Informative Value of Packaging as a Determinant of Food Purchase

The purpose of the article is to present the concept of information value of food packaging, characterize determinants of information value and present the results of own research on the identification of key information on packaging affecting purchasing decisions of food consumers. Unit packaging constituting an inherent element of food products equipment should fulfill numerous, overlapping functions, which include: protection, transport andinformation — functional, as well as ecological and promotional. One of the priority functions of product packaging (not just food) is the informative function. It is assumed that the proper selection of information encoded on the packaging should inform the consumer exhaustively, reliably and comprehensively about the packed product, its composition, nutritional values or storage conditions. Analyzing the information included on food packaging, it can be stated that entities introducing these products onto the market still show a tendency to “excessively” label the packaging (as part of optional labeling). It is therefore reasonable to specify what information is analyzed by consumers in the purchasing process and what information constitutes the information value of unit packets from the point of view of individual consumers. The above will allow identifying key determinants of the information value of packaging and may constitute valuable information for entities introducing products to trade in the field of proper selection of characters and codes of unit packets on the food market.