The buying decision on shelf is taken in 3 seconds and is 95% visual. Packaging is the most underrated piece of marketing — and the one that gives most measurable return when designed with neuroscientific judgement. Every centimetre counts.
The label is 80% of the decision on shelf for someone who doesn't know the brand. Eye-tracking, packaging semiotics, information hierarchy — all applicable science.
Oil, preserves, gourmet products, PGIs and PDOs. You sell quality but the customer doesn't perceive it on shelf. Packaging that communicates real value, not generic claims.
Hypermarket, supermarket, convenience. Where packaging competes against 30 alternatives in 2 metres of shelf. Eye-tracking and implicit testing are virtually mandatory here.
Sectors where packaging communicates safety, efficacy, premium. Small details of visual hierarchy and semiotics change the decision.
I study the shelf where your product competes (physical or online). Competitive packaging analysis, sector codes, differentiation opportunities and noise to avoid.
Application of validated principles of visual neuroscience: attentional hierarchy, contrast, perceptual fluency, symbology, colour and form. Each design decision with rationale.
Eye-tracking on the 2-3 best proposals in simulated shelf. Implicit test of brand-attribute association. Real data before sending to print.
Landing of the concept across the full range (varieties, formats, languages) with coherence and differentiation between references. Adaptation to regulations per market.
Treated as a strategic tool, packaging generates measurable and rapid return. Concretely:
Design that stands out in the real competitive context. Eye-tracking validates that visual fixation rises between 2 and 5 times against previous packaging.
Serious packaging justifies a premium price before the end customer. It's the most profitable tool to raise average ticket without touching the product.
Designed as a system, packaging allows scaling varieties, formats and markets without losing identity. Goodbye to ‘improvised evolution’ of the catalogue.
Most packaging in the same sector looks alike. Differentiation with judgement (not whim) generates sustainable competitive advantage.
Good packaging is free advertising 24/7. In the supermarket, on the customer's table, on social when someone photographs it.
Good packaging is registrable brand, copyrightable, heritage value. Something more than pretty design — an asset.
Premium winery with aged label. Redesign with neuro judgement and eye-tracking validation. Visual fixation ×2.3 vs the original. Rotation in hospitality +18%.
El marketing del cerebro es más predictible que el marketing de la opinión. — Ángel Ortega Castro
Premium oil with generic local producer packaging. New system communicating PGI without falling into rural cliché. Export to delicatessens in UK and Italy.
Mass-consumption brand with 8 references designed incrementally without system. Full range redesign with hierarchy and differentiation. Rotation +24% in hypermarket.
When I work in applied neuromarketing, I'm not seeking to hack brains. I seek to identify which nodes in the decision process are underactivated in your communication, and reorder the message so the customer's brain processes it with the least effort possible.
Serious packaging work delivers particular value when the following scenarios converge. Before, it's probably premature; after, opportunity is lost:
If rotation doesn't grow despite good distribution and correct product, it's usually a shelf visibility problem. Packaging that doesn't stand out = rotation that doesn't grow.
Export, large distribution, premium hospitality, e-commerce. Each channel has its packaging rules — adapting with judgement multiplies return.
Successive launches have designed each piece of packaging with different judgement. Result: incoherent range the customer doesn't relate to itself. Time to consolidate as system.
You sell at premium but the packaging doesn't communicate it. The customer compares and leaves with the similar alternative that looks premium even if it's worse. Time to align form and substance.
Application of validated principles of visual and consumer neuroscience to packaging design: attentional hierarchy (what is seen first), perceptual fluency (how the brain processes information), semiotics (what each element symbolises), colour and form associated with category, validation with techniques such as eye-tracking and implicit testing.
It depends on sample and depth. A basic online eye-tracking on 30-50 people fits modest budgets. Tests with representative sample and combined techniques (EEG, facial coding) scale proportionally. We discuss in the first session.
I have most experience in wine, agri-food and FMCG from Castile and León and the Canary Islands. I've also worked in cosmetics and supplementation. For very specific sectors (pharma, electronics) I prefer to validate fit before accepting the project.
It's a transversal criterion today. Recyclable materials, elimination of unnecessary layers, optimisation for distribution, message of circularity without greenwashing. I work with suppliers specialised in real sustainability, not green marketing.
We don't manufacture packaging, but we collaborate closely with your printers and suppliers. We adapt files for production, advise on material selection and supervise proofs. The process reaches the shelf, not just the artwork.
First 45-minute session, free of charge and no commitment. If we fit, I send you a detailed proposal within 5 days. If we don't, you take away a useful initial diagnosis.