Handle power
Mona DoyleIs a bad handle better or worse than no handle at all? Most consumers say a bad handle is better than none. They also say that while a bad handle is better than no handle, a good handle is usually a significant and appreciated improvement. And a great handle is key to a great package.
For an example of a great handle, look at the 96-ounce jug of Tropicana orange juice. The handle creates balance; makes pouring easier and cleaner by reducing spills and drips; and makes the product easier to carry short or long distances. The bottle is easier to maneuver and, therefore, easier to store.
Really bad handles aren't much of a problem for foods or beverages. Small handles on glass bottles of maple syrup were the only example of a bad handle cited more than once in our poll questions on handles, although several respondents mentioned that the handles on gallon jugs of milk weren't bad but could be better.
Beverage marketers from Sunny Delight to Gatorade have learned that gallons are easy to sell if the bottles include a handle that makes the big bottles easy to carry and pour. The relationship is that forward and that simple.
Handles cost money, but they mean a lot to many consumers. For large packaged products, they signify both quality and convenience. For food marketers, they signify both consideration and respect for customers.
No one I know of has quantitatively studied the contribution of slant-handle jugs to Tropicana's success. We know qualitatively that some consumers buy the jug of Tropicana orange juice because they love the handle. "It's the only bottle that the kids can take out of the fridge and pour without spilling."
Convenient side-handles have been popping up on Ocean Spray 3-liter bottles and on gallons of Hi-C drinks and Apple & Eve and Minute Maid juices. Store-brand equivalents are mostly still using top-handles, which help in the carrying but not in the pouring.
Soft-drink bottlers have introduced a variety of carton openings and slots that facilitate carrying. Some consumers find the Coke Fridge Paks easy to carry; others have trouble using the slot and disagree. Packagers of other products have been taking packaging cues from food marketers, but right now food and beverage packagers looking for low cost handles would do well to learn from their admirers by looking at the finger holes that Ortho has punched into (or out of) the plastic bag tops of its garden product bags.
As side-handles become more and more common, more consumers will take them for granted and feel inconvenienced when they aren't there.
Handles may seem pricey, but it's not in marketers' interest to make shoppers feel unhappy when they are left holding the bag.
The author, Mona Doyle, is the CEO of The Consumer Network Inc., an organization that regularly takes the pulse of consumers on packaging issues. She publishes The Shopper Report newsletter. Contact her at 800-291-0100 or Mona@ConsumerNetwork.org.
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