Liekens’ “Mampfred” packaging taps into an emotional vein and is fun for kids. Photo: Christoph Petersen Design

Packaging – Suitable for Children

Colourful with striking images and shapes

The best way to start the day is a good breakfast. A healthy and dainty meal in the morning is particularly important for children. International studies have looked at the role packaging plays in the choice of health-conscious food for children. Their unanimous verdict: children prefer products with appealing colours, images and shapes. How packaging design impacts children’s perception of taste was also studied by Stanford University. They were able to show that packaging design has a substantial impact on the assessment of taste of otherwise completely identical products.

My name is Fred, Mampfred

Lieken Urkorn brings a ray of light into packed shelves with special packaging. The company invited children to a “bread camp” to jointly develop a sandwich for school breaks that both meets the taste of these little gourmets and lives up the parents’ demands at the same time. And to top it all: kids make friends with Mampfred. The cheerful bread slice was designed by Christoph Petersen Design Studio and graces the colourful packaging of the bread. The character already wins over little shoppers for the product at the store while the nutrition facts are prominently stated with a view to also convincing parents at first sight.

Children prefer products with appealing colours, images and shapes. Producers leveraging these insights for their packaging design can substantially contribute to children’s health promotion. Photo: General Mills

Creative Designs for Kids

Food producer Fazer marketed another imaginative design for ready-to-consume pastries. The Finnish company came up with a special idea for its product series called Vilpuri: funny-looking colourful sea monsters swallow the bread slices, rolls or cookies in the plastic bag with giant mouths.

KiX Boxes can be converted into spaceships, dragons or marine animals whisking kids away on exciting adventures. Photo: General Mills

Those preferring muesli to bread in the morning no longer need to get bored either. Quite the contrary: the KiX Cereals brand marketed by American food giant General Mills impresses children with radiant, colourful packaging featuring various cartoon characters. For bringing even more fun and adventure to the breakfast table, parts of the packaging are perforated and can be assembled into dragons, sea animals or spaceships.