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Safer, smarter, simpler: the future of packaging
24-Apr-2008 - Food packaging will in the future have to offer more
protection, greater flexibility and be simpler to produce, according
to trends identified by Oman-based packaging group Octal.
"Some packaging design features come and go, but these three trends
will have a lasting impact," claimed Octal chief operating officer
Joe Barenberg, speaking in Dusseldorf, Germany, ahead of the
Interpack show which opens today.
"These are fundamental, long-term trends," he added.
According to Barenberg, the trend towards packaging that offers
greater protection for the contents at the same time as providing
greater product visibility is already well established.
"Consumers increasingly expect to see the product that they are
buying before they pay. If customers cannot see the product for
themselves, there is a constant temptation to open the package
in-store," said Barenberg.
"In the worst case, even if the contents are acceptable, the
consumer may discard the opened pack and select a pristine one to
buy, which creates waste, clutters the shelf and reduces the quality
of the consumer experience."
The second trend is related in many ways to the first, according to
Octal.
While consumers want to see the product they are buying, "brand
managers and store planners want products that are capable of
effective display in a variety of ways - whether on hooks, shelf
stacked, multi-packed or in trays- to maximise in-store impact and
simplify display refreshment", according to Barenberg.
"The product itself becomes the centre of the display," he added.
The final - and newest - trend identified by the firm is a growing
desire on the part of brand owners to simplify the packaging of
their products by using one single material.
"Chocolate bars used to come wrapped in foil with an outer printed
paper sleeve," said Barenberg. "Today, for production speed and
efficiency, there is an increased focus on selecting the best single
packaging material for the product and developing the ideal
packaging solution from that one material."
The importance of being seen to be green also plays a part in this
mindset, Barenberg added. Having a single packaging material "also
enables easier recycling as the consumer takes on no burden of
material separation", he said.
Octal, inevitably, believes it can offer brand owners and retailers
products that meet all three of these requirements.
The company, which only entered the packaging market in 2006, is a
manufacturer of APET (amorphous polyethylene terephthalate), and
Barenberg claims that this is the ideal packaging material to offer
simplicity, security and flexiblity.
"APET has already played an important role in helping the packaging
industry to meet the needs of producers and retailers to deliver
high performance packaging solutions that allow products to be
presented attractively," he said.
"This has been particularly important for convenience foods that
continue on their growth curve in many countries. The inherent
barrier properties of APET, which protect the product from
mechanical damage and degradation, make it the packaging material of
first choice for many convenience foods."
As far as product display flexibility is concerned, Barenberg said
that APET packaging could be adapted to a range of display
requirements, while the product's rigidity for product protection
and clarity for display makes APET "an ideal single material for
packaging", he said.
"Together, these three trends provide APET with unique growth
potential. As a robust packaging material that delivers product
visibility, shape, closure and display flexibility, APET will
undoubtedly claim a greater share of the $450bn global packaging
market that continues to grow at an annual rate of 3.5 per cent. In
the food sector, annual packaging growth is at five per cent and
plastic packaging already accounts for 34 per cent of that market
segment."
Oman-based Octal entered the packaging market with a $300m
investment in 20,000 metric tons of APET production capacity. That
capacity was boosted by 10,000 tons a year later, and such is the
company's confidence in the growth of this sector that it will
increase its production capacity even further - by 300,000 metric
tons - in June this year, with the completion of a new PET resin and
APET sheet complex in Oman.
The company will, by that stage, account for 20 per cent of total
global APET sheet production, a capacity which Barenberg boasted
would provide manufacturers and thermoformers with "an assured
supply of a precision manufactured product that can reduce raw
material costs and increase packaging productivity".
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