58| VOLUME 78 ISSUE 2 | NOVEMBER ARTICLE Differences in Packaging Priorities in Food Products for Women Living in Rural and Urban Areas Aysun YENER ÖGÜR*, Zeynep TÜFEKÇİ and Süheyla ŞİMŞEK Selçuk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, 42500, Konya / Turkey * Corresponding author: A. YENER ÖGÜR e-mail: aysunyener@selcuk.edu.tr RESEARCH ARTICLE Abstract The aim of the study is to reveal the differences in the packaging priorities used in food products of women living in rural and urban areas. The data used in the research were obtained by questionnaire technique. For sample size, the proportional sampling method was used. 70 in Selçuklu district of Konya and 70 in Çumra district, in total 140 questionnaires were determined. The data obtained from the survey results were transformed into tables according to rural and urban women. As a result; For women living in rural and urban areas, the color and shape of the packaging are effective in taking and distinguishing the product. Rural women prefer more relaxing colors in their packaging color preferences, while women living in urban areas prefer more stimulating colors. Women living in both rural and urban areas are aware of the information written on the packaging. As a result, companies in the packaging industry should determine the packaging material and color according to the communities they address. Keywords: Food packaging; women; rural areas; urban areas. INTRODUCTION The historical development of commercial products and the simultaneous development of packaging are interrelated. This relationship is definitely stronger and more meaningful in the food and beverage field because of the remarkable symbolic value of food products (Italian Institute of Packaging, 2013; Brunazzi et al., 2014). With the advent of packaging in the modern food industry, transformations have occurred in the relationships between people and food. That is, food packaging has increasingly become an essential element for the sale and consumption of the food product (Eurostat, 2013). Product packaging fulfills logistical purposes (for example, product protection, transportation, storage) and also has two important functions in consumer decision-making (Sara 1993; Popa and Belc 2007). First, the packaging draws attention and differentiates the products visually (Ampuero and Vila 2006; Popa and Belc 2007). The second includes packaging information, abstract images, and symbolic meanings (Silayoi and Speece 2004; Popa and Belc 2007; Sundar and Noseworthy 2014). They create shortcuts that provide consumers with information about products or brands (Deval et al. 2013). Marketers, various package elements to emphasize that products are healthy (eg. Labeling, brand names), and also the package shape (Folkes and Matta 2004; Wansink and Van Itters 2003), size (Argo and White, 2012; Scott et al 2008) or placed in the pack images (Deng and Kahn 2009; Madzharov and Block 2010). Especially visual design elements, the symbolism seems to be effective means of transferring finely (Mai et al., 2016).Various Received: 24 May 2021 Accepted: 31 October 2021 Published: 15 November 2021 DOI: 10.15835/buasvmcn-fst:2021.0014 © 2021 Authors. The papers published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License