Who Came First? The Egg or the Carton? An Analysis of Organic Packaging for Italian Retail Chain Esselunga - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 116

are lured into these uncontrollable consumer orgies by marketing masterminds”
(p. 8). The emotive element is a key factor in the organic market as retailers
must justify the price difference (organic products are more expensive) to a more
responsible consumer (Richter et al. 2000 ;Asiolietal. 2011 ). According to a survey
on consumer satisfaction conducted by Consumers' Forum, an independent Italian
research entity, 73 % of the Italian population demanded more green products,
and 70.4 % indicated the desire for companies to include more useful food label
including information about the companies providing the product (“Consumers'
Forum” 2010 ). As consumers become more socially active while shopping, retail
stores like Esselunga must adopt a rhetoric that attracts customers to buy socially
responsible products (Corbett 2006 ). To do so, clear signage, providing more
information, is installed. As Richter et al. ( 2000 ) write, “many organic products have
the labels of both the retailer and the farming or certification association in order to
add credibility and to make the organic assortment appear more professional” (p. 4).
Using a juxtaposition of text and images the notion of social and personal action,
which allures consumers concerned with hedonism, pleasure and achievement,
serves as a driving force to buy the product (Naspetti and Zanoli 2004 ,p.2).
The ochre color of the carton is gentle and natural and does not obfuscate the
message that the product carries - organic. The only images on the box that use
same tone colors as the card-box are that of a farm with two chickens on the
right side. On the opposite side a large egg is shown. These pictures compose
a referent system of signifiers that combined with text create a set of meaning
fulfilling the expectation of the consumer (Guthman 2002 ). In other words, text
and images appearing on the package convey specific meaning to each consumer,
alluding to social and personal empowerment. The consumer identifies the signifier
(text or image) with a set of cultural meanings. In the case of the card-box the soft
colors, the picture of the egg and chicken and the farm in the background allude
to the idea of a safe and natural environment, almost if the chicken was raised by
a single farmer on a vast land. In terms of discourse, the text is more prevalent
than the images, and it is only by combining the two together that the picture
goes beyond the referent meaning. Information about the product (from type of
farming, location where it was produced, contact information, due date, category of
the product) covers the box on all sides, placing 'green' discourse as a key element
for the success of the sale. 'Traceable code,' 'organic,' 'bio,' 'fresh,' 'category A,'
'toll-free number,' 'no GMO organism,' are just few of the words appearing on
the box. On the side, 12 lines explain the characteristic of the organic product.
Using a bright red background specifications about the product origins are expressed
alluding customers concerned with GMO that the product they are buying does not
derive from genetically modified organisms or by-product. The rhetoric of organic
campaign continues as one opens the box. On the top of the inside box, a legend
is provided to the consumer. The image shows an egg. A code made out of digits
and letters is stamped on the egg to reflect both EU and Italian food regulation for
all eggs both conventional and organic. The legend explains how to read each digit.
An example of the code is here provided: 0IT104RA386 ENTRO 09/06. Each egg
contained in the carton has the following information printed in blue. 0 refers to the