An analysis of the effects of package design alterations for tea-based beverages

Abstract

Providing unique value through differentiation is a challenge for today's increasingly commoditized markets, to which the Japanese tea-based beverage market is no exception. Even with the continued growth spurn by an increase in consumer health consciousness, the market is becoming increasingly commoditized. Many tea-based beverage manufacturers are striving to gain a competitive advantage by decommodifying their products through increasing health-related functional appeal and differentiating packaging to meet the health-conscious market’s needs. Given the consumers’ difficulty in perceiving differences in the contents of tea-based beverages, packaging becomes the primary way to influence their perception and a key incentive in choosing a particular product (basis for decision). This study compared the effects of altering packaging design on the sales volume of tea-based beverages by testing the hypothesis that differences in packaging design have varying effects depending on the product type's functionality for health. As a result of an analysis using actual sales data, the following two results were demonstrated. In the case of tea-based beverages in plastic bottles: i) “Alterations to label design for limited time packaging” have the most significant positive impact on sales volume compared to other methods alteration. ii) Alterations to packaging design positively influence sales volume for non-functional tea-based beverages, but not for the functional ones. These findings provide helpful suggestions for future packaging design strategies to promote sales as a means of decommoditization.