Marketing – Packaging of Raisins

Tiffany Eu, 7605325435 Packaging Assignment – Sun-Maid Raisins There are not many brands of raisins that are found on a shelf of a typical supermarket but compared to its competitors, like Newman’s Own Raisins and Champion Raisin, the Sun-Maid raisins packaging stands out. Since sun-maid raisins come in many different packaging sizes and forms, I will focus on their 15-ounce red box packaging. Sun-maid raisins stand out due to many factors like its visibility, the information given on the packaging, emotional appeal to its consumers and the workability of the packaging.

At first glance, a consumer may see three main things on the box front: sun-maid’s well-known logo, the word “sun-maid” and the word “raisins” in the middle of a picture of fresh grapes and raisins. Sun-maid’s large yellow logo of the woman holding grapes, modeled after Lorraine Collett Petersen, has been the logo for sun-maid since 1915, three years after the brand was started. Most of its consumers worldwide are familiar with this logo and it is positioned at the top of the box where it is very visible against the red background.

For those consumers who are not familiar with the brand logo, the brand name “sun-maid” is states in large yellow font across the center of the box. The word “raisins” is also stated near the bottom of the box among a picture of fresh grapes and raisins to attract consumers who may be interested in buying raisins. Another smaller logo that was introduced recently, and is probably only temporary, saying “healthy food award” and “fitness” informs consumers that sun-maid raisins carries a “Fitness Healthy Food Award” assessed by experts on the “Fitness” magazine.

This logo is supported by additional information about the award, formatted as a paragraph on the back of the box, and integrates methods of consuming these raisins into the paragraph. They suggested to “sprinkle raisins on cereals, yogurts, salads or snack right out of the package. On the front of the box, it also states “since 1912” in smaller font below their logo in order to reassure its consumers of its reliability since it has been established for so long. On the sides of the box, sun-maid informs their consumers about their nutritional facts in a able and includes a brief summary of its benefits on the other side, such as “100% natural”, “no fat”, “no preservatives” and “naturally sweet and have no added sugar”. Although not much information is needed for eating raisins, sun-maid provides instructions on how to use their resealable bag inside the box on a reusable sticker that is used to reseal the bag of raisins. Furthermore, the packaging attracts consumers by evoking positive feelings, such as happiness. The bright colours, yellow and red, are cheerful colours.

Yellow reminds us of the bright sun which we associate with happiness and nature while red reminds us of the deep red/purple colour of the grapes from which the raisins are made. There is also a feeling of nature and simplicity from the traditional look of the girl holding a basket of grapes in their logo and the feel of the cardboard box as opposed to a modern looking plastic container. The feeling of nature may also induce the idea of healthiness which will attract consumers to sun-maid raisins.

Other than just appealing to the consumers by its looks, sun-maid’s packaging is also successful in the way that the shape of the packaging is also very functional. The rectangular shape of the box allows for easy storage and shipment while the tall height of the box maximized the packaging front that consumers see as they pass by it on a shelf. The box is also useful for protecting the raisins from being squished and the sealed plastic bag on the inside keeps the raisins fresh and easy to store after opening (since the bag is resealable simply with a small sticker that they provide).

This larger packaging is more environmentally friendly as compared to their smaller individual packs but sun-maid does not specify if they use recycled cardboard for their boxes and the plastic bag inside a cardboard box is a little redundant in terms of being environmentally friendly. The 15-ounce packaging of sun-maid raisin is successful for the many reasons states above. Shopping in a supermarket, I would, personally, choose sun-maid over its competitors subconsciously because of its packaging and perhaps also because it is a well-know and trusted brand.