Packaging for Millenials
Packaging can play a major role in revitalizing a product’s popularity. One example is the success of the Coke campaign with personalized labeling. Meanwhile, archrival PepsiCo has developed Caleb’s Kola, an entirely new drink aimed at the millennial consumer that targets a national trend of consumers electing to avoid soda.
In an October article for TakePart, an online publication that bills itself as “a digital news and lifestyle magazine and social action platform for the conscious consumer,” Kristina Bravo explains what makes Caleb’s Kola different from other sodas, and why it might draw a younger consumer base.
Craft Soda
Caleb’s Kola, named after Caleb Bradham, the North Carolina pharmacist credited with inventing the Pepsi formula, is marketed as a craft soda. The Associated Press reports that this strategy could help boost sales among consumers in their 20s and 30s who gravitate toward products they feel are “authentic.”
Bravo writes that the beverage is made with “fair trade cane sugar, kola nut extract (an African rainforest nut with a unique and slightly bitter flavor), a secret blend of brown spices, and a hint of citrus.” It comes in a 10-ounce glass bottle, has 110 calories and 29 grams of sugar.
The beverage is packaged in a vintage-style glass bottle, which when combined with the nod to Pepsi’s history and the use of “real” ingredients, as opposed to artificial sweeteners, can allow consumers to feel like they are enjoying a premium beverage.
According to Benjamin Punchard, global packaging insights director at global market researcher Mintel, millennial customers will often spring for premium beverage options, especially if the packaging communicates top-shelf positioning.
“To create a feeling of affordable luxury, packaging should avoid falling back on over-decoration or placing a heavy reliance on metallic touches and ‘bling,’” Punchard writes on Mintel’s website. “Gen Y isn’t about conspicuous consumption but about products, brands and packaging that appeal to their values and desires.”
Compelling Attributes
In an article for CPG Marketing Trends, Brad Hanna explains that while Millenials are drawn toward innovative and convenient packaging, they also have an affinity for vintage styling. Hanna takes a look at BuzzFeed’s compilation of the “34 Coolest Food Packaging Designs of 2012,” and determines that the younger generation has an appreciation for cans, bottles and other retro-style packages.
“The BuzzFeed article shows bottling and canning are alive and well,” Hanna notes. “These time-tested methods with elegant labels pay homage to simpler times, simpler ingredients and can often be reused.”
In an article for Packaging World, Jennifer Karsh suggests some packaging strategies for brands targeting Millenials. A key trait for brand owners to bear in mind, notes Karsh, is that Millenials are not brand loyal and enjoy a shopping experience.
With Caleb’s Kola, though it is a PepsiCo product, there is nothing immediately visible on the bottle that indicates its Pepsi connection. This can provide the consumer with the idea that he or she is enjoying a product that few others are aware of, rather than the same commercialized soft drink seen everywhere.
“For Millennials, the cultural context and conversation is constantly being refreshed,” Karsh writes. “For this reason, Millennial consumers look to companies to stay fresh and relevant with products and packaging.”
