a positive impact on product sales (George, 2005). For chips packaging, as a snack product, it makes sense to understand what packaging factors and designs consumers are attracted to. Second, the researchers collected information about the impact of packaging on consumer satisfaction through questions. Consumer satisfaction is closely related to consumer loyalty to the product. Research in this area can help companies understand consumer demand, increase consumer loyalty and expand the market (Rettie & Brewer, 2000).
21 more and more people tend to care about whether the packaging of products is environmentally friendly and whether they will pollute the environment. Therefore, the collection of such information can not only enable companies to produce products that are more in line with consumer values, but also help companies shape a better corporate culture (Liu & Li, 2016).
After the focus group ended, researchers turned the recordings into text and analyzed them. Integrate pieces of information together to screen out information that is useful for research. Because focus groups are qualitative in nature, they do not need to be analyzed by statistical tools. Researchers will analyze textual information, understand the meaning of sentences, and summarize the content for classification and research.
2.3.5 Ethical Consideration
A focus group is a human-centered research method, so it is necessary for researchers to ensure the privacy and security of participants during the research process. For example, researchers should avoid giving participants anxiety and discomfort during the interview and to ensure that the participants are fully informed about the research content and to prevent fraud (Van Deventer, 2007). Before the focus group started, the researchers had informed the participants of the research content and how to use the research data, so that the participants had complete right to know. After asking the participants for their consent, the researchers recorded the contents of the conversation by recording and promised to keep the conversation confidential and only used for academic research. Since the focus group is conducted through the Internet, there is no possibility of harming the participants, and the two parties completed the interview in a relaxed and open atmosphere.
22
Theoretical Framework
Packaging design effects
For a long time, packaging has been an important part of product producing, transportation, storage and sales, which is not only an item but also an important technology. Traditionally, the most important role of packaging is to protect and preserve products (Soroka, 2002). Another important role of modern packaging is its marketing capabilities. Merchants use packaging to attract potential consumers and stimulate them to generate purchasing ideas (Bix, Rifon & Lockheart, 2003). In order to achieve this goal, packaging design is particularly important.
After years of development, packaging design has become one of the important factors that drive product sales. Since good design can bring more benefits to the product, the designed packaging can be regarded as a part of the product (George, 2005). Packaging design contains many different elements, such as color, shape, size, font, texture, pattern, material, etc. These elements are often variables that a product is successfully accepted by consumers. For example, according to Raghubir and Greenleaf (2006), the shape of a product package has always had an important impact on its success in the market.
At the same time, the size and color of the package can improve the competitiveness of the product in the market. According to Underwood, Klein and Burke (1993), compared to text messages, the pictures on the packaging can attract consumers’ attention and increase consumers' impression of unfamiliar products and brands.
23 In the research in this article, researchers want to understand how chips companies communicate with consumers through packaging. Among the many elements of chip packaging design, which elements can affect the consumer's purchasing decision and consumer satisfaction. At the same time, more and more consumers have noticed that the use of un-environmentally friendly packaging, such as plastic packaging, can cause lasting damage to the environment. The concept of "ecological design" also appears in packaging design, which shows that people hope to reduce the damage caused by packaging to the environment by improving packaging design (Svanes et al., 2010). Therefore, the researchers combined packaging design and sustainable development ability to study whether packaging design with environmental protection elements can attract consumers' attention and increase consumer recognition and satisfaction of the brand.
Customer’s purchase decisions
The behavior of consumers in grocery shopping is a complex psychological, sensory, and marketing-related process. Although the sensory perception of products has been regarded as the main determinant of consumer choice, other factors (such as price, consumer attitude and product information) also affect purchase decisions (Guerrero et al., 2000; jaeger, 2006). Packaging design, as the media of brand communication, has a great influence on the decision-making of purchase point (Manon et al., 2019). Packaging helped consumers feel comfortable with the product, lowering the perceived risk involved in the trial, and reinforcing the decision to buy (Murphy, 1997). At this point, packaging plays an important role in introducing products and brands. By recording the names of products and brands and information related to them, customers can distinguish brands to be purchased from competing brands (Benachenhou et al., 2018).
24 The packaging is attractive and can enhance consumers' attention to purchase products (Omid minooei et al., 2015). It is because packaging affects consumers purchasing decisions (Hassan & Khan, 2009). Taken as a whole, the effect of brand and other packaging information on the purchase decisions is product-dependent (Kim & Drake, 2013). However, as far as researchers know, no research has been published to assess the impact of product packaging attributes on chips purchasing behavior.
Consumer purchase intentions depend on the extent to which consumers expect that products can meet the expectations of the user. However, when people do not think about the product before entering the store, purchase intentions are determined by what is presented at the time of purchase of what they see of the feature of the packaging and are being influenced to make their choice (Suraj & Raveendran, 2013 cited in Kim-Soon et al., 2018). Silayoi and Speece (2007) state that packaging becomes important in cases when the consumer has not made any decision because it communicates to the consumer during the process of decision-making.
In general, the packaging consists of color, shape, size, material, as well as the drawings on the packaging. Previous studies have shown that the color, shape, size, material of packaging have an impact on consumer's purchase intention (Benachenhou et al, 2018). Graphic elements' effects on a package affect consumers in making their choice of product to purchase (Lewis et al., 2015).
Ksenia (2013) pointed out that the characteristics of packaging such as color, design, and graphics play an important role in the appearance of the packaging itself and help consumers evaluate products when making purchase decisions. Silayoi and speech (2004) reported that consumers' preferences for visual packaging functions of products include elements such as color, size, graphics, packaging materials, and information labels. Meanwhile, Kim-Soon et al., (2018) pointed out that visual features are crucial to consumers in their snack food product selection.
25 the packaging will affect the customer's evaluation of the associated tastes, which will increase the satisfaction and purchase willingness behavior in these associations.
Customer satisfaction
Prendergast and Pitt (1996) point out that packaging has several different functions. One of the functions of packaging is essentially marketing, which is most directly related to sales, so as to attract attention to products and enhance their image. Good packaging must combine two functions which are attracting attention and communicating that provide an attractive method to convey the virtues of the products.
Customer satisfaction is influenced by packaging; therefore, it may affect attitude and behavioral loyalty. Therefore, the importance of packaging and the role of packaging as a communication and brand communication tool must be more and more in marketing (Rettie & brewer, 2000). One reason for this is simply that consumers may not think deeply about the brand at all. Most of them only buy through the packaging of the product, so it can be said that the packaging of the product will affect the customer's satisfaction with the product.
The packaging is very important in brand selection. The packaging plays a key role in sales, and packaging has become an absolutely necessary part of the sales process (Rettie & Brewer, 2000). Most consumers are not loyal to the brand, packaging will affect their choice (Hassan & Khan, 2009). As a result, packaging may attract consumers' attention, so they may even consider buying a brand. Good packaging can help to initially attract consumers' purchase intention and even purchase decisions. The packaging is also one of the few product attributes that directly convey product information to target consumers.
26
Sustainable packaging
The concept of sustainable packaging, which is the application of the concept of sustainability defined in the 1987 Brundtland Report in the field of packaging production (Martinho et al., 2015). Packaging can contribute to sustainability because it can promote product protection, reduce product deterioration and consequent waste, and help generate economic development and create jobs (ECR Europe and EUROPEAN, 2009). Meanwhile, Liu and Li (2016) pointed out that with the development of society and the increasingly fierce competition in the industry, the packaging industry must be positioned from the perspective of design concepts in order to achieve long-term development. At present, three trends are driving food and beverage packaging design—rightsizing, sustainability, and food waste (Fraser, 2018).
Due to the increase in productivity and the acceleration of economic activities, the carrying capacity of the environment is on the verge of collapse, and more and more countries choose to use the circular economy as an important strategy for sustainable development (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, 2020). In Australia, the Sustainable Packaging Alliance is an initiative whose aim is to establish networking and events for packaging-business stakeholders (Sustainable Packaging Alliance, 2005). In the US, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition publishes guidelines for sustainable packaging (Sustainable Packaging Coalition, 2006).
As more and more companies address sustainability issues and adopt more environmentally friendly packaging, environmentally conscious companies are also striving to go further. For example, P&G's long-term goal is to use 100 percent renewable or recycled materials in all of its products, and the company says it is committed to that and will continue to do so. Since packaging is the first and last proof of the brand's success in delivering sustainability (Hou, 2012).
27 For packaging designers, it is necessary to pay attention to the greenness of the design concept and pay attention to environmental protection in product design, use and selection, so as to reduce and reduce the damage to the natural environment and achieve long-term economic and social development (Liu & Li, 2016). Gustavo et al. (2018) pointed out the packaging size is also related to the customer and sustainable development, that the packaging size could be increased when most consumers buy more than one packet during a single visit to the supermarket, could be reduced when most consumers discard part of the product without consuming it, or could be changed when it is possible to adopt reusable packaging.
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Empirical Data
Interview
This section expresses the interview findings. The findings will be expressed in narration form. This chapter summary of a few interviews from the 20th of March until the 2nd of April.
Contact the respondents in advance by phone or online message to explain the academic purpose of the study and promise anonymity. The interview was about half an hour, encouraging respondents to talk more about their feelings about chip packaging. The seven interviewees were given alphabetical labels code to protect their privacy. The interviewees included five men and two women. Five interviewees were interviewed individually, and two interviewees were interviewed simultaneously. Because of the impact of the New Coronavirus-19, the interviews were all conducted online. The following table 4.1.1 lists the basic information of the respondents.
Interviewee Gender Form Location Hometown Type
A Male Online Sweden Sweden personal
B Male Online Sweden Sweden personal
C Male Online Sweden Sweden personal
D Male Online Sweden Sweden personal
E Female Online Sweden Italy personal
F & G Female & male Online Sweden Germany& Slovakia
couple
Table 4.1.1 The Basic Information of the Interviewees
29 from 20-30 years old. From the data which was collected through the interviews, it can be found that not everyone likes chips pretty much, but all interviewees had bought chips before. Also, more than half of the interviewees like chips, so it can be seen that people buy chips not more than one month, for people who like chips even three times a week.
4.1.1 Packaging design effects to customer’s purchase decisions
Because this study only focuses on chips in the Swedish market, before the interview, the researchers went to supermarkets such as ICA and Willys to investigate some chips on sale and prepared pictures of the eight main chips, which were used in the interview. When showing eight pics of the packaging of the chips, and it’s all Swedish brands. Then ask a question to interviewees: Which kind of packaging of the chips will you choose and why does it attract you? The researchers found that the color of the chip packaging is a very important factor, which determines the buyer's first sight.
Researchers achieved a reply from B&C: The second one and the third one because the color is very attractive to us, the general packaging color will also tell you what kind of chips this
is.
So, from this, it could find that color is very important for chip packaging, it attracts people to buy it. Good design can bring more benefits to the product. Packaging design contains many different elements, such as the picture is an element as well.
From D: It looks delicious if I can see how the chips look. And also, maybe like the second picture, picture like west coast chips just based on the design, the chips look very appealing
and the flavor and the blue color are related to the west coast.
30 As it just mentioned that packaging design contains many different elements, such as color, picture, etc. All of those elements could affect customers' purchase decisions, so when question-related to packaging elements will impact customers purchasing decisions. A lot of people say that good looking pictures and colorful packaging attract people to buy them. Just like words
from A, B & C, E, here are always colorful ones that will be more attractive. Therefore, it can
be found from interviewees' words that the color of packaging has made a significant contribution to changing the shopping desire and shopping preference of potential customers.
The packaging is used as a kind of prompt information. When the product or brand is not familiar enough, consumers are likely to use the obtained information as a reference for the quality of the product. So, it can be seen that color is used as a way to convey information. Which means that the size of packaging is one of the points. So, from people’s words, it could be found that with good-looking, colorful packaging will affect people’s decision to buy chips. Therefore, color and pictures could affect consumers’ purchasing choices, while those two elements are the most intuitive message that packaging delivers to consumers.
Through collecting data, what researchers found is that the shape of a product package always had an important impact on the market, there are special shapes that could always attract customer's slightly. A new thing that brings up from some old things could take up some new changes.
Which like the words from E that: if I had to choose, I think I would choose Pringles, because
this one is bottled, which is special. A special shape always brings new shine to the market, which could attract customers.
And there are some words that B & C: the chips in large packages are needed.
From the data collected from these problems, it can be clearly found that the packaging color, picture and packaging size, shape are factors that affect consumers' purchase. Attractive colors and pictures, special shapes and large packaging will attract consumers' attention.
31 interviewees say that they want to know the ingredients list and content. Customers want to know what materials are used to make chips and whether they are healthy food. Although some customers don't pay much attention to their health problems, they still want to know what ingredients are in them. They think it's necessary to show this information on the packaging.
Like B & C: I want to know the ingredients list and content.
D: I think it’s very important for a product that they have shown ingredients. Like what is inside. People who buy chips also need to know what the real chips inside are.
Through all those collected data, it shows that most customers need to know the ingredients, so it is important to show it, to give more information to those who want to know it. Also, some interviewees say that they need to know the background of chips, it is quite interesting to make a story to show the whole process of chips. They think this is an interesting selling point which shows the backstory of chips to customers. So, some customers also hope to show some little stories about chips on the packaging, which will be attractive.
E: For those who are interested in the background of chips, the backstories are an interesting selling point.
B&C: We need to know about the production process, want to know the story behind the potato chips, and think it will be very interesting.
32 4.1.2 Customer satisfaction
One of the important things for products is to attract customers. Such as how a package is aesthetically appealing. As mentioned before, color and picture are the points that the customer concerned about chips packaging. So, when interview questions relate to what kinds of chips packaging will give negative impressions. It is interesting to find that almost all interviewees talked about color as the factor which could give them negative impressions. Most colors are dull colors, or some darker colors will give customers a bad feeling and will make customers not choose to buy such products.
A: The black package is not good-looking. The chips in the black package will give a bad feeling.
B & C: We won't choose the red package, because the red one is spicy, so they won't eat it. E: For example, if I only consider the packaging of the product, if the color is not bright, I
will not buy it.
Through these data, it can be known that when looking at the packaging, bad colors will give customers a worse feeling. This is the information that bad color packaging brings to customers, which will make customers think that this is not a good product and taste bad. Therefore, in general, color is a key point for people to choose chips. Colorful ones always give people good feelings, but dark ones or boring ones always make people feel negative.
33 to the interviewees when the potato chips packaging design style can be associated with potato chips taste.
E: I think the capacity is very important. I will buy potato chips of different capacities on different occasions. I hope to have more medium-sized potato chips between large and small packages. But there are some interviewees who would like real chips pictures, they maintain
that with real chips pictures is more important.
D: I would say I like pictures and its related to the flavor of the chips. Like I said about the design of the west coast, it really looks like what I would buy. Because the design looks like the chips and the name is also related to the chips, not like a picture of the flavor of the chips,
it’s a good concept.
Good packaging can help to initially attract consumers' purchase intention and even purchase decisions. The packaging is also one of the few product attributes that directly convey product information to target consumers. What researchers got from data is that customers need good size and attractive color and pictures. Size, color, picture, these are the information that the package delivers to consumers. Therefore, it can be said that the information what customers received from packaging could affect customer's preference, hence customers satisfaction could be affected.
4.1.3 Sustainable packaging
In recent years, sustainable development has become a hot topic all over the world and took attention from people. Therefore, in this study, the researchers are concerned about the cognition of the sustainable development of the environment of young customers who are living long-term in Sweden. Based on the research of the potato chips packing, the researchers learn that young customers are concerned about sustainable development in Sweden. According to the collected data about the future sustainable development of chip packages, only one interviewee was not very interested in environmentally sustainable development, while the other interviewees were more or less interested in environmentally sustainable development.
34 Through observing the data, it can be seen that most interviewees are concerned about environmental sustainability and thinking sustainable packaging is good for the environment. Lots of the interviewees proposed packing in plastic bags for potato chips is not a good choice, instead, choosing to use paper bags is a good option. Except for one interviewee who doesn't care about sustainable development, the others agree that sustainable packaging can bring benefits to the environment. The researchers think most of the people in Sweden attach great importance to the sustainable development of the environment.
B&C: I think it's not friendly to the environment. Plastic bags will be thrown away. It's not good for the environment. I prefer the paper packaging.
D: Plastic is not good to use, it's not good for the environment.
E: I think this kind of sustainable packaging is good for the environment, and I think the Swedes attach great importance to sustainable development.
Therefore, it can be seen that most of the interviewees still pay attention to environmental issues and pay attention to environmentally sustainable development. And the interviewees do not want to continue to use plastic as packaging bags because they think plastic will bring great pollution to the environment.
As the same interview also can appear in different voices, some interviewees find problems from themselves who think environmental protection is not enough and need to solve the problem from the very beginning. Meanwhile, some interviewees find problems with manufacturers. Therefore, the interviewees pointed out the businessman should pay attention to the environmental problems in the process of producing chips. Some interviewees raised the issue of the need for sustainable development of the important environment when the enterprise produces, and mentioned that producers should consider sustainable development, whether to produce small or medium size.
35 Young Swedish customers consider environmental protection or not when buying chips. According to data, it is easy to find that many people will not think about environmental things, and just buy chips without mentioning environmental factors. Some of the customers think the company should take responsibility. Therefore, it can be known that many Swedes know about environmental protection, but some people will not take the initiative to do such a thing.
A: In fact, I will not consider the issue of environmental protection, because I can only believe that the producer is responsible, and I hope that the production company will think about this
issue. I don't think about it personally.
Regarding future environmental awareness, it can be found from the collected interview data that everyone will pay attention to it, but different interviewees have different thoughts. And it can be seen that some of the interviewees who attach great importance to environmental protection would buy the environmental one without thinking about the price. Meanwhile, there are still some of the interviewees who think about the price problem. In terms of price, some people are not willing to pay more money because the packaging is environmentally sustainable. They think that they can pay extra money for environmental protection, but not pay it too much, a small amount of money is acceptable. In general, the interviewees are willing to pay for environmental sustainability, as long as the price is reasonable.
A: If I could know that the packaging bags are environmentally friendly, I will prefer to buy environmentally friendly ones, but considering the price, the price can not be much higher
than the ordinary ones.
B&C: We will buy chips anyway, and we will not consider whether it is environmentally friendly. Of course, if the price is not much higher, we will definitely buy chips in
environmental protection packaging.
36
Focus group
The purpose of the focus group is to enable researchers to more clearly understand the actual situation of the research object. In this case, the information collected through the focus group can help researchers understand the Swedish chips market, what factors consumers will be affected when buying chips, and what information consumers look forward to obtaining from the chip packaging. On the other hand, through the analysis of the focus group data, researchers can better combine theoretical knowledge with actual situations and choose the most suitable theory for analysis.
In question one, participants were asked how often they bought chips. Half of the participants indicated that they buy chips about once a month, and most of the time they choose to buy chips when they are with friends. On the other hand, some participants said that they would always buy chips, which shows that for customers the intention to buy chips is very random, and there is a big difference in the frequency of consumers buying chips.
The second question is whether the packaging of the product will affect consumer purchasing choice. From the consumer's perspective, participants all believe that packaging has an impact on their purchasing choices, but the degree of impact is different. More than half of the participants will choose to buy chips with simpler packaging. For example, when the packaging design of chips does not add many flashy and useless elements, but only shows the most basic information of chips (flavor, shape, weight, etc.), they will be more inclined to buy such products. If the product's packaging is more focused on showing the true content of the product than trying to design it, it will make it easier for them to trust the product’s quality. Some participants also suggested that when they encountered an unfamiliar brand, the first impression of the product was very important. Usually a package of chips with a good design aesthetic will be more competitive than similar products, making them more inclined to buy.
37 gives a natural feeling of the first impression. On the other hand, consumers will choose their favorite brand of chips based on their own experience.
In question four, researchers want to understand which kinds of packaging elements will influence consumers' purchasing decisions in daily life, such as packaging colors, patterns, materials, and shapes. More than half of the participants said that the color of the packaging, text information (flavor and origin), brand logo, and packaging materials will greatly affect their purchasing decision. These participants said that when they buy chips, they will first check whether the packaging materials are environmentally friendly and sustainable, or at least give people a sustainable feeling. If there are two kinds of chips for people to choose from, one is a cheaper but plastic packaging, and the other is a slightly more expensive packaging with environmentally friendly materials, they will be more inclined to choose the latter and even willing to cost more money. Through the chart below, it shows more clearly which packaging elements influence consumers' purchasing decision.
Figure 4.2.1 Packaging elements influence customers’ purchasing decisions
