WO2000027724A1

WO2000027724A1 - Method of packaging groups of products

Info

Publication number: WO2000027724A1
Application number: PCT/RU1999/000412
Authority: WO
Inventors: Igor Anatolievich Stavrulov
Original assignee: Igor Anatolievich Stavrulov
Priority date: 1998-11-05
Filing date: 1999-11-03
Publication date: 2000-05-18
Also published as: EA200100507A1; AU1300800A; EP1127014A1; CA2348425A1

Abstract

The invention relates to packing of homogeneous products which are supplied to retail trade as a uniform common packing of some number of such products, which are not sold separately. A surface of common packing which incorporates some number of the homogeneous products, besides symbols identifying the given goods, bears also images in the form of texts and/or pictures which do not concern the goods or their consumer properties. It is made to improve attractiveness of such goods and to increase consumer demand. The images on packings of the goods are not identical, and the degree of their inequality should minimize the probability of purchase by one consumer of packs of the goods with identical images. Such images should cause consumer's positive emotions and should be attractive to him (her) by the semantic contents. The separate products placed in common packing, may be additionally covered with individual envelopes bearing images which are not identical and do not coincide with the images on the common packing.

Description

METHOD OF PACKAGING GROUPS OF PRODUCTS

This invention relates mainly to the art of food-processing industry and concerns to the packing of homogeneous foodstuff incorporated by common 5 packing and supplied to retail trade.

Background Art Many kinds of foodstuff are saupplied for realization in a trade network as some number of homogeneous products incorporated by common packing, ι o being itself a minimal commodity unit.

Boxes of chocolate candies and sweets, packs of cookies or wafers, packings of slieced cheese, sausage or fish, blocks of tea single use packs, etc., may be used as such minimal commodity units.

Individual products incorporated in the minimal commodity unit, do not 15 supplied separately to retail trade.

The separate homogeneous products which are placed inside of common packing, may or may not be covered with an individual envelopes.

For example, the packs of cookies and wafers have the common packing only, the boxes of candies and sweets may contain separate products covered 20 additionally with a colour foil.

Any tea pack which is placed in common packing serves as an individual envelope for the tea powder or granules.

There are packings of chese slices on sale, each sliece is additionally covered with a transparent envelope. 25 Symbolics allowing to identify given goods and to distinguish them from the similar goods, has been placed on surfaces of all common packings. The symbolics is realized as the images looking like texts (always) and picures (in most cases). As a rule, the symbolics allowing to identify the concrete goods, includes the minimally necessary information on the goods (name of the goods, its measure, term of its validity, some information on the enterprise - manufacturer, some information on conformity of the goods to the official requirements), and some additional information concerning consumer properties of the given goods, in particular, an information on energetic value of the goods, recommendation for its use, recipes of culinary dishes which include the goods, and so on.

The images which are placed on a surface of common packing of the goods of one kind and grade, have been completely identical. Surfaces of individual envelopes covering separate products (if any) does not bear any images, as a rule.

Packings of some products of other purpose bear sometimes on its separate elements or on the product itself images which are not having the direct relation to the product. The images have an advertising character in overwhelming majority of cases .

In particular, the images are placed on a surface of a toilet paper (see French patent application FR 2172929, IPC G 09 F 23/00, 1973), table napkins (see United States patent US 5573830, IPC D 04 H 1/64, 1996), single cloths (see French utility certificate FR 2095115, IPC G 09 F 23/00, 1972), lottery tickets (see Russian patent RU 2093903, IPC G 09 F 23/14, 1997), post envelopes (See Russian patent RU 2099798, IPC G 09 F 23/10, 1997), cigarette packings (see European patent EP 0646531, IPC B 65 D 85/10, 1997) and other products.

The specificity of advertising business is such, that the efficiency of any advertising depends directly on its repeatability and it is supposed, in this connection, that the advertising statements placed on the products surfaces, should be regularly repeated.

By other words, such advertising images, if any, shall be identical on all goods of the given set. There are sets of alcoholic drinks and match boxes placed in common pacldng having labels which may differ from each other. However, these individual products do not the homogeneous products in that sense, which was attributed to this term in framework of this invention, because the said individual products are supplied separately to the retail trade.

Besides, the individual products have been incorporated in such sets for the purpose to increase consumer's convenience in the sense that he (she) may get some necessary assortment of the products in one time (in particular, a set of alcoholic drinks), or he (she) may get at once a group of identical products (for example, a set of match boxes), conveniently placed in common packing.

Difference of labels on any match boxes in the set of boxes can not, probably, be the reason to increase attractiveness of such set, because, as it was mentioned above, the attractiveness of such set has the different reason.

Thus, the implementation of the known standard method of homogeneous products packing leads to the folloving:

- all minimal commodity units of the same goods have identical appearance, and there are completely identical symbolics on a surface of each common packing for group of homogeneous products;

- the homogeneous products in common packing have no individual envelopes, or they have individual envelopes without any images on their surfaces.

Brief Description of the Invention The claimed invention has the aim to increase consumer's demand for the goods because of increase of their attractivenessl for the consumer. It relates basically to the goods which are the sets of separate homogeneous products, incorporated by uniform common packing, which are not sold separately, without the packing. Preferably these goods are the food goods of daily and mass demand supplied to retail trade. The aim is achieved because:

- unequal images, attractive to a consumer, are placed additionally on a surface of common packing of homogeneous products, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on a surface of packing o£ at least, one units of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat; or

- all homogeneous products which are placed inside the common packing, are additionally covered with individual envelopes, which surfaces bear unequal images, attractive to a consumer, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on a surface oζ at least, one homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat; or

- unequal images, attractive to a consumer, are placed additionally on a surface of common packing of homogeneous products, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on a surface of packing o£ at least, one units of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and all homogeneous products which are placed inside the common packing, are additionally covered with individual envelopes, which surfaces bear the unequal images, attractive to a consumer, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on a surface of, at least, one homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat.

The essence of the applicant's proposal consists in the following. Group of homogeneous products which makes a minimal commodity unit, mainly of food and confectionery goods, is placed in a common packing. The products are such that are not sold separately, without the packing. The "products" mean above and hereinafter separate products, such as wafers, as well as parts of separate products, such as, for example, cheese slices. The "homogeneous products" mean above and hereinafter the products of one grade and kind placed in common packing, making the minimal commodity unit.

The common packing which incorporates such homogeneous products, may be a box, package, tube, or any other container.

The "minimal commodity unit" means the least commodity unit in retail trade which is not subject to splitting on fineer parts at the sale.

Symbolics identifying the given goods are placed on a surface of each common packing of the homogeneous products. The "symbolics" mean, in framework of this invention, as a minimum, the obligatory and necessary information on the goods; it may be expressed by images including mainly texts, or sometimes also pictures.

The texts may, for example, include information on the name and quantity of the goods, about the enterprise - manufacturer, about date of production of the goods and/or term of its validity, about conformity of the goods to the accepted standards or specifications etc.

The pictures may, for example, include trademarks and logos of the manufacturer.

Symbolics which are placed, in this connection, on surfaces of all packings of homogeneous products of one kind, should be identical.

The first mode of implementation of the claimed invention provides for additional placing on a surface of common packings of homogeneous products of unequal images, attractive to a consumer, the degree of its inequality is such, that the image on a surface of packing of, at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat.

The second mode of implementatuion of the claimed invention provides for placing unequal images, attractive to a consumer, on surfaces of individual envelopes, which cover, at least, a part of the homogeneous product in common packing, and the degree of inequality of the images is such, that the image on the surface of, at least, one homogeneous product in common packing, does not repeat.

The third mode of implementation of the claimed invention provides for additional placing on a surface of common packings of homogeneous products of unequal images, attractive to a consumer, which degree of inequality is such, that the image on a surfiice of paking ot, at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and also placing on surfaces of individual envelopes of homogeneous products, which cover of, at least, part of homogeneous products in common packing, and the degree of inequality of the images is such, that the image on a surface o£ at least, one homogeneous product in common packing, does not repeat.

The images which are placed on the surfaces of common packings and/or of individual envelopes of homogeneous products, may be in the form of texts and/or pictures of entertaining, educational, instructive or other character, attractive to a consumer.

The information made in the texts and/or pictures shall not concern the goods and/or its consumer properties; it shall serve the aim to cause consumer's positive emotions. The texts may, for example, be riddles, proverbs, sharades, sayings, aphorisms, signs, parting words, wishes, short poems, fragments of poems and prose, and also carriers of other useful and interesting information.

Pictures may, for example, be mysterious ones, rebuses, chess tasks and etudes, puzzles, and also patterns, ornaments, vignettes, and other producrs of decorative art, or similar images.

The basic distinctive feature of the proposed method consists in that the images which are placed on common packings and/or on individual envelopes, shall be not identical. The "images inequality" means the non-coinsidense of the complete corresonding images, though the separate elements of the images may coincide.

The optimum degree of the images inequality is such, that the probability of purchase bu one and the same consumer of products with the identical images is minimized.

It is necessary to update periodically the form and contents of the images, to decrese the probability of purchase by one consumer at repeated purchases of the goods with the identical images on a surface of common packing and/or on surfaces of individual envelopes. The individual envelopes shall, preferably, to cover completely all surface of homogeneous products, or to cover, at least, their large part.

Thus, the individual envelope, besides it serves as the carrier of the attractive images, performs also a protective function, protecting additionally the foodstuffs from damage. The different and constantly varying in due course images of the contents, attractive to a consumer, placed on surfaces of individual envelopes, will induce him (her) to buy the goods packed according to the proposed method, and not to the other.

If the purpose of placing of additional images on common packings of the goods in the background art was to increase consumer's knowlege about quality of the given goods and recommended character of its use, the purpose of the present invention consists in increase of consumer demand on these goods, because of placing on packing of the goods the images causing consumer's positive emotions or educational interest.

Detailed Description of the Invention The basic idea of the proposed invention consists in that external appearance, or layout, of packings of separate minimal commodity units of one goods is made various, having kept at the same time some necessary traditional and familiar symbolics inherent to these goods packing. It will allow to increase consumer's demand for such goods.

The present invention relates basically to the goods which are the sets of sepaiate homogeneous products, incorporated by uniform common packing. Said products are not sold separately from the packing. The goods are preferably food goods of daily and mass demand supplied to retail trade. At the same time, opportunities of the invention do not hmited by these goods. The invention may be used at packing blocks of other homogeneous products incorporated by common packing.

With this purpose, images in the form of texts and/or pictures shall be placed on packings of the corresponding goods. The images shall bear an information, attractive and interesting to a consumer, and causing consumer's positive emotions. Besides, the images which are presented on packings of one kind and grade of the goods, should not be identical.

The afore mentioned images may be placed on common packing of minimal commodity unit, as well as on individual envelopes, if any, of individual products. The images on common packings and on individual envelopes should not coincide.

The claimed invention results in achieving the aim to increase consumer demand on the goods because of improving attractiveness of the goods as a result of placing on packings of the goods the images creating consumer's positive emotions and bearing an information which represents interest for the consumer. The images shall be not identical.

The aim is achieved because: - unequal images, attractive to a consumer, are placed additionally on a surface of common packing of homogeneous products, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on the surface of packing oζ at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat; or

- all homogeneous products which are placed inside the common packing, are additionally covered with individual envelopes, which surfaces bear unequal images, attractive to a consumer, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on the surface of, at least, one homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat; or

- unequal images, attractive to a consumer, are placed additionally on a surface of common packing of homogeneous products, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on the surface of packing o£ at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and each of the homogeneous products which is placed inside the common packing, is additionally covered with individual envelope, and the surface of such envelope bears the unequal images, attractive to the consumer, and the degree of their inequality is such, that the image on the surface o£ at least, one homogeneous product in common packing, does not repeat.

The essence of the applicant's proposal consists in the following. Group of homogeneous products which makes a minimal commodity unit, mainly of food and confectioneiy goods, is placed in common packing. The products are such that they are not sold separately, without the packing.

The homogenious products should not include, in this sense, the products which, even being placed in common packing, nevertheless may be sold separately, such as, in particular, packs of matches placed in common packing. Bottles of alcoholic drinks of various assortment, chocolate in bars of different grades, and similar food products distinctive from each other, and being the various independed goods, are not considered as homogeneous products from this point of view, even they are placed in the common packing. The common packing which incorporates such homogeneous products, may be a box, package, tube, or any other container.

Symbolics identifying the given goods are placed on a surface of each common packing of the homogeneous products. The notion "symbolics" includes in this case the obligatory minimally necessary information on the goods; it may be expressed by images including the texts and pictures, and some additional information concerning properties of the goods and rules of its use.

The texts may, for example, include an information on the name and quantity of the goods, about the enterprise - manufacturer, about the date of production of the goods and/or term of its validity, about conformity of the goods to the accepted standards or specifications etc.

The pictures may, for example, include trafemarks and logos of the manufacturer, and also artistic graphic layout of packing, habitual and standardised for the given kind and grade of the goods, and so on.

The entirety of the texts and pictures should allow to find out visually the concrete goods and to distinguish it from other goods of the same assortment.

In this connection symbolics which are placed on a surface of any packing of homogeneous products of one kind, should be completely identical. The inventive idea of the present invention may be realized in three modes.

The first mode of implementation of the claimed invention provides for additional placing on surfaces of common packings of homogeneous products of unequal images, attractive to a consumer, the degree of its inequality is such, that the image on the surface of packing o£ at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat.

The second mode of implementation of the claimed invention provides for placing unequal images, attractive to a consumer, on a surface of individual envelopes, which cover, at least, a part of the homogeneous products in common packing, and the degree of the images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of, at least, one homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat. The third mode of implementation of the claimed invention provides for additional placing on a surface of common packings of homogeneous products of unequal images, attractive to a consumer, which degree of inequality is such, that the image on the surface of packing of, at least, one unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and also placing on surfaces of individual envelopes of homogeneous products which cover, at least, a part of homogeneous products in common packing, and the degree of the images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of, at least, one homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat.

Thus, the unequal images are placed on the surface of common packings of homogeneous products at implementation of the first mode of the invention. That made various the package external appearance. The unequal images are placed on the surface of individual envelopes of homogeneous products in common packing at implementation of the second mode of the invention. That made various the packing internal appearance. The unequal images are placed on the surface of common packings of homogeneous products and on the surface of individual envelopes of homogeneous products in common packing at inplenentation of the third mode of the invrention. That made various both external and internal appearance of packings.

Each homogeneous product of a particular kind of the goods (for example, tea packs) may be covered with individual envelopes in the background art. According to the present invention, what is placed on the surfaces of these envelopes, are the unequal images. If, in some case, there were used not to cover some homogeneous products of particular kinds of the goods with individual envelopes (for example, separate wafers in common packing), than, according to the present invention, such products shall be covered additionally with individual envelopes which bear the images.

Each homogeneous product in common packing, or some of the homogeneous products, shall be covered with individual envelopes.

The images which are placed on surfaces of common packings and/or of individual envelopes of homogeneous products, may be in the form of texts and/or pictures of entertaining, educational, instructive or other character, attractive to a consumer.

The information made in the texts and/or pictures, shall not concern the goods and/or its consumer properties; it has the aim to cause consumer's positive emotions and to enrich his (hers) knowledge. The "texts" mean the independent images carrying the readable information and occupying a part of a surface of common packing or, at least, a part of a surface of an individual envelope. The "pictures" mean all other independent images, except for textual, which occupyes a part of a surface of the common packing or, at least, a part of a surface of the individual envelope, except for textual.

The texts may, for example, be riddles, proverbs, sharades, sayings, aphorisms, signs, parting words, wishes, short poems, fragments of poems and prose, and also carriers of other useful and interesting information.

Pictures may, for example, be mysterious ones, rebuses, chess tasks and etudes, puzzles and so on.

The leading principle of giving to products of attractiveness for a consumer consists in that the images placed on packings of these products, should be entertaining, interesting and useful to the consumer, because of the sense and contents of the images.

The images of only decorative character, such as patterns, ornaments, vignettes, other products of decorative art, and similar images, may be used as 5 auxiliary elements of external appearance of the surface of common packings and individual envelopes.

Both texts and pictures shall be the images completed on sense and attractive on its form and contents.

The images on surfaces of common packings and individual envelopes 10 shall not be directly connected with the goods, its particulaiities and quality, and shall be of independent character.

The texts and/or pictures on surfaces of common packings in one set of the goods and/or on surfaces of individual envelopes in common packing shall be, preferably, logically interconnected, for example, by common idea, uniform ι s subjects or in a similar way.

The basic distinctive feature of the proposed method consists in that the images which are placed on common packings and/or on individual envelopes, shall be unequal.

The "images inequality" means the non-coincidence of the complete 20 corresponding images, though the separate elements of the images may coincide.

The requirement of the "images inequality" shall be considered as satisfied in framework of this invention, when:

- the image on the surface of common packing o£ at least, one minimal unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer,

25 and/or on the surface o£ at least, one individual envelope of homogeneous products in the common packing, does not repeat;

- the image on the surface of common packing of each minimal unit of the given goods in a set of the goods purchased normally by one consumer, and/or on the surface of each individual envelope of homogeneous products in common packing, does not repeat.

The optimum degree of the images inequality is such, that the probability should be minimized of purchase by one consumer of products with the identical images.

The images on, at least, individual envelopes of products making minimal commodity unit, shall be not repeated according to the preferred mode of implementation of the invention.

It is necessary to update periodically the form and contents of the images, to decreese the probability of purchase by one consumer at repeated purchases of the goods with the identical images on the surface of common packing and/or on the surface of individual envelopes.

The periodicity of updating the images directly depends on average frequency of purchases of the given kind of the goods by the individual consumer and on the volume of the single purchase.

If, for example, to admit conditionally, that the average consumer buyes a packing of tea packs (20 packs) once per one week, and a box of chocolate sweets once per three months, it becomes obvious, that the updating of the images on surfaces of individual envelopes of tea packs should be made more often, than updating the images on common packings of chocolate sweets.

The individual envelopes shall, preferably, cover all surface of homogeneous products completly, or, at least their large part.

Thus, besides the individual envelope serves as the carrier of the attractive images, it performs also protective function, protecting additionally the foodstuff from damage.

The protective function of an individual envelope can be increased, if it will be made of special grades of a paper, in particular, of a waxy paper or parchment, accepted for the use in the food processing industry. It is desirable, that the additional images on surfaces of common packings were bordered from obligatory symbolics.

The different and constantly varying in due course images of the contents, attractive to a consumer, placed on surfaces of common packings and/or on surfaces of individual envelopes of the homogeneous goods, will induce the consumer to buy the goods packed according to the proposed, and not to the other, method.

If the purpose of additional images placing on common packings of the goods in the background art was to increase the consumer's knowlege about quality of the given goods and recommended character of its use, the purpose of the present invention consists in increase of consumer demand on these goods, because of placing on the goods packings of entertaining and interesting images carrying certain semantic and emotional sense.

The following Examples illustrate additionally the essence of the proposal; they are not having, however, any limitiing character. EXAMPLE 1.

The frozen pel'meni (a Russian Siberian meat ravioli) was packed by portions of 0,5 kg in cardboard packs. A part of packs external surface bears symbolics allowing to identify the given goods and including, in particular, some information about the goods, conditions of its storage and use. The symbolics which is traditional for the given grade of pel'meni, was placed on the packs previously.

Graphic images making rebuses were placed previously on a part of the packs surfaces which are free from the symbolics.

Only 20 rebuses were repeated 2 times on surfaces of common packings in a set of 100 packs of pel'meni. The probability is relatively insignificant of purchase by one consumer at one purchase of two packs with identical rebuses. EXAMPLE 2.

The crushed tea leaves in amount, sufficient for preparation of one glass of tea, were packed in individual paper packs. Texts of riddles were placed previously on one side of each individual pack, and the pictures being answers to the riddles were placed previously on the other side of the packs.

Identical riddles were never repeated on surfaces of 300 individual packs. The individual packs were grouped by 30 pieces and each group was placed in common packing which surface bears the traditional symbolics peculiar to the given goods and serves to distinguish the given tea grade from the other grades.

EXAMPLE 3. Each of separate piece wafers was covered with an individual paper envelope. The image of the fantastic hero was previously placed on the envelope.

Only 10 images were repeated 3 times on individual envelopes of wafers in a set of 150 piece wafers.

Each three wafers of this set were placed in common packing which surface bears the traditional symbolics in the form of texts and pictures serving to distinguish the given grade of the wafers.

The reduced images of the same fantastic heroes were placed additionally on the surface of the common packings.

Only 5 images were repeated 2 times on the surfaces of 50 common packings of wafers.

Implementation of the present invention raises competitiveness of products which are made according to the invention, because of presence on their common packings and/or on individual envelopes of the interesting, various, not repeated, accessible and attractive information.

Besides, the attractiveness of patented products lies also in that the information placed on individual envelopes of homogeneous products, becomes accessible to a consumer after opening the external packing of the product only, that always carries an effect of pleasant unexpectedness and some surprise.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. A method of packing of homogeneous products by their placing in a common packing which surface bears symbolics identifying the products, characterized in that unequal images, attractive to a consumer, are placed additionally on the surface of the common packing, and degree of the images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of the packing o£ at least, one unit of the products in a set of the products purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and/or, at least, some of the homogeneous products are covered with individual envelopes which surface bear unequal images, attractive to the consumer, and degree of images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of the individual envelope o£ at least, one product in common packing, does not repeat.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the images on the surfaces of common packings of the products in the set of the products purchased noimally by one consumer, do not repeat.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the images on the surfaces of individual envelopes of homogeneous products in the common packing, do not repeat.

4. The method according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the images on the surfaces of common packings and/or on the individual envelopes are the texts and/or pictures of entertaining, educational, or instructive character. iβ

5. The method according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the images are not connected to properties of the goods.

6. A method of packing of homogeneous food or confectionery products which are not sold separately and are supplied to retail trade in common uniform packings, characterized in that a surface of the common packings, besides obligatory symbolics identifying the given goods, bears additionally unequal images, attractive to a consumer, in the form of texts and/or pictures which are not concerning the goods and its consumer properties, and degree of the images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of the packing o£ at least, one unit of the products in a set of the products purchased normally by one consumer, does not repeat, and or, at least, some of the homogeneous products are covered with individual envelopes which surfaces bear the unequal images, attractive to the consumer, in the form of texts and/or pictures which are not concerning the goods and its consumer properties, and degree of the images inequality is such, that the image on the surface of the individual envelpe of, at least, one product in common packing, does not repeat.