In the late-2010s, the supplement industry experienced a commercialization paradigm shift with stick packs because of what I dubbed the “Liquid I.V. Effect." What was once a packaging format most notably utilized for product sampling in the supplement industry became a foundational strategic element of a billion-dollar supplement brand. Now…it’s undeniable that stick packs have quietly become a ubiquitous packaging format central to many leading supplement products, as its value comes from its ability to live harmoniously between the needs of brand marketers and consumers. But is it possible that supplement industry stakeholders are getting too hooked to that trending convenient packaging format? CPG packaging is more than a shipping container or a specifically designed product holder…it’s a vessel that has huge effects on how a consumer feels about your brand. And that has A LOT to do with the “reward center” of our brains and the core of reinforcement that creates our behavioral patterns…dopamine. Now…I’m fully aware and even a bit complicit in the fact that the multitrillion-dollar CPG industry are master manipulators at creating dopamine hits. Whether it involves advertising strategies or visual elements of packaging…and even how the larger shopping experience is presented…its well documented that all these create dopamine hits with consumers. But it wasn’t until I had a conversation with an industry friend a few years ago at SupplySide West that he opened my eyes to the role stick packs could be playing in all this…especially with younger consumers. Gen Z consumers have had a smartphone in their hands and access to social media accounts since they were born, which has made them dopamine junkies. Companies using algorithms to leverage our dopamine-driven reward circuitry aren’t going anywhere…anytime soon. And it’s that marketplace reality which could be prompting certain packaging considerations that feed the growing consumer demand for more dopamine hits. Consider what happens when supplement consumers rip open a single serving stick pack daily compared to merely cracking open a 30-serving canister of pre-workout powder once. It's all about speeding up the frequency of those “pleasurable events.” That being said, the consideration of stick packs might not be warranted in every new product development discussion…and also just putting your powder in a stick pack won’t guarantee success. It’s important to remember that there’s a much bigger design psychology at play here…one that must be understood when unlocking the dopamine map of your potential customers.

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