What’s new in packaging? 6 trends to watch out for
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
It’s not just brown boxes or noisy crisp bags anymore - packaging has a fascinating future as the line between online and reality blurs further. If you’re doing a Facebook Live unboxing video with your new Facebook Ray-Bans, where exactly is that reality line? AI drives that blurring, and AI is one of the key trends affecting our industry right now.
Packaging automation
Amazon has more than 200,000 robots operating alongside its hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers. The company’s operations are highly automated with the activities of robots and humans are tightly linked - in fact human productivity is measured by an overall pick or stow rate calculated for each worker at a robot-fed pick-and-stow station, according to the Wall St Journal. Robots largely handle depanning, picking, packing, sealing, packing, labelling and even ensure the boxes get to the right pallets. Robots see inside the packing to make sure the goods inside are secure and don’t overuse shipping materials (judging by my Amazon deliveries, that last is a work in progress).
2. Internet of packaging
Linked closely to the automation trend is the growing application of machine learning throughout the industry. Within the warehouse, AI and ML shaves time off the process of matching orders to products and packing stations, and ultimately to delivery vehicles.
On the box itself, we expect to see greater use of QR codes, smart labels, RFID & Near Field Communication (NFC) chips. Sensors on - and in - the packaging will not just assist in tracking and tracing, but offer real-time diagnostics and reassurance to the customer.
3. Smart packaging
Pakfactory noted the rise of such features as “enhanced unboxing experiences, eye-catching visuals, product preservation and protection, authentication, security, and connectivity.” Another form of smart packaging is known as “Active packing”, especially pertinent to food waste. At Startus Insights, analysts are watching the development of “modified atmospheric packaging that uses oxygen or ethylene absorbers and moisture regulators to keep food fresh.
4. Edible, or biodegradable packaging
One of the ‘holy grails’ in our industry is ‘closing the loop’ - creating products that don’t contribute to landfill, but are more sustainable. Many industry initiatives are built around this, among them the idea of edible packaging. An example is packaging made from milk protein, which can contain food products within a casein film. Casein is in fact a popular nutritional supplement, taken to reduce muscle breakdown. As packaging, such films are a better alternative to plastic in terms of food freshness. Expect to see edible stirrers for your coffee and edible straws for your sodas. One German startup has replaced 5 million plastic spoons with their vegan equivalent.
Compostable packaging is also trending, with an expected compound annual growth rate of over 6% by 2028.
All of these sustainable initiatives are driven by governmental organisations and supported by public demand.
5. 3D printing
When 3D printing is combined with print-to-order manufacturing, it will raise the bar for what we currently see as 3D. Industry analysts Pakfactory claim that:
“For packaging prototypes, 3D printing will provide a vastly superior option over current methods, offering flexibility, efficiency, and cost reduction that will meld design and manufacturing.”
Current 3D is in its infancy, but as it becomes more mainstream it offers marketers an almost unlimited opportunity to experiment with shapes and designs, and then print smaller more targeted materials, reducing the need for warehouse space, speeding time to market and improving the customer experience.
6. Digital packaging
Many of these trends point towards smaller runs, greater security in transit, higher flexibility and more sustainable packages Digital printing is therefore at the core of many of these directions. Digital printing will eliminate the need for pre-press procedures or additional labelling, thereby reducing waste and lowering inventory requirements. We are proud and excited to play our part in this innovative and creative industry.
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