Abstract:

This study examined the relationship between packaging innovation strategies and marketing performance of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted the correlational research design and the positivism research philosophy. The population of this study comprised 30 registered food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The census sampling technique was adopted in this study. The sampling unit was made up of managers of the registered food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. Data were collected from the respondents using a structured questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed statistically while the hypotheses were tested using Pearson Correlation (r) and the SPSS version 24. The findings revealed that packaging design innovation has a significant relationship with sales growth of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The study also found a significant relationship between packaging design innovation and market share growth of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The study equally discovered a significant a relationship between packaging material innovation and sales growth of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The study also reported a significant relationship between packaging material innovation and market share growth of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. From the findings, it was concluded that packaging innovation strategies such as packaging design innovation and packaging material innovation are significant predictors of marketing performance of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State. Therefore, it was recommended that food and beverage manufacturing firms in Rivers State should adopt packaging innovation strategies as it would improve their marketing performance.