CHAPTER 5: PACKAGE DESIGNS FOR SELECTED POST-NATAL CARE (OMUGWO) SPICES IN IGBO SOCIETY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION 
Package design connects form, structure, materials, colour, imagery, typography, aesthetics and regulatory information with subordinate design elements to make a product suitable for marketing. Package design encompasses both structural and graphical details. It is one of the most important tools in the marketing mix. Package design also contributes to positioning the product through its presentation and personality. Packaging is a silent advertiser; it is an important aspect of marketing. It is a big component of a brand's marketing strategy and a medium to communicate its message and values. Marketing information can be designed into visual elements used on the package to convey a message that speaks to consumers' emotions.  
Rita Kuvykaite (2009) asserts that packaging attracts attention to a particular brand, enhances its image, and influences consumers' perceptions or desires about a product. Since markets are becoming increasingly competitive (Mininni, 2008) and designers and marketers are more skilled, packaging has become the marketing mix's most important point-of-purchase merchandising tool. The discipline of packaging design is one of the key elements in a marketing strategy for a product and will be promoted, recognised and sought out by the consumer (Ambrose and Harris, 2011). 
Omugwo is the Igbo term for the traditional custom of postpartum care. It is the care given to mothers after childbirth (mothercare). The practice is usually associated with the Igbo people of south-east Nigeria and their neighbours. Mothers usually eagerly look forward to it because it is heralded by the addition of a newborn to a family. 
Omugwo, an aspect of unpaid care labour, is an important part of the economy and an essential contributor to the well-being of individuals, families and societies (Stiglitz and Fitoussi 2007). This could be a result of several factors such as if a woman’s daughters never married or if none of her daughters gave birth to a live baby. Ojembe and KaIu (2018) aver that the concept of mutual benefit and family care characterise caregiving in Africa, providing unpaid care for a nursing mother and her baby is cultural and revered.  
Spices are used to add flavor, relish or piquancy to food. In Nigeria, many indigenous plants are used as spices, food or medicine. Indigenous spices and herbs are used to prepare yam pepper soup (ji mmiri oku) for the nursing mothers, which exhibits hot and spicy tastes. Some forest fruits and seeds are sometimes added to food meant for pregnant and nursing mothers as medicinal spices. These plants' activity as sources of bioactive compounds makes it possible for them to be used in many traditional medicinal preparations and as spices in local foods (Okwu and Ibeawuchi 2005).   
One among the spices is the Uda seed (also commonly known as Negro pepper) is an aromatic spice with lots of amazing health benefits to offer.