1. How can you sellshoppers on the idea that your product is fresh?

2. Here are ourfive favorite strategies.

3. Retailers and CPG companies areusing visual cues of the farmersmarket or farmstand to evokefeelings of freshness and nostalgia.

4. Fresh-pickedon a vine or with leaves

5. Woodgrain, wicker or basket weave

6. Products within a farm/orchard container

7. Touched by Hand

8. One step removed from the source.Its as if the farmer/baker/butcherpulled up to the storefront andunloaded goods for immediate sale.

9. Handwritten chalk type on a black slate surface

10. Thin, script-y handwriting quickly dashed off with a pencil

11. Illustrations are loosely sketched

12. Labels are slightly askewor stamped to evoke hand-application

13. The most common freshnessstory on food packaging is throughappetite appea l. ooh chocolate!

14. Trying to appeal to a shoppersbase sense o hun er leads foodcompanies to develop bigger andbetter appetite appeal. before before

15. Trying to appeal to a shoppersbase sense o hun er leads foodcompanies to develop bigger andbetter appetite appeal. a f ter a f ter

16. Appetite is tricky. Its easy for thelook to be a letdown if packagingprinters arent held to strictstandards. yum! gross

17. The marketplace is overwhelmed by pictures of food.

18. You need tobe unique tostand out.

19. Colorful

20. It is difficult to use only color as ameans of conveying freshness, butcombined with other visual cues ithelps a brand stand out on shelf.

21. Bold, vibrant natural colors

22. Colors found in fresh produce

23. Be mindful of color cues that shoppers associate with categories Green = Blue = healthy seafood

24. Transparency

25. Todays consumerswant to know theorigin of theirpurchase. Wheredoes it come from?Who made it?

26. With productreviews a quickGoogle searchaway, a brand storyshould be honestand transparent.

27. Any on-packtransparency storyshould answer atleast one of thefollowing questions:

28. Who made it? Jaime

29. Who made it? How is it made? Fair Trade Beans!

30. Who made it? How is it made? What is it made of? Real Whole Coffee Beans!

31. Who made it? How is it made? What is it made of? Where did it come from? Thats in South America

32. Freshness sellswhen its transparentand authentic.Choose a story andstic with it.

33. If you want to improve your freshness story, get in touch with Liz. Liz Schwartz Vice President - PKG liz@pkgbranding.com