NEW research from Industrial Physics has highlighted the pressures facing packaging professionals and the risks that cannot be overlooked in the ‘race to innovate’.
The international survey of packaging professionals operating in the consumer goods, food and beverage, and medical and pharmaceutical industries found that 96% of packaging decision-makers believe it is important for companies to explore new packaging developments.
The main goals driving change in the sector were revealed as waste reduction, reducing the cost of packaging, and sustainability.
Steve Davis, product line director at Industrial Physics, explains in the report that the environmental efforts are often due to external demand pressures which have been building in the industry.
Last year Industrial Physics released a research report on packaging sustainability, where manufacturers revealed investment in sustainable packaging was driven by the goal to reduce their environmental footprint, reduce waste, and meet consumer demand. This year’s survey results indicate that waste reduction and sustainability remain ‘defining considerations’, with respondents reporting the greatest areas for development in the next five years as material choice, production processes and material reduction.
The latest research also uncovered the three biggest challenges faced in packaging innovation in 2023 are current testing standards; high cost of expertise; and cost of materials.
Greg Wright, chief commercial officer at Industrial Physics, said, “We have recently seen a dramatic increase in the pace of global packaging innovation. As a result, we have seen the positivity of new entrants and fresh ideas, however, this change has also highlighted the enormous risk we face if challenges vocalised are not addressed properly.”
The report includes contributions from specialists including John Blake (senior director analyst in packaging engineering and supply chain applications at Gartner), illustrating how the survey results translate into real world examples within a variety of sectors.
Greg Wright added, “We understand the immense pressure that packaging professionals are facing, navigating sustainable customer preferences, budget restraints and changing legislation, however, accelerating packaging innovation cannot come at the cost of ensuring safety for customers. We undertook this research to explore the challenges in more detail, and highlight how overlooking these in the plight for faster innovation could have a detrimental effect on the packaging industry.”
The research concludes with opportunities that respondents identified for innovation in the next five years, including packaging testing processes and equipment; packaging shape; and package coating.
The report is available to download here.
