Re-examining export packaging design in the market

The importance of packaging to the sale of goods and the expansion of the market has been widely valued by people from all walks of life. With China's accession to the World Trade Organization, China is becoming a global processing base for industrial and consumer goods. More and more Chinese goods are being marketed around the world. How to make China's products loved by people in different countries and regions must not only focus on the quality and design of the products themselves, but also the design of packaging.

First, recognizing export packaging

The development of China's packaging industry started with the development of the export packaging industry. The earliest packaging design and research institutes in China belong to the foreign trade industry. Even the earliest published packaging publications in China are also called Export Goods Packaging.

Until the early 1990s, due to the limited foreign exchange in China and the weak industrial foundation, only the best packaging materials and equipment could be used for the processing and production of export packaging. In order to strengthen export packaging, China has allocated special foreign exchange annually to the foreign trade packaging companies affiliated to the MOFTEC for a long period of time. They are responsible for importing foreign advanced raw materials and production equipment. Because of this, foreign trade packaging companies and foreign trade companies such as grain, oil, food, etc. have successively established a number of wholly-owned or locally-operated export packaging manufacturers. These companies were once the backbone enterprises in the Chinese packaging industry and they have advantages that are hard to match for other companies in terms of their technical equipment and financial strength.

In the mid to late 1990s, with the deepening of the national economic system reform and institutional reforms, the administrative orders for foreign trade packaging management were gradually weakened, and the financial advantages and equipment advantages of foreign trade packaging companies were also gradually lost. In particular, with the emergence of government-run models in which import and export enterprises only pay attention to the import and export value regardless of profitability, export packaging has begun to fade from its former glory. The reform of the foreign trade system broke the pattern of foreign trade franchise, but it also caused some new problems. The increase in export enterprises has resulted in a reduction in the size of unit exports. Foreign trade packaging is no longer a "fat" in the eyes of production companies because of its large volume, small quantity and thin profits. At the same time, with the rapid development of the domestic market and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, domestic packaging of goods in terms of timber and processing quality is no less inferior to export packaging, and even many domestic products are far more refined than export packaging. More upscale.

After China’s accession to the WTO, it has created better opportunities for Chinese goods to go global. In this situation, how should we recognise and evaluate export packaging?

First of all, export packaging will only be a concept based on different sales target markets, and will no longer have special meanings such as high quality and high profits.

Second, export commodities are no longer the narrow concept of “shipment and shipping before they can be exported”.

Global integration not only forms a global market, but buyers can directly purchase goods that were originally sold domestically and send them to foreign countries. The method of labeling and production is becoming more and more common.

In addition, with the improvement of the overall level of China's packaging industry, there are no technical problems in the production, processing, and export packaging. Qualified companies may incorporate the production of export commodity packaging into a part of the company's overall production plan and make overall plans for the use of materials and equipment, thereby reducing costs. In particular, the development of similar technologies such as digital printing is more suitable for the production of small-lot and multi-standard products.
Production companies or design companies can organize and contact import and export companies spontaneously, rely on advanced information technology, and timely understand the quantity and demand of export packaging, and reduce the cost of small batch production. At the same time, in-depth study of the characteristics of export goods on the transport packaging, according to the specifications of the container transport, design a series of transport packaging specifications for export commodity production companies.

Second, study the new changes in the target market

The packaging logo is the most important part of the packaging. It is one of the most important tasks of the packaging designer to make the packaging logo and instructions comply with the requirements of the target country.

Different countries have different requirements for packaging labels, and the requirements will often change. Designers must retrieve relevant regulations in a timely manner when designing packaging. For example, recently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan issued a notice on the labeling, and revised the quality label standards for ham, repressed ham, bacon, mixed sausages, mixed repressed ham, and sausages as follows: Cancellation of labelling on manufacturers and processing Compulsory requirements of the dealer/packer; cancellation of mandatory requirements for labeling water activity on the label.

If the reduction of content on the label does not have a large impact on the design, special attention must be paid to adding content to the label. For example, the European Commission decided that since 2003, electric furnaces and air-conditioning equipment sold on the European market must have their products labeled with energy consumption quantities.

According to regulations, energy consumption labels will be divided into seven levels of household appliances according to their energy consumption, that is, from the A-level energy consumption is smaller to the G-class energy consumption, how much power should be measured under normal conditions of use.

This is the third time that the European Union has expanded the use of energy consumption labels for home appliances. In 1994, the European Union stipulated that energy labels must be attached to refrigerators, freezers, refrigerators, freezers, and clothes dryers. From January 10, 1999, the use of energy labels was extended to washing machines; 1999 From the second quarter of the year to the first quarter of 2000, the application of energy labels was further extended to the washer/dryer and dishwasher. The European Commission explained that the purpose of adding energy labeling is to facilitate consumers to understand the power consumption of household appliances, help consumers save energy, ensure the safety of European energy supply and cope with global warming.

In addition, the content of household appliances energy label is also more and more detailed. For example, the energy label attached to the washing machine at present is much more detailed than the data previously marked on the energy label of other household appliances. It not only indicates the general power consumption and water consumption, but also involves laundry and Dehydration function level.

There are also some broader changes involved. If there are reports, the EU is preparing to amend the Food Labelling Act to integrate laws on the labeling, description and advertising of foods into a new law. If the new legislation is approved, manufacturers supplying export-packaged food to the EU market must label all ingredients of the food on the label.

According to the original legislation, foods do not need to list the composite ingredients with a weight of less than 25%; the new legislation will eliminate this requirement and food labels must list all composite ingredients, especially sensitive ingredients. In the past, the ingredients that were collectively referred to as vegetable oils must now accurately indicate the type of vegetable oil, such as peanut oil. In addition, the natural taste must also indicate the source, if Ren et al. In the past, sensitive ingredients contained in alcoholic beverages that do not need to be labeled have been clearly marked after the new legislation came into effect.

Components that must be clearly listed on food packaging include wheat cereals and related products, crustaceans and related products, eggs and egg products, fish and fish products, peanut and peanut products, soy and soy products, milk and milk Products, nuts and nuts products, celery and celery products, mustard and mustard products, sesame and sesame products, sulphur dioxide and nitrite in concentrations exceeding 10 milligrams per kilogram or 10 milligrams per liter.
It is understood that the new legislation also stipulates that there are few food ingredients that can be unmarked, such as less than 2% vanilla and spices, and less than 5% jam and chocolate. If the new legislation is approved, EU countries will have 1 year to incorporate the new regulations into their domestic legislation, and there will be another 1 year for all manufacturers to change their food labels.

Changes like this will, to a large extent, affect the export of Chinese exports. Both importers and exporters, as well as packaging design units, should pay close attention to obtaining relevant information in a timely manner.

Design packaging that meets overseas target markets, of course, includes the selection of suitable patterns and colors.

Third, use green packaging materials

Packaging has become a non-tariff trade barrier among international trade. Because developed countries raise the threshold for packaging or change packaging requirements, China’s foreign trade exports have suffered many losses. For example, a few years ago, due to the discovery of the existence of woodworms and eggs in the wood, Europe and the United States successively restricted the entry of untreated wooden packaging products in China. All wooden packagings were either fumigated or treated at high temperatures or replaced with other packaging materials. For another example, the European Union requires restrictions on the use of certain plastics or the processing of foamed materials, which increases the cost of packaging.

Packaging has attracted the attention of most of China's commodity manufacturers. Home appliance companies such as Changhong, Haier and Kelon have actively developed and used honeycomb paperboard and paper protection corners that meet environmental requirements for packaging of exported household appliances. Good economic benefits. The selection of packaging materials that meet the requirements of the target market not only ensures market access for the product, but also reduces the overall cost of the product. In addition to the packaging materials themselves, in order to meet the more stringent health requirements of the target countries, export packaging, especially food and pharmaceutical packaging, requires special attention to the selection of printing processes, inks, and adhesives.

Designing a package that meets the overseas target market is, of course, to increase the added value of the product and better open the market. With the acceleration of information dissemination, it is not a very difficult task to keep abreast of the dynamics and requirements of overseas target markets. In line with the requirements of overseas target markets, the emphasis is on making suitable packaging. To change the past, all export packaging is high-end, exquisite concepts, for some moderately developed or under-developed countries and regions, according to the actual market demand to select materials, design packaging, do not make unnecessary waste.