Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe once said, "Packaging is the embodiment of the product's soul." With the rapid development of the modern food industry and the emergence of promising technological breakthroughs in related industries, the food packaging industry has been rapidly innovated to meet the changing needs of industrial development. The following content will specifically address packaging innovation drivers, including consumers, customers, costs, suppliers, supply chains, and safety, health, and environmental requirements.
Consumer-driven
The dominant driver of packaging innovation is consumers, and consumer preference for packaging is the main criterion for packaging technology innovation and innovation. Packaging design must be “complete and comprehensive†because the complete packaging does not count toward increasing sales opportunities for the product. The traditional practice in the past was proprietary design. The focus of this design was on how to sell the product rather than how to use the product. At the same time, the product design requirements were limited to the large-scale production on the dedicated production line. Usually, the cost reduction was first considered. Consider consumer demand again. The current packaging strategy adopts a complete design, that is, focusing on consumers, so as to facilitate the use of less capable consumers, and to meet the needs of consumers. At the same time, packaging design also requires the ability to bring consumers Pleasant feelings.
According to the survey data, the average size of medium-sized supermarkets currently is 3,500 square meters, the average number of goods is about 60,000, and the average shopping time of consumers is 35 minutes, so consumers pay attention to each product only 0.035 seconds Bell, 39% of consumers do not have a clear shopping arrangement to visit the supermarket, 75% of the purchase behavior is determined in the store, if you want to make the product successfully sold, the product packaging must have the ability to attract and delight consumers. It can be said that pleasing consumers are a major driving force for packaging innovation design. At the same time, the delivery of points of sale brought about by packaging should be comfortable, healthy and nutritious. The result of the design should be easy to open, product identification is easy to read, full of time-saving, labor-saving, space-saving convenience.
Customer-driven
For customers, the sales function of packaging is a concern that must be valued. Packaging design must be efficient, eye-catching, fast renovation, and deep impression. Efficient requirements, that is, packaging can make products easier to handle and identify in the store and warehouse; shelf space can be effectively used; better information transfer on the shelves; need to fully consider the orientation of the shelves. At the same time, the security of packaging design can not be ignored. According to the survey, 50% of the stores’ damages are caused by cutting and opening the packaging. In the UK alone, about 60,000 employees are injured each year when they open the packaging and need to receive hospital treatment. Efficient packaging design also utilizes RFID technology, which enables high product traceability, better management of costs and prices, improved product safety, and more effective protection of products, resulting in increased customer satisfaction. The latest advances in this technology, including the new RFID controller is more flexible, bending radius of 10mm, the target thickness of 0.1mm (now 0.8mm), passive controller - energy from the reading scanner.
Cost driven
For cost considerations, current manufacturers have new strategies and plans for the selection of packaging materials. According to the current development, some new trends can be observed. For example, the unification of packaging materials can bring benefits, the material weight reduction brings cost and resource savings, and the shift from hard packaging to flexible packaging can bring costs, waste, and resources. Reduced (Compared to hard bagging, empty flexible bagging reduces the burial space by 50%, increases the product volume of each pallet, makes the transportation and storage of the product more efficient before filling; saves energy and raw materials) , The material was replaced, but the gains were non-destructive (innovative design brought a win-win for cooking supplies, the replacement of glass into PET = 89% weight, an increase of 41% capacity, product features have been improved).
Supplier driver
As the change in the shape of the packaging increases, the cost can be saved by a significant amount. By rationally arranging the production process and fully utilizing and expanding the existing technologies, it becomes possible to simplify the operation process. Suppliers can make full use of business opportunities, seek extensive new technology cooperation, increase understanding, and expand cooperation opportunities.
Supply chain drive
In the supply chain, through efficient distribution systems, efficient packaging and distribution are achieved, product damage is reduced, and suppliers and manufacturers should share responsibility for reducing the amount of packaging materials. At the same time, more efficient three-dimensional packaging is used, so that the product size is optimized to a fixed value to effectively use the packaging (such as pallets). It can be seen that the packaging field is facing severe regional challenges. The current reality is that the benefits and costs are mutually restrictive. Although the reduction of composite materials can reduce costs, the shortened product shelf life caused by the product is also not worth the candle. Therefore, it is highly effective. The role of the supply chain system will be highlighted, which will facilitate the simplification of the cost of packaging materials.
Health and environmental protection
In the aspect of health and environmental protection of packaging materials, the solutions Nestlé always strives to seek include: making the weight of the package lightest and the amount of materials used the least; considering new packaging materials and processes to reduce the adverse impact on the environment; avoiding the use of packaging in the production and processing Substances that adversely affect the environment; reduce the entire process (including packaging production, use, and disposal) of packaging waste from cattle production; increase the use of recyclable materials as much as possible; enhance the recyclability of product packaging and packaging and existing waste products Management program consistency.
American retailers place great emphasis on the environmental protection of their incoming products. Wal-Mart will purchase more than 400 kinds of organic food this summer, “and it is purchased at Wal-Mart's own price,†said Stephen Quinn, deputy market assistant at Walmart.
At present, feasible areas for packaging innovation include: lightweight materials; simple single-function barrier materials; renewable materials, such as biodegradable materials, to maximize the final decomposition of the material, minimizing the amount of residuals; during production, storage, and distribution The low-energy solution I maximizes energy recovery from waste. Experts in the international packaging industry are committed to research and development in the above-mentioned areas in order to eventually promote the rapid and healthy development of the entire industry.