Packaging Culture: Ghanaian Design Practitioners’ Perspectives on Ethnopackaging, Authenticity, Trust and Brand Differentiation

Abstract

Local manufacturers in Ghana use packaging to compete for attention and communicate product value. Cultural motifs, indigenous colour systems and local visual narratives may offer a distinctive design resource, but the way practitioners understand and apply these elements has received limited empirical attention. This study examines how Ghanaian packaging and branding practitioners understand the role of culturally grounded surface design in shaping anticipated perceptions of authenticity, trust and brand differentiation. The study adopted an interpretivist qualitative design. Fifteen professional graphic designers, creative directors, packaging specialists and brand practitioners in Accra were selected purposively and interviewed between January and April 2026. The transcripts were analysed through Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis. Barthes’ semiotic concepts of denotation and connotation informed the interpretation of the themes. Participants described four connected pathways through which ethnopackaging may support brands: emotional familiarity and belonging; identity representation; culturally familiar cues of authenticity and trust; and differentiation from imported or visually standardised competitors. These findings report professional interpretations of likely consumer responses. They do not constitute direct evidence of consumer behaviour. The findings offer a practice-based framework for using cultural resources with greater care and strategic clarity. They also identify propositions that should be tested with consumers before firms make claims about trust, safety, purchase intention or commercial performance.