A glimpse of food packaging in the future
has been developed in New Zealand. The new-style packaging, which
offers consumers easier opening and businesses the opportunity to
advertise on an everyday product, provides a glimpse of what
packaging in the future might look like, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
As with all clever packaging ideas, the concept is deceptively simple, consumer-friendly and highly functional. "Ninety-five per cent of inventions fail because they just don't solve any real problem," said Graham Duncan, chief executive of developer Snap Pak. This concept does solve problems, which is why our sachets are here to stay.
Duncan claims that the single-serve sachets are suitable for virtually all viscous products, liquids, creams, gels and pastes. "The two main benefits are the easy opening mechanism, requiring just two fingers, and the superior method of delivery that allows a product to be delivered without waste or mess every time," he told FoodProductionDaily.com.
This is achieved by the absence of air inside the sachet. This means that unlike with traditional sachets, the consumer doesn't compress air when dispensing the product, a factor that often results in the product being squirted out onto shirts and tablecloths. In addition, the product is hermetically sealed into the sachet during manufacture ensuring the product remains sterile and unoxidised, allowing for minimal or no addition of preservatives.
On top of its functionality, the new sachet concept appeals to contemporary consumer tastes. Duncan believes that packaging plays a vitally important role in informing consumer choice. Given the opportunity, he says, people will choose a more conveniently packaged product they can trust.
"Packaging needs to be in harmony with its contents and be absolutely user-friendly," he said. "For example, watch the contents of a packet of shrink-wrapped biscuits disintegrate while trying to open them. The good intentions of the manufacturer end up as a nice fresh pile of biscuit crumbs.
"Consumers want something smart and different. Life moves on. Who would consider using an old fashioned, brick shaped cell phone nowadays, when we have miniature mobiles?"
The new sachet design, claims Duncan, is therefore not only practical; it is also smart, funky and simple.
"Consumers want a product to have an aspirational design, be functional and easy to use, and be easy to dispose of," said Mark Caul, packaging technologist for Marks & Spencer. He identifies the need for convenience as a driving influence in food packaging. People are living on their own more, eating in more, and therefore require food that is packaged conveniently.
The other interesting aspect of the Snap Pak concept is the opportunity it provides for businesses to advertise on the flat cardboard side of the packet. Tim Greenhalgh, managing creative director of UK-based design firm Fitch, identifies a major shift in the last 20 years towards packaging as the key brand communication tool, reflecting both the uses of the product and the aspirant values of the consumer.
In a seminar at this year's Total show, Greenhalgh said that packaging in the future needs to be more informative and functional. The challenge, he says, is how to build charm into this, and Duncan believes Snap Pak's sachet concept has this in abundance.
"Our slim line sachets are an ideal platform for displaying brand advertising and product launch sampling at trade shows and exhibitions," he said. "And how about French wine tasting?" Larry Mucha, a former director of Future Technologies at Coca-Cola, also believes that packaging itself is set to become a much more important marketing tool in the future. It will be the means by which manufacturers differentiate their products in what is an increasingly homogenised environment, he says.
"Brands need to find a way to make the consumer pay extra for their product, rather than buying a supermarket own-label product. This is where cutting edge packaging technology can give you the advantage - by packaging your product in a container that keeps food fresher, is resealable and is easier to open and close, you can justify charging a higher price and avoid your product becoming a commodity item."
Snap Pak is therefore confident that the food packaging business will catch on quickly to the new concept. "Our sachets cannot be compared with traditional soft sachets," said Duncan. "The ability to deliver high quality graphics for branding/advertising, combined with ease of use puts Snap Pak in a class of it's own. People will generally pay a trifle extra for convenient delivery and novelty."
