"Some fruit, vegetable and meat wholesalers are blasé about packaging because they rely heavily on direct sales and not traditional advertising," Pienaar says. "But when you are selling your product at the market, your packaging becomes a billboard for your brand - it needs to be treated with the same careful consideration as a magazine ad or TV spot."
All too often, companies will consider the initial appearance of their packaging and forget about the 'enduring' presence a simple fruit or meat box will have during its lifetime. "A farmer will wet-pack his export quality bananas in a thick cardboard box with a good design and ship it off to Europe, not considering that the boxes will degrade, peel and sag because of the moisture," Pienaar says. "He will use the cheapest option in terms of print and design, instead of considering the impact that a more durable and attractive box could have in the lucrative export market. In the end the packaging does not reflect the quality of the product inside."
Michael Cordes of the Institute of Market Agents of South Africa (IMASA) agrees. "I saw recently on the Tshwane Market where a tomato farmer had a very good product but the packaging was not up to standard. That farmer was fetching prices up to R5 per unit lower than the best, yet he had a comparable quality product. His packaging was not strong enough so cartons were bending and damaging the tomatoes, while the colour scheme and design on the outside was insipid and ineffective. Assuming he sent 1000 boxes of tomatoes then he effectively would have thrown away R5 000."
South African growers are also heavily dependent on export markets where quality packaging is the norm. The CoolSeal brand operated successfully in Europe for a number of years because the material - polypropylene - can be modified in terms of colour, print, size, shape and functionality. Because the packaging is 100% moisture- and bacteria-resistant, it maintains its attractive appearance as well as its functionality throughout the entire supply chain before being recycled or reused.
