Deceptive packaging: 7 examples of packaging that misleads customers
Packaging where nothing is as it seems at first glance: misleading packaging designs ultimately do not make brands look clever or generate long-term sales. Rather, they undermine consumer trust, which in turn affects their purchasing decisions. This is because the modern consumer is attentive and informed before taking action. They consciously look for honest brands that genuinely want to and can offer them added value. It is all the more alarming, then, that there are still packages on the market that, due to their size or design, give the impression of containing more than they actually do. Our seven examples in this article show the methods brands use to try to deceive customers about the amount of product.
1. Sunday Riley Good Genes
Brief description of the product and packaging
At a cursory glance, Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Mini product appears to be similar to similarly sized bottles of cosmetics. A closer look at the inner packaging, however, reveals serious differences, so that the consumer has a significantly smaller amount of product available than the bottle might suggest.
The thick glass base and frosted glass surface make the small bottle appear larger than it really is. Inside, there is a cleverly hidden plastic bag containing the actual product, invisible from the outside.
What’s more, the firm plastic bag traps some of the product inside, so to speak. This makes it difficult to use the entire contents without cutting open the bag.
How the product misleads consumers
The consumer assumes that the contents are in a glass bottle. It would never occur to them that the bottle contains another package. This concept gives them a false impression of the product volume.
Furthermore, the handling of the extra bag is not very user-friendly. Who wants to spend a lot of money on something and then almost have to fight to get full access to the product? Given this packaging design, it is completely understandable that many consumers feel misled and are disappointed and annoyed.
2. Vegavita Chicken Fillet Art
Brief description of the product and packaging
Vegavita’s chicken fillet is packed in an oversized plastic tray with a cardboard sleeve. Inside, there are just two small fillets, which perhaps only just fill half of the available space. However, the voluminous packaging and the sleeve, which covers the actual product, create a completely different impression.
Furthermore, the exaggeratedly large packaging results in an unnecessarily large amount of waste, which makes a mockery of the brand’s claim to sustainability. And: peeling off the film is quite laborious.
How the product deceives consumers
Anyone who sees the large packaging expects at least three or rather four fillets – and is of course all the more disappointed when they remove the foil and see only two small pieces on the relatively huge tray.
As if that weren’t frustrating enough, you also have to make an effort to get to the fillets because the film is so stiff. This is definitely not consumer-friendly.
Positive update
The lack of consumer friendliness has also been noticed by Billa, the manufacturer and distributor of the Vegavita brand. In response to the negative feedback from consumers, the company has reduced the packaging by 30 percent, thus eliminating the problems of overpackaging and wasting resources.
3. Proactiv Emergency Blemish Relief
Brief description of the product and packaging
With its Emergency Blemish Relief, the Proactiv brand offers a product that is supposed to help quickly get rid of acne blemishes. The cosmetic product itself is packaged in a small tube. So far, so good. But the additional outer packaging made of cardboard, in which this tube is fixed in one corner, suggests a much larger quantity than the 0.33 ounces that are actually contained.
As with the Vegavita packaging, the exaggerated packaging concept here also results in an unnecessary amount of waste. Although the outer packaging in this case is made of cardboard, waste is still waste and paper is not as easy and environmentally friendly to recycle as some people still think.
How the product deceives consumers
At a hefty price of $20 per tube, the average consumer expects a generous amount – even more so if the size of the outer packaging suggests as much. However, as soon as the consumer opens the packaging, they realize that a considerable part of the box is empty. No wonder that customers who have paid a lot of money feel cheated.
Development over time
The packaging of the cosmetic product has changed over the years. Originally, it was even larger. However, this quickly caused dissatisfaction among consumers, so Proactiv slightly reduced the size. However, buyers remained dissatisfied, which prompted the manufacturer to print the actual tube size on the packaging.
4. Williams-Sonoma Amish Popcorn Library
Brief description of the product and packaging
The Amish Popcorn Library from Williams-Sonoma is a premium box set of twelve flavors of popcorn. While there may be nothing wrong with the product itself, there is something wrong with the packaging, because the “popcorn library” comes in an oversized box that gives the impression of containing a huge amount of popcorn. In reality, however, two-thirds of the box is filled with cardboard packaging material.
Although there is a viewing window on the packaging front, it is impossible to tell from the outside whether there are more bags stacked under the visible ones. This further increases consumer deception.
Our illustrations show that three bags would fit into the space used for one bag of popcorn. With a smaller box, the manufacturer could save on filling material and reduce the resulting waste – not to mention the fact that consumers would no longer feel deceived.
How the product deceives consumers
For $50 per gift box, you would logically expect a large amount of popcorn – and that seems to be the case when you look at the size of the box. But when you open it, you are in for a shock: comparatively tiny popcorn bags surrounded by tons of cardboard.
The significant waste of materials and the resulting excessive amount of waste are a particular thorn in the side of environmentally conscious consumers.
5. Oreo Wafer Roll
Brief description of the product and packaging
The Oreo Wafer Roll combines the classic Oreo flavor with a delicious cream filling in a crispy wafer roll. Each pack contains a total of nine of these rolls, three of which are wrapped in separate plastic bags.
As our pictures show, at least nine more wafer rolls could be placed in the cardboard box without the use of multiple layers of packaging. This would also save unnecessary packaging waste.
How the product misleads consumers
From the outside, the combined packaging concept of cardboard and plastic bags is not apparent. Rather, a cursory glance at the cardboard box would suggest that there are far more than nine wafer rolls inside. And the information on the packaging is so vague that it cannot be said to be transparent. Let’s call a spade a spade: the consumer is deliberately misled by the exaggerated packaging.
Only those who count the rolls depicted on the packaging – there are exactly nine – or correctly interpret the information “1 portion = 3 rolls” can, with a lot of imagination, somehow figure out how the manufacturer has packaged his delicacies. But the consumer doesn’t want to solve a puzzle, they just want to enjoy the product and know what quantity they can look forward to. However, you will look in vain for clear statements about the contents on the packaging.
And here too, the paper and plastic waste generated by the packaging concept annoys those consumers who care about environmental protection – and their numbers are growing.
6. Kamila Chocolate Morello
Brief description of the product and packaging
Morello is a premium chocolate product from Kamila Chocolate, a well-known brand from Kosovo that has made a name for itself with its high-quality chocolate creations and regularly participates in international trade fairs such as the ISM in Cologne. However, from a consumer perspective, the packaging leaves something to be desired due to its misleading features.
There is no question that the packaging design is very elegant and stylish in and of itself. We also consider the viewing window to be a good idea in principle, to allow a direct view of the chocolates. But: the manufacturer has integrated this viewing window in such a way that one assumes that the box is completely filled with chocolates. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different.
How the product deceives consumers
The sight of the beautiful packaging with the visible chocolates makes your mouth water. Full of anticipation, you unwrap the box – and are immediately disillusioned: Basically, there are only chocolates in the area of the viewing window, while the rest of the gold-colored packaging can be enjoyed with the eye at most – a deception that frustrates and gives the consumer the feeling that they have paid for more chocolate than the packaging actually contains.
And to make matters worse, the environmentally conscious consumer is once again confronted with excessive packaging waste.
7. Ketofabrik Keto chocolate bar
Brief description of the product and packaging
The Ketofabrik offers high-quality, keto-friendly snacks and other foods that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The brand prides itself on honesty and transparency, but when you look at the packaging of the keto chocolate bars, doubts arise about the authenticity of the brand.
First, the positive: unlike other brands we’ve referenced in this post, Ketofabrik clearly states on the packaging that three bars are included. However, the fact that the bars are only about half the length of the packaging is not clearly communicated anywhere.
Unlike easily breakable snacks such as crisps, there is definitely no need to use such oversized packaging for very stable products like the Ketofabrik chocolate bars. The only result of the latter is an excessive amount of waste – and, of course, dissatisfied consumers.
How the product deceives consumers
Anyone who buys the three-pack expects to get three generously sized bars that more or less match the length of the packaging. It is not surprising that the consumer is extremely disappointed after opening it and holding three comparatively small bars in their hands.
Consumers who care about sustainability and environmental protection are also annoyed by the senseless waste of materials and the excess of waste.
Conclusion and summary
To sum up: consumer deception is still a problem. Manufacturers use unnecessarily large packaging for product quantities that would also fit into smaller packaging. This trick leads consumers to interpret the packaging as containing more than is actually there.
Ultimately, however, brands do themselves no favors with such methods. Quite the opposite. As soon as consumers open the packaging and discover the actual amount of product inside, they are usually annoyed and frustrated. They feel taken for a ride and form a negative impression of the brand. It is practically impossible to win over customers to your brand in the long term under such circumstances.
In addition, oversized packaging results in an excessive amount of packaging waste, which pollutes the environment and discourages consumers who value environmental protection.
In view of the increasingly strict sustainability guidelines, such waste of materials will be banned in the near future anyway.
We at Berndt+Partner Creality already advocate honest and transparent packaging design that truly does justice to the product inside and represents it authentically.