Packing a punch in 2018
Gone are the days of the standard cardboard box. Against a growing appetite for personalisation, sustainability pressures and digital advancements, businesses are increasingly looking for much more from their packaging designs. This, in turn, has seen a constant influx of new packaging innovation, with more to come this year. Here, Jason Poxon, Packaging Technologist at Antalis Packaging, advises on the latest innovations to watch out for
In today’s fast-paced, e-commerce driven retail environment, packaging plays a powerful role. Aside from protecting products, it’s an important marketing tool; often being the first thing a customer will see, it’s a way of conveying a brand’s essence.
The choice of packaging can also enhance overall business operations. Get it right and it can help to increase warehouse capacity, optimise lead-times and reduce costs, all while providing a better experience for customers.
However, with so many new packaging options now available on the market, finding the time to keep up-to-date with the latest trends may seem an impossible task. So here are our predictions for the key emerging trends that savvy businesses should know about:
Polystyrene alternatives
As consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental consequences of excessive packaging, there will be a continued movement towards more sustainable packaging technologies.
Here, a good example is a new alternative to polystyrene. As we all know, polystyrene remains a dirty word in the packaging sector – it’s bulky, difficult to dispose of and is not environmentally friendly. A number of cities including New York have banned its use for food packaging, with top chefs in London launching a campaign in recent years to try and get the capital to follow suit. Launched as an alternative to polystyrene for food packaging, Food Mailer is an all corrugate 100% recyclable pack that performs to the same standards as polystyrene. It’s over ten times more space efficient due to its flat pack structure and can be upcycled by the consumer into a cool box. It won the World Star Award of 2017 from the World Packaging Organisation.
No tape required
In the continued quest for efficiency and cost reduction, removing the requirement for packaging tape remains firmly at the forefront. Geami WrapPak is one of the latest innovations to do away with tape. A combination of a patented die-cut kraft paper with a tissue interleaf paper, the Geami WrapPak High Volume (HV) converter expands the die cut paper to a 3D honeycomb structure providing a unique wrapping product. By locking the angled cells together, items are firmly wrapped and no tape is needed. The converter can be placed at any packing station where individual items are packed using a protective wrap. Delivering the same protective qualities as bubble wrap, produced on demand saving warehouse space and a high quality natural product – Geami WrapPak has enjoyed rapid growth since its launch last year.
Digital technology
The packaging sector continues to experience big technological advances, particularly in the area of digital printing. Digital printers are now able to deliver like-for-like capabilities with litho printing by offering added capabilities like personalisation. Beautifully designed, personalised boxes leave a lasting impression on a customer, as do high-quality, digitally-printed designs.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is becoming more and more prominent in the packaging sector, particularly in retail. From Coca-Cola to L’Oréal, multiple brands are embracing the marketing benefits of smartphones with augmented/virtual reality revenue forecast to hit $120 billion worldwide by 20201. The future of retail packaging is interactive and responsive, and gives power to customers by enabling them, for example, to scan an image on food packaging with their smartphone to access full environmental and sourcing data, a video recipe, or a chance to enter an online competition to win prizes. The future could see everything from nutritional information to flat packed furniture instructions delivered in this way.
Environmentally-friendly messaging
Statistics from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs show that 44.3% of household rubbish was recycled in 2015, which was down from 44.9% in 2014. Considering there’s a target for the UK to recycle at least 50% of household waste by 2020, it’s really important that more brands provide environmentally friendly packaging or, even better, encourage end consumers to recycle more packaging. Not only does this ensure a business is positively viewed as eco-conscious and planet-friendly, it also helps fight the war on packaging waste by encouraging others to have the same mind-set. Zara boxes promote that they’re made from recycled products as well as using the hashtag ‘#recycle’, actively encouraging customers to recycle the box once used. Expect to see more and more brands adopting this approach.
A new take on storage
Innovations in packaging are challenging the traditional cardboard box in every way. Notbox is a reusable, one-piece, collapsible box with lid and carry handles that can replace your corrugate boxes for storage. This multi-use box can be used as an alternative to single-use cardboard boxes, helping companies and consumers reduce both packaging costs and carbon footprint with up to a 25% saving in carbon emissions. It also comes with zip or Velcro closures, a document wallet, and can be tailored, resized and branded.
Bespoke box designs
Bespoke boxes that fit perfectly around the contents are likely to grow in popularity this year. Not only do they deliver space saving benefits and waste reduction, they also help better protect the item that’s inside. Some of the most creative bespoke box products are those that have been designed to have an afterlife as a completely different purpose such as a desk tidy or a food tray, for example, instead of being thrown away after use. These innovative products prove that bespoke box packaging designs can be created to fit any requirement.
Amid these changing times, more and more businesses are seeking packaging solutions which can support their efforts to be environmentally responsible, improve operational efficiency and leave a positive impression on their customers. Staying up to date with the latest packaging trends offers another opportunity to connect with customers and keep one step ahead of the competition.
To find out more about the full Antalis Packaging range, go to www.antalispackaging.co.uk. You can also arrange a free packaging audit by visiting www.antalispackagingsolutions.co.uk or by calling one of the Antalis Packaging experts on 0370 241 1466.