Requirements for packaging from an ageing consumer's perspective

The overall objective of this research was to explore ageing consumers' attitudes towards currently available food packaging in New Zealand. Ninety-nine individuals (over the age of 60) in New Zealand were surveyed to determine packaging attributes of importance when selecting food products. This was followed with a focus group of 13 individuals to discuss improvements to packaging. Frequencies of responses were calculated for the survey data, and cross-tabulations and chi-square tests were used to determine the relationships between variables. Price, safety, size of packaging and ability to recycle were of most importance to these individuals. Problems encountered with food packaging included tight lids, small printing and spillage during opening. Of the types of package closures investigated, opening of packages, rather than resealing of packages proved problematic. Fifty percent or more of respondents indicated that peelable induction seals, lug closures and continuous thread closures were problems that occurred ‘very often’ or ‘frequently’. Sixty-one percent of the participants surveyed had asked for assistance opening some types of packages, and this was particularly prevalent among individuals who had weakness in their arms, hands or wrists. Changes to package closures suggested during the focus groups included increasing the size of twist off caps, larger ring pulls on aluminium cans and including more sliding resealable closures on foil and plastic packaging. Larger printing on labels was also recommended by the participants. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 1st December 2008. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both were corrected on 19th March 2009.

[1]  R. Popper,et al.  Food preference and consumption among the elderly , 2003 .

[2]  Frederikus J.A.M. van Houten,et al.  The (development) life cycle for packaging and the relation to product design , 2006 .

[3]  A I M Voorbij,et al.  The twisting force of aged consumers when opening a jar. , 2002, Applied ergonomics.

[4]  Alaster Yoxall,et al.  Openability: producing design limits for consumer packaging , 2006 .

[5]  Alaster Yoxall,et al.  ‘Inclusive’ design for containers: improving openability , 2005 .

[6]  Alaster Yoxall,et al.  Fact or friction: a model for understanding the openability of wide mouth closures , 2008 .

[7]  Lewis R. Aiken,et al.  Aging: An Introduction to Gerontology , 1994 .

[8]  U.S.L. Nayak,et al.  Pinch grip, power grip and wrist twisting strengths of healthy older adults , 2004 .

[9]  Alaster Yoxall,et al.  Size does matter: further studies in hand–pack interaction using computer simulation , 2008 .

[10]  U. S. L. Nayak,et al.  Can Older Adults use Child Resistant Bottle Closures , 2003 .

[11]  Graeme Manson,et al.  The use of uncertainty analysis for the design of container closures , 2006 .

[12]  G. Robertson Food Packaging: Principles and Practice , 1992 .

[13]  Caroline Leighton,et al.  The elderly food consumer: disadvantaged? , 1997 .

[14]  F. T. Sherman,et al.  Tamper‐resistant Packaging , 1985, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[15]  Deana McDonagh,et al.  Emotional response to food packaging , 2003 .

[16]  Joanne O. Crawford,et al.  The interaction between lid diameter, height and shape on wrist torque exertion in younger and older adults , 2002, Ergonomics.

[17]  I. C. Howard,et al.  Getting to grips with packaging: using ethnography and computer simulation to understand hand–pack interaction , 2007 .

[18]  B J FICARRA BILATERAL HIP INJURY IN A GERIATRIC PATIENT: A CASE REPORT , 1954, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.