Another year goes down the aisles of history but leaving the packaging space richer in terms of innovation value for money and overall sustainability. Packaging is an evergreen industry. As long as products sell, packaging will continue to drape them. There can be ups and downs of different intensities on the basis of macro and micro-economic factors in different parts of the world, but the fact of the matter remains that packaging will always be in demand.
Some top research agencies from across the globe have charted out trends that will set the tone for the flexible packaging industry. Additionally, being India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and Solution Company and hailing from our own experience of selling products in over 140 countries across the globe, we now present a narrative on the trends to watch out for in the New Year.
Sustainability will be the key: There is an ever increasing clamor for down gauged packaging. Light weighting and reduction at source will be an important governing point for packaging companies through the New Year and beyond. Moreover, the pull now coming straight from the end users assuming greater responsiveness towards the environment, packaging will irrevocably echo the sentiments. Yet more emphasis will be paid by the buyers towards recycling and reprocessing of post-consumer waste by the suppliers contributing to the circular economy.
Value added brand protection features: With counterfeiting plaguing the brands and eroding their hard earned equity, there will be an invigorated attempt in 2017 to take this menace head-on. Looking at the long term positive effect that anti-counterfeiting measures have on brand image, more and more brands will chose for impregnable brand protection solutions.
Packaging shapes and structures congruent to brand image Brands are well personified assets and enjoy an image that the marketers are very conscious about. It is hoped that several consumer packaged goods companies world over will opt to give their packaging designs a fresher look in line with the attributes that their brand stands tall for. One must not forget that ‘Good packaging protects your product. Great packaging protects your brand’.
Coming to terms with online shopping: 2017 will be a year of limitless opportunities for E-commerce and online shopping even for the FMCG. Custodians are likely to leave no stone unturned for making their brands look as appealing and striking on click and mortar as they do in the case of a brick and mortar experience. Packaging will be revved up for rendering an unmatched online experience on e-tailing front. There will be more personalization and simplification of messages for the end users. E-commerce being a growing market, there will be a rise in protective packaging as e-commerce has made inroads to the smallest of towns apart from hitting the metros in the country.
Functionality zoom: In 2017 brands will pro-actively work with their packaging suppliers to increase functionality of the packs that are seen as a clear extension to the overall product experience offered to the consumers. More emphasis will be laid than ever on re-sealability; re-closability; ease of opening; ease of carrying and disposing.
Pushing up the product to package ratio: Efforts will be on to ensure that more product is packed inside the pre-defined enclosure. The size and shape of packaging will be continually pruned and optimized for making economic sense out of the expensive retail shelves across the globe. Thus boosting the numerator and pushing down the denominator will be the earnest attempt by the brands and packaging suppliers.
Furthermore grey matter for packaging: In an ever evolving landscape, packaging intelligence is likely to get more astute, active and smart in the New Year. With IoT (Internet of things) already ruling the roost, packaging as an enabler will be far more intuitive and help providing instantaneous information to the consumers about the packed products. Be it the ingredients; physical location of goods in transit conditions in which the product was produced and packed or the real time condition assessment of the product inside the packet. Packaging will pave way for accessing all pertinent information through the hand held devices used by consumers and other actors in the value chain. Packaging will be rendered more engaging for the GEN-Y in 2017 and the years that follow.
With the most contemporary technology and some of the best brains by its side, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and Solution Company UFlex is all geared to welcome 2017 and delightfully surprise its clients with its innovation galore.
