Corrugated cardboard captures the eye

Bestack (Italian national consortium of corrugated cardboard manufacturers for fresh fruit and vegetables) has published the results of a German study conducted on a sample of consumers through eye tracking (a system that tracks movement of the pupils and enables identifying what a person is looking at and how carefully).

The data was collected using a simple supermarket test, in which a number of products were displayed in equal amounts for each packaging type. The consumers was given a shopping list (including coffee, sweets, fresh fruit and vegetables and other products) and a pair of special glasses capable of tracking the motion and direction of their gaze, thereby determining which products appeared most attractive in the sample group’s eyes. The eye tracking study produced clear results: fresh fruit and vegetable products displayed in customized corrugated cardboard packaging were noticed three times as often and commanded the consumers’ gaze ten times longer than standard packaging (white or black) or RPC packaging. Subsequent interviews showed that 65% of consumers perceived the fruit packaged in corrugated cardboard containers as fresher, healthier and more appetizing (with a 14% increase in sales), while only 32% preferred those displayed in RPC.