Functional Food Packaging Design For The Elderly Based On Analytic Hierarchy Process

ABSTRACT: The work aims to design functional food packaging that meets the actual needs of the elderly by analyzing the cognitive characteristics of functional food packaging among the elderly and using the analytic hierarchy process for comprehensive analysis and evaluation. Based on the needs of the elderly for functional food packaging design, the perceptual image vocabulary of the elderly for functional food packaging design was obtained, so as to build a comprehensive evaluation index system for packaging design. The weight of each index was calculated through the analytic hierarchy process. The importance ranking of key design elements was generated. And the elderly-oriented design direction of functional food packaging was defined. By constructing a design process based on the analytic hierarchy process, a functional food packaging design scheme for the elderly was completed and verified. The results showed that the scheme had high user satisfaction. Based on the analytic hierarchy process, the importance of user needs and the emotional tendencies of different needs can be effectively analyzed. According to the design process, the special needs of the elderly for functional food packaging can be analyzed, providing theoretical basis and practical reference for the design of functional food packaging for the elderly. 

Functional Herbs Cistanche For Elderly Prostate Health

KEYWORDS: elderly-oriented design; functional food; packaging design; population aging 

Fig.1 User needs for design of functional food packaging for the elderly

In the context of an aging population, people are paying more and more attention to health and wellness. Functional food is a convenient and fast means of health care. It is very popular among the elderly, so its market demand is also increasing. However, there are still many problems in the packaging design of functional foods in my country, such as complex packaging forms, mixing with drug packaging, and the characteristics of packaging have not been fully utilized. At the same time, there are also problems such as monotonous design forms, confusing design language, lack of emotional connection between users and functional food packaging, and lack of aging-friendly design elements. Most of the existing related research focuses on the design of drug packaging for the elderly [1-2], and research on the food consumption habits and food packaging design of the elderly is also involved [3-4], but there are relatively few studies on the design of functional food packaging for the elderly. Based on this, this paper studies the design of functional food packaging from the perspective of aging-friendly design, and explores how to improve the satisfaction of elderly users with functional food packaging design.

1 Functional food packaging design for the elderly

1.1 Functional food packaging

Functional food is a special food that can supplement nutrients and has relevant health benefits. It can regulate body functions and is not intended to treat diseases[5]. In terms of product definition, functional food is a product that has both food characteristics and functional characteristics. It has four characteristics: food attributes, functional attributes, special attributes, and non-drug attributes. Functional food is a food that is "efficacy" oriented. No matter what the circumstances, its "efficacy" attribute should be fully reflected in the packaging. The packaging of functional food should not only ensure the effectiveness of its information transmission, but also inspire users to use and purchase it at a deeper level, thereby providing users with health and nutrition.

1.2 Characteristics of the elderly population

The seventh national census showed that the elderly population in my country has reached 260 million, accounting for 18.7% of the total population[6]. With the acceleration of the aging process of my country's population, the market for functional food for the elderly is also growing. It is of great significance to study the aging-friendly design of functional food packaging for the elderly. Since the State Council issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of National Aging Affairs and Elderly Care Service System"[7] in 2022, the whole society has actively responded to the aging of the population and the issue of the aging-friendly functional food packaging has received more and more attention. As a vulnerable group in society, the changes in their physiological functions and the decline in their behavioral activities and perception abilities[8-10] can easily lead to incomplete information reception, which in turn causes the elderly to misrecognize the text, color, and pattern on food packaging.

The elderly are usually loyal to food brands. Once they have identified a brand, they often do not change it at will. Therefore, after fully considering the physiological and psychological needs of the elderly, and ensuring the requirements of packaging safety, health, and usability, the design of functional food packaging for aging can greatly improve the satisfaction, loyalty, and happiness of the elderly in the process of using functional food packaging.

1.3 Functional food packaging for the elderly

Most functional food packaging on the market is currently a general design, lacking attention to the elderly's weakened visual recognition, physical function decline, and decreased logical thinking ability. Some functional food packaging designs are too avant-garde and complex to operate, which poses a challenge to the cognitive experience of the elderly. Functional food packaging design for the elderly should take into account the special needs and limitations of the elderly to provide a more convenient, safe and easy-to-use food experience.

1.4 User needs for functional food packaging design for the elderly

With the improvement of material and cultural life, the elderly have higher and higher requirements for functional food packaging design. Norman's "Emotional Design" points out that the three cognitive levels of human beings, "instinctive level, behavioral level, and reflective level", constitute the process of user cognition of things, and each level will produce different user emotions [11]. At this stage, the elderly are full of emotional needs for functional food packaging, and user needs can be divided into three parts, as shown in Figure 1. First, the instinctive layer is the direct feeling of the elderly on the visual effects of functional food packaging, that is, the elderly hope that the visual information design of functional food packaging is beautiful, such as careful design of patterns, colors, layout, and text; second, the behavioral layer is the behavioral process of the elderly interacting with the functional food packaging during use, that is, the elderly hope that the use experience of functional food packaging is smooth, such as reasonable packaging size, simple structure, convenient use, environmentally friendly materials, etc.; third, the reflective layer is the deeper psychological feelings of the elderly after using the functional food packaging, that is, the elderly hope that the functional food packaging has a good user experience, such as the friendly, pleasant, trustful and safe feeling generated by the elderly users after using the packaging. The user needs of functional food packaging design for the elderly established from the three aspects of the instinctive layer, the behavioral layer, and the reflective layer can reflect the entire interaction cycle between users and products. The three levels are progressive, and the evaluation of functional food packaging design based on this will be more comprehensive.