Validation of Yogurt Concepts and Package Designs Meeting Consumer Desire for Ranch-Fresh Milk

For consumers who love milk, ranch-fresh milk carries a special meaning, creating a need for a similar 'ranch experience' in daily dairy products. This study focused on yogurt and applied insights from Kansei (affective) marketing to examine concepts and package designs that stimulate the desire for ranch-fresh milk. Establishing the concept as 'Hoobaru (Mouthful) Ranch-Fresh Yogurt' was confirmed to significantly increase product appeal. While the phrase 'eating milk' may seem contradictory, the action reinforces the perceived value of fully savoring the milk.

Regarding food package design, the study showed that a simple package emphasizing only the product's sensory appeal (shizuru-kan) significantly increases attractiveness, rather than depicting numerous elements related to the ranch. In today's information-saturated society, consumers are bombarded with information daily, exceeding their processing capacity, leading to information overload. The findings suggest that a 'do not clutter the package' policy is crucial for effectively conveying a concept under such conditions. These research results, a joint effort between Takanashi Milk Products Co., Ltd. and Associate Professor Takumi Kato of Meiji University's School of Commerce, have been accepted for the International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems 2026 and will be published by Procedia Computer Science (Elsevier).

For consumers who love ranch-fresh milk, concepts that indicate an intensified method of consumption—beyond normal eating habits—raise expectations for fully enjoying the food. In this study, we utilized this insight to confirm through a randomized controlled trial in an online survey environment that the concept 'Hoobaru Ranch-Fresh Yogurt' is significantly more attractive than 'Ranch-Fresh Milk Yogurt.' Additionally, while many food packages are packed with information, modern consumers are exhausted by information overload that exceeds their processing capabilities. In such a state, they tend to evaluate information incorrectly and are more likely to provide negative evaluations. Therefore, removing elements not directly aligned with the core concept is essential. We mechanically generated nine design samples using orthogonal arrays based on key attributes related to ranch-fresh milk (base color, milk, cow, milk origin). The most selected sample was S1, likely because its white base color directly appeals to the concept of ranch-fresh milk, and its limited visual elements minimize information overload. This suggests that the policy of 'not cluttering the package' is vital for effective communication.

To leverage products and services with high technical capability, defining value based on consumer needs (concept) and providing intuitive appeal (design) is essential. Technology that remains underutilized by companies because it is not accepted by consumers may be suffering from a lack of effort to 'make its value understood,' rather than a lack of effort to 'increase its value.'