While many converters are working to enhance packaging accessibility and cut consumer frustration, wrap rage is still a common complaint for many packaging users.

'Wrap rage' clouds packaging perceptions

29 November 2012

A new survey has confirmed what many packaging industry professionals have long feared: hard-to-open packaging is fuelling “wrap rage”, and contributing to a generally poor perception of packaging by consumers.

The survey, in the December edition of Australian Reader's Digest, surveyed 5000 people in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia about their attitudes to packaging.

A worrying 94 per cent of respondents to the survey said they had some resentment towards packaging.

Glued-tight plastic clamshell packaging earned the most ire, with 41 per cent nominating it as among the most frustrating packaging structures, along with “safety” caps used on cleaning and pharmaceutical products.

Even more concerning, almost a half of respondents said they'd been injured when opening such packs, with 42 per cent of those surveyed saying they had given themselves a deep cut, 14 per cent admitting they had chipped or broken their teeth, and three per cent seeking medical treatment for wounds inflicted while opening packs.

Some 36 per cent said they had to resort to using scissors or kitchen knives – or even teeth or angle grinders - to open tightly sealed packs.

“We're reasonable enough to concede that products need to arrive clean, fresh and intact,” Readers Digest editor-in-chief Sue Carney said.

“But the vast majority (80 per cent) believe manufacturers and retailers have lost the plot and are simply making it too hard for us to open and enjoy their products.”