Talking about the Function of Export Commodity Packaging and Its International Environment

Second, the international environmental factors that affect the packaging design of export commodities

It can be summarized as the following five aspects:

(I) Political and Legal Factors

It mainly refers to the requirements and ship-determining requirements for commodity packaging related to the policies, decrees and regulations of the target market government. In order to protect the ecological environment, many countries cater to consumer protectionism movements, or restrict imports, and use commodity packaging as a non-tariff restrictive import measure. There are strict regulations on the packaging of imported goods. Imported goods must comply with these complex requirements, or they must not import or prohibit sales in their markets. For example, the United States set up a packaging tax and banned the use of disposable plastic coffee cups and hamburger boxes, and some other homes have made similar regulations. In addition, the legal provisions concerning the packaging of goods cover a wide range of fields. From countries such as the United States, Japan, and Canada, it is forbidden to use paddy straw, hay, wood wool, and newspaper as padding, and Arab countries must specify that poultry and meat must be specified on food packaging. Whether or not it is dealt with in accordance with the "Islamic slaughter law" must be understood clearly so that it can be better adapted.

In recent years, some large-scale packaging exhibitions in the world have put the packaging that reflects environmental protection in the chief position of the exhibition hall, and have made environmental protection an important standard for excellent packaging selection. The reason for this is that consumers’ growing environmental awareness has been closely linked with their purchasing decisions. According to reports, 75% of people in the UK are willing to buy recyclable packaging products and 71% are willing to buy degradable packaging.) The survey of 600 consumers in New York shows that 25% of people stop buying products that are considered to be polluting the environment. Therefore, export companies should strive to turn challenges in environmental protection requirements into opportunities, actively adopt environmental protection awareness in packaging design, create physical materials that have a strong ecological atmosphere, effectively protect and beautify the environment, and give full play to the promotional role of packaging.

At present, China exports a large proportion of its exports to Western markets. The three trends that are most closely related to corporate marketing management in the political and legal environment of modern western countries are: increased regulation of corporate management, strict enforcement by government agencies, and strength of public interest groups. Enhanced. To formulate an effective export packaging strategy and successfully implement it, it is necessary to have a full understanding of relevant regulations and rules of the target market country, or else it will be impossible to carry out marketing activities. If the competition in the market is likened to a competition on the court, then the company’s business decision makers and packaging designers should comply with the laws of the host country as if the athletes must abide by the rules of the game and compete for “gold medals” within the scope permitted by law. Otherwise, it cannot be “played” or sent off or forced to withdraw from the “race”.

(b) Cultural factors

The culture mentioned here refers to the traditional culture of a country, region or nation. People grow up and live in different social and cultural environments. They all have different basic concepts and beliefs, such as customs, ethical values, and values, which are formed in a subtle manner and are constantly enriched and developed. And restrict people's behavior, thinking and decision-making (including consumer behavior). The design decisions for export packaging should be based on understanding and respecting local culture. Even when it is innovating, it should not contradict core beliefs and values.

The content of culture is extremely broad, but it can be summed up in seven major areas:

1. Material Culture. That is, the tools, knowledge, techniques and methods used by people in the production process, as well as the distribution and consumption patterns of the products and products produced. The material culture of countries varies greatly, so that the needs and business practices of different countries show different characteristics. Enterprises should adapt to the needs of the material culture of the target market from the aspects of packaging materials, structure, dimensions, printing and design quality.

2. education. The degree of education penetration in countries varies greatly. For example, the literacy rate in the United States, Japan, and other countries has reached more than 99%, while Ethiopia has only about 10%. This has a great influence on the expression of packaging information. It should make full use of the packaging's color, pattern, shape, text description, texture, and trademark design to rapidly convey the expected information to target buyers. The degree of education of target customers cannot be ignored. For example, for a customer group with a low level of education in the host country, attention should be paid to the use of graphic methods to describe the product structure, use methods, etc. The design of the trademark should fully consider its knowledge level and comprehension so as to make it clear and correct. .

3. Language. In the entire international sales process, the most important thing is to communicate with customers. Or, the process of marketing the entire export goods is the process of information communication. Because of understanding customer needs, introducing products to customers (including in foreign supermarkets, exporting goods through packaging to introduce themselves), inspiring their desire to purchase, mobilizing their purchase of products, and even improving products based on customer's opinions are inseparable from information communication. Designers of export packaging should not only be fluent in the mother tongue of foreign target customers, but also should master the languages ​​they are familiar with in order to increase credibility and persuasiveness.
4. religion. Believers of different religions have different values, taboos, and behavioral norms, leading to different demand characteristics and consumption patterns. In terms of color, since yellow is the clothing worn by the rebellious Judah, it is considered inferior in Christian countries. In Japan, yellow is considered to be the color of sunlight. Since ancient times, the clothes worn by babies have been colored yellow. Yellow is also considered a safe color. Children's hats, school bags and other supplies are prevalent in yellow. In other chapters of this book, different preferences and taboos in different countries in terms of figures, patterns, colors, etc. will also be involved.

5. Aesthetic concept. The concept of aesthetics is a kind of cultural aesthetics. Consumers in different countries have very different aesthetic concepts. Take women's wear as an example, Europeans prefer elegant and clear styles, and many developing countries like designs with various colors and designs. Designers of sales packaging must understand the differences in aesthetics between Chinese and foreign target markets before they can introduce excellent packaging designs.

6. Values. The concept of value refers to people's evaluation criteria and respect for things. People in different countries tend to have different levels of optimism, time, achievement, primary and secondary views, and risk perceptions. Even people of different strata in the same country have different values. The United States "Wall Street Journal" conducted a survey of American standards, and the results reflect the role of different values. The survey results show that the U.S. consumers can be divided into seven types: show status, safety, high-class, fashionable, traditional conservative, easy-going, and practical. Therefore, it is necessary for decision-makers of packaging design to appropriately adjust according to the characteristics and changes of the value concept of the target customers, and actively and actively cater to their purchasing motivation.

7. Social organization. Social organization, also known as social structure, is a way for people to have relationships with people in a society. It determines the role that people play in society and the mode of people's rights and responsibilities. It is one of the foundations of human behavior. For example, the scale of most Eastern cultural traditions is larger than that of western “nuclear families”, and many consumer products are purchased on a family basis. This requires designing different packaging sizes and loading capacities. In addition, the increase in single and single-parent families in the West has increased the number of small packages and disposable metering packages.

(III) Science and Technology Factors

First of all, due to the continuous emergence of new scientific and technological achievements, product renewal speeds up in the international market, product functions become increasingly automated, lighter, more versatile and miniaturized; the shape and structure are more concise and scientific and rational. This requires packaging design to adapt to the new commodity form and functional attributes. Secondly, the rapid development of science and technology has led to the replacement of packaging materials, which opens up a broader world for the selectivity, protection and aesthetics of packaging materials. This requires the decision-makers of packaging to adopt the new packaging materials based on the location, person, and time, adopt the new packaging materials, break through the old box, and enhance the competitiveness of the products. For example, Germany introduced a packaging cup made of starch as a raw material to hold liquids. Consumers can chew foods. If they are discarded, the cups can easily disintegrate and disappear in the outdoors.