African Journal of Business & Communication Technology (AJBCT) Vol. 30 Issue 12 Page 50 – 66, October, 2013 Impact of Packaging on Consumer Purchase of Beverage Drinks in Taraba State, Nigeria Elu Ishaku Department of Business Administration Faculty of Social Sciences, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. ishakuelu@yahoo.co.uk +2347035591840 Remoh Tijani Institute of Entrepreneurship Faculty of Vocational Education Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. remohtijani@gmail.com +2348160688843 Abstract This study examined the impact of packaging on consumer purchase of beverage drinks in Taraba State, Nigeria. The study focused on unraveling how packaging (packaging information, quality of packaging material, design of wrapper and packaging colour) impacted the purchase of beverage drinks among residents of Wukari, Donga and Jalingo in Taraba State. Simple random sampling technique was adopted with the use of structured questionnaire to elicit information from 89 respondents in Taraba State. In addition, some descriptive statistical methods were adopted in analyzing the data. The results showed that product packaging had a significant role to play in influencing consumer purchase of beverage drinks in Taraba; and that product packaging features such as packaging colour, packaging materials, font style, design of the wrapper, printed information, background information, background image and innovation influenced the purchase decision of consumers. Recommendations on how to improve the product packaging of beverage drinks were made. Key words: Buying Behavior, Consumer Decision, Package, Product, Purchasing 1. Introduction It is a common knowledge that human beings have unlimited wants and the resources to satisfy these wants are limited; this corroborates the economists saying that human wants are insatiable. These wants are numerous that a person needs to decide the order in which they are to be satisfied. Therefore, the primary concern of every consumer is to get value that is to derive the best possible satisfaction from any goods and services purchased. There are different factors that are considered by the consumer before a decision is taken to purchase a product and these factors vary from an individual to the other. These factors include the price of the commodity, the quality of the product, the prices and qualities of other products which are close substitutes and complements, product’s packaging, promotion effort and the need of the product. Nevertheless, product’s packaging is one of the most important as it determines whether or not the customer will be attracted to or distracted from the product in the first instance. 50