Right, but this nettlesome coworker you imagine is, I can only imagine, the lone outsider who can possibly find offense in the packaging. I think most would be like, hey, what's that? Oh, candy from _Japan_? Can I try one> Wow, Oishi!

I can guarantee you that nettlesome coworker is not alone in perceiving creepy links between Japanese cartoon characters and hentai.

That's the kind of person you do not want to work with. This the conspiracy theorist who misinterprets benign things and paints them in whatever twisted way they want for whatever odd reason they have.

_That_ person is the problem in the office, not the person who bought sweets online and probably shared them with some of the office.

If anything, the packaging helped reveal an oddball at the office.

> I absolutely consider how that purchase will look to other people. it's one of the primary reasons why brands have value.

Wait, what? In fashion, sure, by definition - but when I'm choosing between Persil and Tide, or Coke and Pepsi, or Pizza Hut and Domino's, I'm primarily looking at how good it is at whatever I want it to do. Which one cleans better, which one tastes better?

There's a certain point where many people start buying things more as social signalling than as actual useful things, but I'd disagree that the vast majority of brands could be fashion items in this way. The rest use their brands to evoke trustworthiness - "I know that this will do what I want".