Going inside Condiment and Global Sauces Packaging
While Covid-19 continues to change how we carry out our daily lives, one thing that has emerged as a positive trend is the amount of people who are eating meals at home. Many restaurants are closed and it’s become unsafe to eat out like we used to. Even when we do eat foods from restaurants, most often we’re taking it home and eating it at home.
With many more people eating at home, grocery stores and grocery retailers have been responding to the influx of foot traffic and online/delivery orders. One necessity for the at-home-chef is condiments. In the condiment aisle, we’re seeing more options, sustainable packaging, and stand-out designs.
The Global Sauce Market
Collectively we are looking for more options and expanding what we’re interested in eating. Gone are the days of boring, bland dinners. Consumers want options and they are willing to explore other cuisines. This is evident in the boom of restaurants that cater to sushi and other Asian traditions, Mexican cuisines, Indian cuisines, and more.
A key factor driving the growth of the global sauces market size is the growing demand for ethnic cuisines. The global food industry has been evolving constantly over the last several years with the introduction of unique flavors and foods by vendors in the market.
Because of our collective desire to expand our palettes and think more globally, food manufacturers have produced condiments, sauces, and other spices for consumers to try at home. This is especially important now as we aren’t able to frequent the restaurants that cater to these food markets.
Packaging Design
When it comes to the packaging design, we’re seeing a few key trends. First of all, the colors are vibrant and bold. The aesthetics of the design help the consumer to sense the taste of the sauce and bold colors help to communicate that tone. It’s also important to balance details versus cleanliness. If a packaging label is too busy a consumer will just skip over it. The right balance will educate the consumer on the benefits and unique selling features of the product, while also being simple to understand.
When a consumer is in the condiment aisle, they have moments to select what they want their dinner to taste like. Every consumer has different preferences so its important to speak to those preferences. Every sauce has so many nuances to its flavor so its also important to communicate that on the label.
For example, when it comes to hot sauces and salsas, it is helpful to have a heat scale so the consumer knows how mild or hot the sauce is going to be.
Engineering Sustainability
Sustainable packaging is popular in all sectors, so naturally we’re seeing this in the condiment aisle as well. Many brands are starting to introduce pouches for their sauces. Even barbecue sauce and ketchup can be packaged into a pouch. Educating the consumer on how to recycle is another way to stay sustainable in the condiment aisle. It could be as simple as removing the label to make the glass or plastic blue-bind ready.
Glass is also a popular material in the condiment aisle. For higher end products, it’s popular to see nicely styled glass bottles that can even be put in the dish washer and reused.
Becoming User Friendly
Have you ever tried to pour a dressing or sauce on to your food and had way too much come out. Or the opposite happens – you can’t get anything out! This is why it’s important to test out the lid and the dispenser. Sprayable, squeezable, and spreadable dispensers have all become popular in the condiment aisle:
- Spreadable: mayo, jelly, and sour cream are common products to see in an upside down bottle that dispenses in a more spreadable way
- Squeezable: squeezable pouches with a variety of different nossels are common to see for a variety of sauces
- Sprayable: cooking oils are now common to see in sprayable cans
Inspire Your Packaging Design
If you are a packaging designer or interested in exploring packaging ideas for condiments and global sauces, we’ve curated a list of sources for you to get inspired.
- Trend Hunter has a great page with different applications for condiment packaging
- The Dieline has a curated list of amazing condiment packaging designs
- Get more branding ideas from Trend Hunter
- View this pinterest board or this pinterest board for even more ideas!
