Active learning ideas
Packaging and labelling serve both functional and promotional roles. This topic explores how packaging protects the product, provides convenience, and acts as a 'silent salesperson' on the shelf. In Canada, students must also understand the strict legal requirements for labelling, including bilingualism, nutritional facts, and country-of-origin markings.
Activity 01
Students bring in various food and household product packages. In groups, they use a checklist to identify all legally required elements (e.g., net quantity, dealer name, French/English text) and flag any missing or confusing information.
How does packaging protect and promote a product?
Activity 02
Groups are given a product with 'excessive' packaging (like a toy in a plastic blister pack). They must redesign the packaging to be more eco-friendly while still protecting the product and maintaining its shelf appeal.
What information must be legally included on Canadian labels?
Activity 03
Students watch an 'unboxing' video and identify how the packaging contributes to the brand's image. They then brainstorm how a 'boring' product (like socks) could be packaged to create a similar emotional response for the consumer.
How is sustainable packaging changing the industry?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Packaging is just waste.
Students often focus only on the environmental impact. By using a 'shipping simulation' where they try to send a fragile item in minimal packaging, they learn the vital functional roles of protection and safety that packaging provides.
Labels are only for marketing.
Students may not realize the legal weight of labels. A 'mock trial' scenario involving a mislabelled allergen helps them understand that labels are a legal contract between the producer and the consumer, especially in Canada.
Methods used in this brief
The Product Development Process
Students trace the journey of a new product from idea generation and screening to commercialization.
8 methodologies
Brand Identity and Equity
An analysis of how brands are built, the value of brand equity, and the elements of a strong brand identity including logos and slogans.
8 methodologies