Innovation in Packaging Design and Functionality

Consumers have become more demanding and discerning. The food and drink products they buy often have to do more than just provide sustenance. Sensory indulgence and convenience benefits are two key areas influencing consumer purchasing behavior, and packaging has the potential to cater to both areas. This report examines these areas of packaging innovation.

• Understand the challenges and opportunities involved in packaging innovation.
• Use best-practice examples to inform your packaging R&D programs.
• Examine new areas of research in the areas of re-sealability, nanotechnology, and smart packaging.
• Use packaging from other industries to enhance and develop new concepts.
• Use market data and trends information to identify new areas of opportunity.

While packaging must protect a product, packaging should not be so inaccessible that it makes it hard for consumers to get to the product. Negative publicity and incidences of so-called "wrap rage" have resulted in some manufacturers designing easy-to-open alternatives to things such as plastic clamshell-style packaging.

Portion control has driven the need for greater functionality in packaging. By providing convenient methods of resealing a package, food and drink manufacturers can show that they are helping to reduce portion sizes and in turn help consumers to control their calorie consumption.

Nestlé is one major manufacturer that is looking at ways to make its packaging easier to use. Using a design process developed by Cambridge University, which simulates the functional problems associated with arthritis, Nestlé has already redesigned a number of its products packaging including Nescafé Gold coffee and its Boost nutritional drink.

• What are the trends driving improved functionality in packaging, and how might these factors affect future innovation?
• What is innovation in packaging design appearance evolving?
• Which manufacturers are leading the way in terms of packaging innovation?
• What advantages can smart-labeling bring?
• What factors are driving the future of packaging design?

Table of contents

About the author
•Disclaimer
Introduction
•Summary
•Introduction
?About this report
•Consumer packaging market overview
?Industry trends
•Development of packaging through innovation
?Product differentiation through design and adaptation
?Innovation in closures and labeling
Closing mechanisms and fastenings
•Summary
•Introduction
•Resealability
?Trends driving resealability
?Further innovation in resealability
•Product safety/tamper evidence
?Product tampering scares change packaging requirements
?Standard packaging is often inherently tamper-proof
?Pharmaceutical industry leads the way
?Use of holographic labels to protect brand identity
?Child-resistant packaging
•Easy opening
?Clamshell packaging initiates "wrap rage"
?Easy-to-open packaging for all
?Case study: Nestlé is improving its packaging for all sectors of the population
Labeling design and technology
•Summary
•Introduction
•Metal inks
?Eye-catching and premium design
?Alternative to de-metallization
?Cost of metallic inks continues to rise
•Thermochromic inks
?Product interaction and differentiation
?Consuming products as the manufacturer intended
•Embossing
?Embossing helps with product differentiation
?Internal embossing
?Limited use of embossing for the visually impaired
•Smart labeling
?Track and trace
?Smart labeling for product interaction and enhancement
?Untapped opportunities in scented packaging
?Improving product safety and eliminating waste
?Nanotechnology used in smart labels and packaging
Conclusions
•Summary
•The future of the packaging market
?Global packaging market to 2017
•The future direction of packaging design
?Lightweighting
?Sustainability need not be at the expense of design
?Packaging design to target specific demographics
?Food and drinks packaging to be influenced by other industries
Appendix
•Bibliography/references

FIGURES
•Figure: Global consumer packaging market by value ($bn), 2007–12
•Figure: Lindt's Mini Mix; a plastic stand-up pouch with reseal grip-strip
•Figure: Nestle Fruktgrot cereal with patented injection molded white plastics slide-action open-reclose device
•Figure: SmartSeal's SmartSeal Flex closure
•Figure: Ball Resealable End from Ball Corporation
•Figure: Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals featuring Sonoco's SealTab technology
•Figure: Malt-O-Meal's Bag The Box breakfast cereals with Zip-Pak seals
•Figure: Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon using Ampac's E-Z Zip
•Figure: Victorinox's Swiss Army knife packaging
•Figure: Example of Crown Holding's Orbit closure mechanism
•Figure: Example of use of metallic inks on flexible packaging
•Figure: Example of uses of thermochromic ink drinks packaging
•Figure: Example of uses of thermochromic ink
•Figure: Owen-Illinois's internally embossed bottles
•Figure: Embossing on energy drinks
•Figure: Examples of 2D barcodes
•Figure: Global consumer packaging market by value, 2012–17
•Figure: Newton Running's molded paperboard shoe packaging
•Figure: Ballantine's Finest whisky featuring electroluminescent label

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By sector: Packaging