NIGERIA – The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has launched the Hands-on Export Packaging and Labeling Intervention Sessions to improve packaging and labeling of Nigerian-made products.
Poor packaging in particular is said to be one of the major reasons why Nigerian products are rejected in the international market, especially in Europe.
Speaking at the technical session for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) organized by NEPC, Dr. EZra Yakusak, Executive Director of NEPC expressed confidence that the program will boost the country’s export capacity.
“It is a reaffirmation of the Council’s commitment towards facilitating Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) efforts to overcome challenges posed by Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and in particular packaging and labeling for export,” said Dr. Yakusak.
“The program has been carefully designed to enable product assessment, transfer of technical skills in packaging and labeling, a unique opportunity for the SME exporters to receive hands-on practical solutions, action plan for each of their products.”
The country has been experiencing this problem for a time now. In 2019, about 30 percent of Nigeria’s exports to the US were rejected as a result of poor packaging and labeling, not quality of the products, according to Director, of Business Development at NEPC, William Eze.
The country has since been organizing training sessions and creating awareness among manufacturers and exporters to improve labeling and packaging on their products to compete at the international level.
The most obvious side-effect of poor packaging is product damage, according to a report by Smithers.
The report adds that if either the primary packaging or secondary packaging is not durable enough to withstand the conditions faced along the supply chain, then it is likely that the product will reach its destination in a sub-optimal condition.
This can be costly for the manufacturer, who may have to fund compensation, refunds or discount the product in order to sell it.
In addition, damage to the packaging can also have a detrimental effect – in a recent Smithers survey, 58% of consumers stated that packaging damage would deter them from buying a product. This demonstrates how poor packaging choices can increase the risk of loss of sales.
Alongside the financial cost of a product or packaging damage – either through loss of sales, refunds, discounts or compensation – brand reputation can also be damaged by poor packaging decisions.
This is particularly likely for luxury products, where consumers have higher quality expectations for the packaging (and product) due to the premium price paid.
Flimsy or ill-conceived packaging could deter consumers from making a repeat purchase or recommending the brand to others.
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