Pack that fits

Zydus Cadila has completely revamped the packaging for Sugar Free, to create top-of-mind-recall for the modern day, health-conscious buyers. Nandini Patwardhan charts the journey of this change

“Packaging has a very distinctive role to play in the entire branding process for products in any category as consumers identify the brand with the pack,” explains Jyoti Shiralee, General Manager, Marketing, Zydus Cadila. It gives a visual identity to the brand, which otherwise is just a name. With any brand, consumers associate a particular shape, form and colour, thereby making packaging an integral to the brand building process.

The market for low calorie sweeteners, around three years back, was characterised by cylindrical packs and Sugar Free was no exception. When it realised the market potential of Sugar Free, Zydus Cadila decided to redesign the product packaging to differentiate it from the competition.

There are various elements to packaging. These include the container and labels, the logo, the branding, the look and the colours that are used to give the product its identity. A combination of these factors makes any particular packaging stand out. “We wanted to create a strong identity for Sugar Free. That is why, we conceptualised the unique hour glass shape,” clarifies Shiralee. Hence the company looked at the warm and foodie colours, yellow and white. There is also a bird pneumonic that signifies and promotes freedom and lightness. Elements on the label depicts food products apart from tea and coffee, to tell the consumer that sweeteners can be used for desserts, milk and soft drinks.

“If you speak to consumers, even the non-users are aware of the brand. They would be able to recall the colours, the shape of the pack and the bird,” claims Shiralee. When asked about the benefits they have reaped from a change in packaging, she states, “You cannot measure these things quantitatively. Needless to mention that the packaging played a very critical role in giving it its identity and making Sugar Free what it is today”.

editorial@expresspharmaonline.com