Let’s figure out which of the words that attract us on packages and price tags were simply invented by marketers.
In pursuit of buyers, manufacturers and stores are ready for anything! Bright price tags, intricate packaging, original names – that’s not all. There are tricks that you never knew existed. The fact is that we are so used to some advertising slogans and inscriptions on labels that we do not even think about their true content. We often see – we easily believe. Wday.ru has collected the most popular tricks designed to get you to spend money.
“Only today”
Agree, it’s nice to buy a product at a reduced cost. Especially if the low price is valid only for today. Even if the product is not too much needed. But just look at the crossed out price before and the new, democratic, “Only today”. In the mind clicks: of course, you need to take! But do you know how much this product cost yesterday or a month ago? Perhaps the same amount, only now you did not pay attention to it.
2 for the price of 1
Often in stores you can find the action “Two for the price of one”. Looks enticing: who does not want to save money once again! However, there is a small caveat: such tricks are often used in the event that the shelf life of the product is running out. Nobody specifically writes about this, but you need to keep in mind and be sure to look at the packaging. However, it is not necessary to refuse a bargain purchase, the main thing is not to buy a potential “delay” in bulk.
Top sellers or best sellers
If everything is clear with best-selling books, then what are best-selling products is a big question. Who said that this particular product is in the greatest demand? You and I will only know about this by the inscription “Sales Leader”. But the catchy phrase is perhaps just a marketer’s invention.
“Live” product
Such an inscription can be found on bottles with beer or kvass, packages of dairy products. And we readily believe that alive means natural, that is, useful. And now the wrong side of the focus: the fact is that the criteria of “liveliness” are not fixed in any way in Russian normative documents. It does not indicate at all which product can be considered alive. What does this mean? That the manufacturer can write that the yogurt is alive, and nothing to confirm this. Therefore, do not be surprised if you pecked at the large inscription “Live Kvass” on the label, and turned it over and read on the back of the bottle that the drink was pasteurized. By the way, it is on the reverse side that you need to look. Carefully read all the data: perhaps “Live yogurt” or all the same kvass is just a registered name of a product that has no direct relation to its properties.
Fitness and diet
You walk along the shelves with goods and see: “Diet”. Of course, this is what you need! You’re on a diet. Now wait a minute, let’s figure out the terminology. What is diet in your opinion? Really just a diet. You have one, a thin neighbor trying to get better, another. And the miner working in the face has a third. And the products you need are different. It turns out that almost any product can be called dietary. Only it is not suitable for all dietary regimes. What, then, to believe? That’s right, see the details on the back of the package. If the product is dietary, its purpose, conditions of use and storage must be indicated there. As well as nutritional value, method of preparation and, which is especially important, contraindications. If all this information is given correctly, you can determine if this product is right for you and understand what effect it will help to achieve. Please note: when manufacturers are cunning, they often place on the packaging not the inscription “dietary”, but its versions: Fitness, Fit-Diet, diet product, Dietic and others.
Cholesterol free
Agree, such an inscription is not uncommon. And somehow such a product immediately evokes trust, as if it gives a guarantee: its manufacturer definitely cares about our health. True, the price is higher than that of the “neighbors” on the shelf … This is understandable – what if it is there that the harmful cholesterol is hidden? Therefore, a bottle of vegetable oil is sent to the basket of a supermarket, but with which everything is clearly and coarsely written. But let’s remember what we were taught in school: indeed, cholesterol is in fats. Not all of them! In animal fats. And what about your butter? Sunflower, olive, corn – but where could cholesterol come from? The truth is that it is not found in absolutely any vegetable oil. So, you see, we will begin to believe even in the inscription “Honey without preservatives”.
Organically, “like grandma’s”
Words like “bio”, “eco” or “organic” are especially popular on green labels. There is also a delicate piercing leaf drawn next to it. People readily believe that such organic food is certainly natural, without harmful chemicals. In Russia, in fact, there is a special GOST 56508/2015, which regulates the requirements for products that can be called “organic”. This means that in order to place such an inscription on the package or label, the manufacturer must have special supporting documents. It is believed that the certificates of incoming products are checked by the trading network. We can believe it, or we can check it: go to the manufacturer’s website, where these certificates should be placed. If the product is imported from abroad, there is an Organic marker for it. But the word “Farmer” can have very different meanings. Perhaps these are the products of a small farm that values its reputation and supplies everything natural to the shelves. But not a fact. Some food industry enterprise may well have in mind that it buys raw materials from the villagers, and what happens to it in the production process can only be guessed at. Inscriptions like “Tasty, like grandma’s” do not mean anything at all – just an image that evokes good and positive associations.
Without GMO
Genetically modified foods are an effective horror story of our time. Who knows how all these experiments will come out to us and our descendants! Therefore, the buyer’s eyes cling to the inscription “No GMO” with joy and gratitude. The paradox is that this short phrase can be placed on every first product in supermarkets. The production of genetically modified foods in Russia has been prohibited by law since July 2016. So, if your purchases are Russian-made, most likely, they are all non-GMO, even if there is no corresponding inscription. As for imported goods, there is a regulation established by the Customs Union for them: if a product or any of its components contains at least 0,9% GMO, this must be indicated on the label, and in a conspicuous place. Doubt about the composition? Carefully read the information from the manufacturer, and if it says nothing about GMOs, you can rest assured.
Evgeniya Zamoshnikova, Natasha Belaya