Consumers are continuously changing the way they interact with, view, and discard food packaging. Whether you are among food plastic packaging manufacturers or product marketers, you know the importance of consumer’s changing needs in your products.
From ease to traceability, here are five most important food packaging trends you need to know for maximizing the potential of packaging in today’s market.
Sustainability
Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of global warming issues and accordingly are transforming their buying habits. These days, a tagline ‘cool to care’ is going viral, and consumers are seeking out semiotic signals on the packaging that plastic food manufacturers have a green conscience (but are wary of green washing). The manufacturers understand how commitment towards sustainability can be communicated through engaging way on the packaging. They know the environmental consciousness is key to luring and retaining consumers.
It appears that sustainability is no longer a choice or an add-on. It has become an essential component of future business planning for the players in the packaging industry. The entire story of a product is converting into a key factor in buying decisions. The cycle is, where does the product come from, how was it manufactured, and what are the recycling credentials?
Healthy Lifestyle
The health and fitness sector is on a boom, reflecting a wider audience’s desire to understand what is good for us and what is not. Consumers expect branding and packaging to display the product’s health credentials quickly and concisely. That allows them to make informed decisions about their food. Regulations often show how the information should be displayed, and packaging must balance these requirements.
The health and fitness market is crowded, and it has become difficult to attract (and retain) attention from the shelf. Therefore it is important for food packaging to focus on unique advantages, such as natural formulations and ingredients, offering transparency on the product’s label. Innovative techniques of preserving and displaying fresh food will be key for short and long term success.
Alternatives to healthy snacking may be a method of overcoming this problem. Increased consumer snacking ignites product innovations offering healthy snacks in smaller packs, such as light snacks in small packets with an advertised low-fat content.
Convenience
Busy lifestyles mean that consumers like to seek ease of use or convenient transportation from their packaging. Lighter, smaller, and easily disposable packaging makes consumption-on-the-go comfortable. Innovations, for example, dispensers and no-mess applicators, distinguish the requirement for additional packaging, further adding to a disposable and no-fuss approach.
This requirement for convenience is specifically visible in the supermarket foods sector. Tesco introduced reseal-able packs along with a variety of their savory snacks, comfortably balancing convenience with perceived freshness. Another innovative technique used by Tesco is their Chicken Pasta and tomato salad, which has shifted from plastic to paper board. This is leading to enhanced visibility of the product, which helps in impulse buying decisions.
Trust and Authenticity
As a consequence of many global food scandals, there is more demand for transparency in the consumer food packaging industry.
Products origins need to be traced back to the source to regain trust throughout the supply chain. Advertised source on packaging increases perceived authenticity and credibility and assured consumers of high-quality produce. Brands should communicate the carbon footprint advantages of consumers purchasing a local brand. This is specifically effective in the yellow butter and fats market due to increased demand for organic ingredients in high-fat foods.
Cost-effective Purchasing
There’s no dodging the worldwide monetary vulnerability. Justifiably, customers would prefer not to pay anything else than they need to for their bundled merchandise, and the cost is one of the principal contemplations settled on when settling on purchasing choices.
There is a developing propensity for shoppers to buy when they are coming up short on a particular item, rather than taking an ahead of time, ‘storeroom stacking’ approach as has been the standard. Littler and simpler to convey sorts of bundling in this way hold the best potential for this cash cognizant, a minute ago customers.
