Nostalgic Packaging Kicks Up Perceived Authenticity

How many times have you found something that speaks to your heart, only to turn around and find out that the candy/drink/hair product/etc. that you fell in love with has been discontinued? It's happened to me countless times, as I'm sure it's happened to you at least once.

Brands and products come and go, but there are the lucky few that have withstood the sands of time, causing nostalgia seekers to yearn for the familiarity of packaging of yore. The success of recent packaging throwbacks indicates that brands are aware of how a vintage look resonates with consumers, even if they aren't directly demanding the change.

Courtesy of MillerCoors

Take Miller Lite for example, which released its brew in retro 80s-style cans in 2014 as a limited promotion. Last year, Fortune reported that thanks to the perceived "authenticity" of the vintage white label, Miller Lite saw its first upswing in sales in seven years. Needless to say, the throwback label has since become a mainstay.

The Consumerist even said that consumers reported that the beer tasted better than the previous iteration — the blue can with the vertical brand name — despite it being the exact same recipe.

“A lot of people said, ‘I think the beer even tastes better,’” Ryan Reis, senior director for Miller’s family of brands, said to Bloomberg in 2014.

Riding on the tailcoat of the vintage beer can trend, Anheuser-Busch released vintage crates of Budweiser shortly after Miller Lite found success with its retro labels in 2014. According to Adweek, "The packages will contain 18 bottles of Bud adorned with a classic label from either 1918 (beginning of Prohibition), 1933 (end of Prohibition) or 1976 (the brand's 100th anniversary)." The reason? Budweiser hoped to appeal to the beer-drinking Millennial.

Mars also took a page out of the history books for the iconic M&M brand. In honor of the colorful candy's 75th anniversary, Mars released six retro-inspired packages for both its milk chocolate and peanut varieties from packaging designs ranging from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Retro packaging isn't only for brands that inspire nostalgia due to generations of consumption — like the Doritos throwback packaging that was released a few years ago. Pepsi used the retro packaging trend to its advantage when it released Caleb's Kola — a new soda launched in vintage packaging. The packaging specifically capitalized on Millennials' love of things that are "artisanal," according to Quartz.

“Marketers have…noted that people in their 20s and 30s in particular — a group referred to as millennials — are particularly drawn to products they feel are authentic,” reported The Associated Press.

There's that word again: authenticity. What is it about vintage/retro labels and packaging that gives consumers a perception of authenticity? It's undeniable that Millennials are more concerned about ingredients and how products are sourced. So does vintage packaging work because it reminds us of a time when things were simpler? Before GMOs and high fructose corn syrup? To a time when the products we love today were more "authentic"?

With all of the vintage packaging out there decidedly aimed at Millennials, it's interesting to see the juxtaposition of packaging that uses technology and pop culture as part of its appeal — think the "PepsiMojis" campaign and Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke and a Song."