US consumers' opting for more on-the-go meals, snacks placing greater reliance on packages to create product value through personalization, convenient design that accommodates consumers' mobile lifestyle, growing preference for green, healthy options

Aimee Bellah

LOS ANGELES , July 15, 2014 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – U.S. consumers’ growing tendency to purchase on-the-go foods is placing reliance on packaging, instead of restaurant menus and services, to convey food companies’ messages, QSR Magazine reported on July 15.

Specifically, consumers are looking for green, mobile, personalized packaging that includes nutritional information. In addition, packaging that allows for full visibility of pre-made foods has taken over in place of packaging with large spans of colorful printed labels.

A total of 28 million American consumers eat grab-and-go snacks each day, according to data from consumer market research firm The NPD Group, sparking a variety of innovations from brand designers.

To accommodate the on-the-go culture, KFC Corp. launched its car-worthy meal cups for chicken to fit into cup holders, adding separated sections for sides as well.

Furthermore, to boost pick-up foods that were once only standard fare at airports, concessions companies have launched upscale-style packages that give food a sense of value. For example, Malco Theatres, Inc., of Memphis, Tennessee, started replacing hot dog foil wrappings with clamshell boxes, and put pretzels in bakery-style boxes instead of wax paper. As a result, hot dog sales jumped by 20%, and pretzel sales followed close behind, according to QSR Magazine.

To combat the impersonal feel of takeout foods, other companies focus on packages that give foods a homemade or personalized look. This could be as simple and inexpensive as an airline sandwich wrapped in paper and tied with twine. For Toppers Pizza Inc., of Whitewater, Wisconsin, the company rolled out pizza boxes with a space for employees to write a joke, message or a comical drawing to create highly personal boxes for each customer.

The primary source of this article is QSR Magazine, on July 15, 2014. Click here to view the primary source’s version of the article.

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