Research says consumers prefer glass food packaging

Glass packaging maker O-I says its new research shows Australian consumers prefer glass packaging for their food and beverages.

The study showed 88% of Australians believed glass packaging best demonstrated high-quality food products and 76% high-quality beverage products compared with other packaging types.

More than 600 people including 565 main grocery buyers were surveyed as part of the research which was commissioned by O-I and conducted by Ipsos Australia. The survey measured attitudes and behaviours of Australian consumers towards packaging.

Other key research findings included:

• 73% of participants rated packaging as important when making purchasing decisions.

Food Packaging - Glass packaging compared with pouches, plastic, cans and cartons:

• 74% of Australians believe glass packaging is the most natural and healthy for you.
• 75% of Australians believe glass packaging is least likely to impact or change the product’s taste.
• 69% of Australians believe glass packaging tends to be most eye-catching on the shelf and most likely to gain attention.

Beverage Packaging - Glass packaging compared with plastic, cardboard, bag in box, aluminum cans and cartons:

• 73% of Australians believe glass packaging is the most natural and healthy for you.
• 75% of Australians believe glass packaging is least likely to impact or change the product’s taste.
• 67% of Australians believe glass packaging tends to be most eye-catching on the shelf and most likely to gain attention.

Brian Slingsby, General Manager O-I Australia, said the research identified increasing consumer desire for more foods and beverages packaged in glass because it delivered optimum quality, taste and health benefits.

“The research clearly reveals that glass packaging is preferred by consumers across multiple categories, beating other forms of packaging on a number of important attributes including recyclability, transparency and the ability of glass to preserve the flavour of foods and beverages,” said Slingsby.

“Packaged products available on supermarket shelves do not necessarily reflect what Australian consumers want. This provides a real opportunity for brand owners to use more glass packaging to create a point of difference and appeal in competitive market segments such as packaged fruits and vegetables.

“Our Brazilian customer OLÉ Foods converted its corn product from tin cans to glass packaging and its market share grew from 4 to 11%, providing clear evidence of the important role glass packaging can play in helping products appeal to consumers.”