Mintel Identifies Four Trends Impacting the Global Packaging Industry

Food Four Thought: Mintel's global packaging director looks ahead and discusses major trends influencing the packaging sector.

Kettle Foods Inc., Salem, Ore., planned by June to start introducing new packaging with 43% less plastic. The company is shifting from 5-layer packaging film to 3-layer film. Set for completion this fall, the project will result in an annual 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from packaging and keep two million pounds of plastic out of landfills, officials say.

Nestlé's Häagen-Dazs Loop Packaging — Nestlé's Häagen-Dazs brand announced a new service in partnership with global recycling organization TerraCycle, that will provide a first-of-its-kind home delivery service to consumers called Loop. Loop will enable consumers to responsibly enjoy Häagen-Dazs and other household favorite foods and personal care products in customized, durable packaging that are collected, cleaned, refilled and re-used—all from the consumer’s front door step.

SC Johnson Windex Bottle Made From Ocean Plastics — This February saw SC Johnson introduce a Windex bottle made 100% from recovered ocean plastics.

Mintel, a leading global market intelligence agency, identified four trends impacting the global packaging industry in 2019 and beyond.

David Luttenberger, Mintel’s global packaging director, looks ahead and discusses the major trends influencing the packaging sector—including implications for consumers, brands, and manufacturers.

Connected Packaging

Connected packaging is witnessing renewed interest—driven by growth in ownership of connected devices worldwide and advancement in technologies that link packaging to the online world. Brands have a wealth of options to connect virtually with packaging—from QR codes and other graphic markers to near field communication, radio frequency identification, bluetooth and augmented reality.

A vital link between physical and digital shopping worlds, brands can capitalize on connected packaging to influence how they are viewed online, together with delivering engaging content and product-specific information to directly influence purchasing decisions.

Closing the Loop

Proclamations by brands and converters touting commitment to 100% recyclable materials or packaging being 100% recycled dominate industry headlines. But the reality that few of them have yet to fully consider is how, where, and who will be supplying and recycling these materials. Though recyclable packaging claims have become common, claims to include recycled content are still rare.

Low availability of high-quality recycled plastic and concerns over food safety are hampering the use of recycled material in food and drink. And while recycling may be second nature to some, inconvenience and confusion surrounding recycling are a barrier for others. With no option to ship packaging waste off-shore and out of sight, we are likely to see fast improvements in recycling facilities. This will drive up capacity for high-quality recycled material. Going forward, brands have an opportunity to ride consumer awareness of recycling issues by being part of the solution and committing to using recycled material in new packaging.

Reinventing the Box (e-Commerce)

The rapid development of e-commerce has had more of an impact on the design of packaging globally than anything the industry has experienced in the past several decades. There are now limitless opportunities for brand marketers to think about the next generation of shelf presence, the ‘hero images’ on retailers’ websites, and the ‘unboxing’ experience.

In e-commerce, brands are learning that messaging and branding should be split between the shipping container and the interior of the box—with the latter incorporating elements that give consumers a sense of delight and surprise when opening the parcel. While most consumers currently prefer to buy groceries in-store instead of online, the convenience of purchasing online will eventually spill over into food, drink, and household products.

Only through an established e-commerce packaging strategy can brands design packs for the worst-case distribution scenario. Meanwhile, there will be huge financial, social, and brand equity gains to be made in the e-commerce packaging arena—just by exploiting elements of package optimization rooted in sustainability.

Plastic-Free

Marine plastic pollution has become one of the world’s most serious environmental problems, and there is a growing need for different attitudes to the material. New opportunities such as plastic-free aisles, package-free stores and alternative pack materials allow consumers to actively make choices about the plastic that is put out in the world.

But these incentives are not without their own challenges. While plastic-free aisles reflect consumer exhaustion with excess plastic packaging, in reality, few would want to lose the convenience and benefits plastic packaging can bring. And while the term ‘plastic-free’ may appear to be a simple one, there is no universal definition; even plastic-free packaging often includes plant-based plastics, showing the lack of clarity in the plastic-free call.

Brands should act now, either to ensure a place in emerging plastic-free zones by switching to acceptable pack materials or by engaging with the debate, clearly explaining the benefits of plastic packaging to their product, and addressing plastic pollution concerns with appropriate end-of-life pack solutions.

For more information, visit: www.mintel.com/packaging-market-research