Mintel, the world’s leading market intelligence agency, has recently published five global packaging trends for 2018.
These include the growing role of packaging in reducing food and product waste, the importance of clear on-pack messaging and the need to provide customers with an enhanced eCommerce experience.
We would like to add one more trend to this list – resealability – and here’s why we believe it will play a major role in the coming year.
Food waste prevention
About 10.3 million of viewers in the UK sat in front of their TVs to watch the Blue Planet II every Sunday last year. The breath-taking images of underwater wonders, recordings that had never been broadcast before incited the imagination of many and drew attention to problems such as global warming and plastic waste.
Healthy eating has also been growing in popularity. Programmes such as Jamie Oliver Quick Meals and the BBC’s Eat Well for Less? have showed British consumers that homemade meals can be fast and simple.
With the organic market on the rise and veganism predicted to be one of the key food trends for 2018, it seems that customers put more and more emphasis on healthy living and reducing the effects of human activity on the environment.
Food waste is one of the problems that modern customers need to face. British households throw away 7.3m tonnes of food and drink each year, which represents 71% of the total food waste produced in the UK. This is even more alarming knowing that most of it is preventable.
Resealable packaging solutions allow for food products to be opened and closed multiple times, which helps maintain product freshness by preventing premature decay. This extends product lifetime, helping to limit the amount of food waste, and enables customers to better control their daily food intakes (As the pack can be resealed, the consumer doesn’t feel obliged to eat the entire contents at once).
Better customer experience
Struggling to open food packaging can be so frustrating! Studies show the older generation finds opening everyday goods particularly challenging due to reduced dexterity and strength. But let’s face it – nobody likes wasting their time (and energy!) battling packaging…
Current markets are saturated with brands offering similar products and services, giving consumers plenty of options to choose from. If you can’t deliver good customer experience, there’s high likelihood your customers will choose to buy from someone else next time.
Resealable food packs are easy and simple to open by lifting a tab on the pocket and do not require products to be re-packed into a cling film or freezer bags once opened. This contributes to reducing material waste and ensures your brand remains visible at all times.
Need help?
Reseal-it® is a resealable labelling solution by Macfarlane Labels which can be applied to a number of different pack types, including flow wrap, gas-flush thermoforming and vacuum packs.
The Reseal-it® solution is currently being used globally by leading FMCG manufacturers of products such as biscuits, sliced and fresh meats, cheese, prepared fruit, savoury snacks and many more.
For further information, visit: https://www.resealit.com/markets_resealit/
References:
Mintel Announces Five Global Packaging Trends For 2018: http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/retail-press-centre/mintel-announces-five-global-packaging-trends-for-2018
Blue Planet returns with ratings victory over Strictly Come Dancing: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/30/blue-planet-ii-ratings-victory-strictly-come-dancing
The 2017 Organic Market Report: https://www.soilassociation.org/certification/trade-news/2017/uk-organic-market-tops-2-billion/
Vegan Is One To Watch In ‘Food Trend Forecast’ For 2018: https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/vegan-food-top-packaged-food-trend-in-2018
Estimates of Food Surplus and Waste Arisings in the UK: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Estimates_%20in_the_UK_Jan17.pdf
Hard-to-open packs limiting food choices, study suggests: http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/hard-to-open-packs-limitin-food-choices-study-suggests-20-08-2013