U N I T 1 HISTORY OF PACKAGING In this Unit we focus on packaging and its first use dating back to prehistoric times. We will find out how packaging has been changed into a coordinate system of preparing goods for transport, distribution and storage, until the modern inventions of polyethylene and aluminium. A. PACKAGING, WHAT IS IT? Packaging is the artistic, scientific and technological skill of wrapping, enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and final use. Packaging is an important part of marketing a product. It contains, facilitates handling, protects (e.g. it is shock-, water-, dust- and dirt-proof), preserves, transports, informs and finally helps sells the product. The intended purpose of packaging is to make a product readily sellable as well as to protect it against damage and prevent it from deterioration while in storage. The modern role of packaging is broadening, arousing attention and curiosity, furthering promotion and providing machine identification, such as barcodes, reporting essential or additional information and helping to make goods more user-friendly.Packaging is now generally regarded as an essential component of our modern life style and the way business is organised. It is an important part of the branding process as it plays a role in communicating the image and identity of a company. Philip Kotler, an American marketing author, consultant and professor, author of over 40 marketing books, describes strategic marketing as serving as the link between society s needs and its pattern of industrial response. Kotler defines packaging as all the activities of designing and producing the container for a product. The role of packaging has dramatically evolved from the traditional function of protecting the product against dirt, damage, theft, mishandling and deterioration. This functional role is a requirement of all packages. In the modern era, packaging is also used as a marketing tool to promote the product, to increase visibility of the product on the shelf and to provide information to the customer. The communication function of packaging can be viewed in four ways. Firstly, the product s packaging draws the attention of the consumer at the point-of-sale through its attractive design and colours; secondly, a package gives an indication of its contents; thirdly, a package can be a tool for educating the customer; finally, a package contributes to the overall image of the brand. 124