Management Practice Insights
DOI: 10.59571/mpi.v3i2.6
Year: 2025, Volume: 3, Issue: 2, Pages: 76-81
Original Article
Niharika Guptai*
iS.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research
* Corresponding author: [email protected]
Received Date:20 May 2025, Accepted Date:10 October 2025, Published Date:15 October 2025
Have you ever received cookies or candies that have personalized images on them? How did you feel about eating them? The integration of photographs with such consumer products, such as cookies, candies, coffee mugs, pillows and other personalised items, has become a widespread trend, fuelled by advances in digital printing and consumer demands for customised experiences. However, this growth masks a problem: many photo-integrated products, especially those meant for consumption (consumables) or to be used and disposed of (disposables), are admired but not used. Consumers often hesitate to eat, dispose of or interact with a product that features realistic images due to subconscious discomfort. A recent study by Freeman Wu, Adriana Samper, Andrea C. Morales, Gavan J. Fitzsimons shows that consuming certain photointegrated products is perceived as disrespectful or morally wrong, triggering emotional resistance.1 Hence, product managers, brand managers and product designers need to carefully consider the type of image and the nature of the product on which it is placed. When applied thoughtfully, these insights can help managers optimise product appeal, reduce waste and increase conversion
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© 2025 Published by SPJIMR. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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