“Level one is the white versus the colourful. The white include milk, kefir, natural yoghurt, white cheeses whereas the colourful include fruit yoghurts, drinking yoghurts, or generally speaking – milk products with additives. The “white” category is more traditional, simple, homelike. This is where the locality is most expressed. We want to buy Polish milk, from Polish dairies and we are quite loyal to the dairies from our region. Locality is also expressed by means of individual products with the local “cult” status, available in particular place only. It is not a rare occurrence that their packaging hasn’t changed for years and the consumer just doesn’t wish it would. Although the packagings of these “local rarities” objectively have aged and they are conspicuous in terms of the latest stylistics, still the continuity is their strength. At the level of value, this phenomenon can be attributed to the trend of taking roots, which has recently made its presence felt. It is connected with the need of some constancy in the ever-changing world – this constancy can be communicated at the level of fixed recipe, place of production, the owner. In terms of graphics, it is manifested by the fixed colour, characters, characteristic graphic features. In case of these products, any changes must be applied vary carefully and if they are necessary, they must be implemented in stages and with a great feeling”, adds Dominika Sikora.
Another feature of the white category is its functionality. Since these products are more often than not purchased on a daily basis, the purchase decision is often automatic and the packaging is expected to largely facilitate it. It’s all about certain widespread colour coding, for instance, whole fat milk is red, semi-skimmed fat is yellow, and skimmed is green or blue. Violet, the colour that has just arrived on the shelf, is attributed to lactose-free products.
According to the expert, the “colourful” category offers more freedom in terms of stylistic means. “This is the category of flavour and pleasure, and the consumer is more likely to accept non-Polish brands. Also, it is more important to have a distinctive packaging as the choice is ample and the consumer is less loyal and more ready to test novelties. This category features a bigger number of dedicated functional products, e.g. ‘for breakfast’, ‘diet’, or ‘healthy snack’”, lists Dominka Sikora.