Inside McCormick's Packaging Innovation Process

By Sam Lewis

Last month, McCormick’s VP of Global Packaging Innovation, Dr. Michael Okoroafor, took some time to discuss with me the company’s process of creating new packaging. From forming the packaging for brand new products, to rebranding and reforming the packaging of the company’s signature products, McCormick’s design process is specifically aimed at bringing value to the consumer by identifying and addressing their needs.

Every day, McCormick brings consumers into its innovation laboratory in Sparks, MD, to inspect, handle, and use the company’s packaging. The focus groups are then asked to provide feedback regarding their thoughts on the product, as well as how it might be improved. Packaging ergonomics is one area that is mentioned in nearly every focus group. According to Okoroafor, “We focus on how people use our products. For instance, it is not unusual for people to have wet hands when they cook. As a result, we try to make sure that when consumers are handling our product, it doesn’t slide in their hands. You also need to be sure they are able to open and close it easily. Ergonomics has become critical to really understand what the consumer wants.”

Once McCormick receives consumer feedback, a cross-functional team — including members of the company’s marketing team, packaging designers, product development, and supply chain personnel — set out to redesign the packaging to better fit the focus group’s feedback. This process is cycled through and repeated until the focus groups unanimously agree upon a final product. This process can last anywhere from 12 months to several years, depending on the project.  “It depends on the complexity of the project, and this is why it is important to really do the due diligence and invest properly. We leave nothing to chance and we don’t have any room for error. It is something we go after meticulously, so, at the end of the day, we’re delivering exactly what the consumer is telling us they want,” says Okoroafor.

An example of how McCormick’s packaging innovation process is executed can be found in its herb grinder. The company knows that addressing the senses of the consumer, specifically sight and touch, is critical in packaging design. “Understanding what brings out the best in a product is critical. With the grinder, the oils that herbs produce truly enhance the product and this would not be possible without the grinder. By grinding the product, you’re breaking it up and making it really come alive so that it’s not just your taste, but the assimilation of additional senses is enhanced,” says Okoroafor. Further, the ergonomics of a package capable of grinding must be practical and pleasing for the consumer.

The process didn’t end there; McCormick performs verification activities with consumers through its laboratory, as well as in-home testing with consumers. “Before we put a product on the market, we need permission from the consumer. We ask, ‘did this product meet all your needs?’ and, ‘did it address all your questions from the first prototype?’ If they say, ‘yes,’ then we are on our way to put it out to the marketplace, which is what you see with the herb grinder. It is quite an elaborate process,” says Okoroafor.

However, it’s not enough to just design a package that the consumer loves. For McCormick, this cycle of research, product development, testing, and consumer feedback means very little if the product is loved by consumers, but it is not affordable and consumers are not willing to purchase it again and again and again. “First, consumers have to love the product. Next, the product must be affordable for the company to create and for consumers to purchase it. Finally, consumers must be willing to purchase that product again and again and again. When those three things happen, you know you’ve hit on all cylinders; you’ve hit on the winning proposition and that’s what we’re trying to do. For the consumer and for the retailer, it’s that value that they’re comfortable paying for over and over again. If you don’t get to that point, you’re not going to do well in the long term,” Okoroafor says.

But, it’s not just a matter of “firing on all cylinders,” as Okoroafor says. A company must endeavor to remain relevant and competitive. For McCormick, that involves four components of packaging performance: the consumer win, economic advantage, technical insulation, and product quality and safety.

The notion of the consumer win, in terms of packaging, emphasizes that the product is the package and the package is the product. They are one in the same. They must work together to truly offer consumers the “wow” factor. “If we put out a product the consumer believes is impressive, that immediately catches their attention when they see it on retail shelves, we have created the First Moment of Truth. At the end of the day, we enable retail sales. The consumer is king, but the retailer holds the key to the kingdom,” says Okoroafor.

Economic advantage refers back to the notion that companies must not only put out products that the consumer is willing to pay for, but the consumer must also feel the product has great value at that price. Okoroafor puts this notion into perspective by referencing German cars. “Look at a BMW versus a Volkswagen Beetle. Both are German cars, but people pay more than twice as much for the BMW as they do for the Beetle, but consumers still believe they have value when they buy a BMW. It doesn’t mean it is the cheapest; it means it is the best value that the consumer will get at the price they are willing to pay. If you can do that day in, day out, and year in, year out, with your product, that’s an economic advantage you can carry.”

Technical insulation is the idea that a company has done adequate research, development, and testing to create one-of-a-kind products that are unique to the company and provide a competitive advantage. Okoroafor elaborates by saying, “We have unique things — we do extensive research with consumers, we continually improve our designs from that research, and we apply for and receive patents based on those designs — in our packaging and products that are proprietary, protecting the contents and our trade secrets that nobody can copy easily. We do these things to insulate ourselves from the competition.”

Finally, product quality and safety goes beyond the obvious definition of creating high-quality, safe products. A company must produce a high-quality and safe product and have it maintain those attributes throughout its shelf life. Okoroafor elaborates, “When we create a product, we strive for it to be safe and truly high quality. This means it is of the highest quality and is safe not just when you open it and initially use it, but through the entire time the product lasts.”