Mintel has come out with the top trends set to impact the global packaging industry in 2018.
And the focus is squarely on food freshness, food waste, and the circular economy.
The research company predicts that packaging will play a pivotal role in reducing global food and product waste in the coming year.
It also states that online brands will reinvigorate their packaging in order to enhance the e-commerce experience, with a focus on minimalism in contemporary packaging formats.
Looking ahead, global packaging director David Luttenberger says there are five trends which will influence the sector worldwide, with implications for consumers, brands, and manufacturers.
1. Packaging that fights food waste.
According to Mintel, the throwaway culture of today will evolve into one that understands and embraces the role of packaging as a primary means to reduce global food and product waste.
“Consumers have long considered packaging as often unnecessary, and ultimately as just waste to be disposed of,” Luttenberger says.
“But that misconception is now changing.
“A focus on package innovations that extend food freshness, preserve ingredient fortification, and ensure safe delivery is increasingly benefiting consumers.”
He says brands will need to act fast by exploiting on-pack communication tools to educate consumers on the benefits packaging can bring, from extending shelf life of food to providing efficient and safe access to essential products in developed and underserved regions of the world.
2. Better e-commerce packaging
As more and more consumers embrace online shopping, packaging will play a pivotal role in brands' and consumers' e-commerce experiences.
However, while the key advantage of online shopping is convenience, consumers expect more from their favoured brands.
When designing packaging to be viewed online, and transit packaging to be opened upon delivery in the home, the experience of e-commerce packaging must reflect consumer expectations from shopping with that brand in-store, says Luttenberger.
3. Cleaner labels, please
Aiming for packaging designs that enlighten consumers’ purchase decisions, brands will reject approaches that offer too much or too little, as they can leave shoppers more confused than ever.
Brands are in danger of being rejected if consumers feel overloaded with information, according to Luttenberger.
This can lead to the questioning of provenance, authenticity, and transparency.
The ‘essentialist’ design principle bridges the divide between 'not enough' and 'just enough' of what's essential for consumers to make an enlightened and confident purchasing decision.
Brands must bring the next generation of clean label to packaging design to provide a moment of calm and clarity for shoppers in an increasingly hectic retail environment, he says.
4. A sea change for brands
Plastic packaging adrift in the world's oceans will become the catalyst driving brands to rethink their communications.
Concerns over safe packaging disposal will increasingly colour consumers' perceptions of different packaging types, and impact shopper purchase decisions.
Only by communicating that a brand is working towards a solution will this growing barrier to purchase be overcome.
While collecting waste plastic from the sea to recycle into new packaging can raise consumer awareness, it won’t solve the problem, says Luttenberger.
In order to keep plastic out of the sea, a renewed effort towards the circular economy needs to be seen.
5. Speak 'young' or go home
Brands will look to contemporary packaging formats to help reinvigorate the centre-of-store aisles less visited by younger consumers.
Young shoppers are increasingly ‘shopping the periphery’, visiting the fresh and chilled aisles around the store perimeter and turning their backs on processed, ambient, and frozen offerings in the centre of the store.
The use of transparent materials, contemporary design, recyclability, or unique shapes can help draw in younger consumers to the store centre, making it as appealing as the burgeoning perimeter to younger consumers.
Mintel’s 2018 Packaging Trends report is available here.
