Heading towards the second half of 2017, we feel it is a good time to speak of the latest trends in packaging industry. Consumer packaging has been booming over the past decade with new solutions appearing on the market every now and then. We can witness over time, how the main focus has shifted towards sustainability and eco-friendly methods of wrapping the products up. Yet, packaging remains the key component in attracting consumers attention to your products.
Latest Packaging Trends 2017
First of all, it’s crucial to mention packaging trends 2017 are directly affected by current consumers behavior. The way customers react to products directly influences package size, shape, design and even the material it is made of. So what are the main trends in our society and how they correlate with packaging?
- New advanced technologies. Technical revolution brings us new opportunities to purchase goods – from a bunch of vegetables to an industrial bagging machine – online. New distribution channels such as online shopping change the purchase chain. Nowadays, customer might only see the picture of the product online and see the packaging for the first time at the moment when the product is delivered to his door. The packaging still needs to be appealing to attract attention even on a picture. Plus digital printing is on the rise, making packaging more impressive from the graphical point of view.
- Globalization and urbanization. Human lifestyles become more hectic, yet more modern. We’re surrounded by gadgets in a daily life which are supposed to simplify it and make things easier for us. Majority of our lives we tend to spend on the go: grab a cup of coffee on the way to work, packed lunch on a mid-day break and take-away dinner in the end of the day. This puts single portion and take-away packaging on top of the list of packaging trends 2017.
- Age of population. World’s aging population is a huge trend especially in pharmaceuticals, however it affects food and beverage packaging too. What are the challenges packaging industry is facing due to the increasing number of elderly people? More emphasis is put on basic functions of the product package like holding and carrying the package. Labeling is another challenge as it’s getting harder for the elderly to read package labels, so the font and the color needs to be adapted as well. Same applies for opening and closing of the package, so that members of this age group don’t have to struggle through the process.
- Traditional values. In certain regions, especially in Asia, consumers really value the packaging as the gifting ceremony takes an important place in the system of their traditional values. This fact gives the opportunity for packaging manufacturers to be creative and bring packaging design to the level of perfection.
- Sustainability. We’ve saved the sustainability factor for last, however it can easily be called the number 1 packaging trend in 2017. Thinking of sustainable, “green” packaging we shouldn’t forget about the main purpose packaging serves. Packaging needs to perform, it should look good and feel good. It can’t be too thin either, otherwise the goods inside will not be sufficiently protected. If a package is too thick, it leads to the waste of resourceful materials. Producing sustainable packaging is a tricky game of finding balance between functionality and environmental impact.
Sustainable Packaging
Sustainable or “green” packaging has become an important topic since many customers now turn towards more healthy eco-friendly lifestyles. You must have noticed yourself, how shelves in the supermarkets are now full of various bio products, which naturally require “bio” packaging. Hence sustainability represents one of the main packaging trends 2017.
“Green” packaging is created from natural or recycled materials, unconventional packaging materials being an inseparable part of this new trend. The latest discovery among newest packaging trends 2017 is beeswax wrapping paper which is a reusable and biodegradable alternative to plastic cling film.
In general, the good old principle Less is more applies to packaging in 2017. Customers turn towards simple packaging, that let’s the product stand out, especially in case of food and beverages. Consumers feel more comfortable to make a purchase in case they know what to expect from the product. So the focus shifted from just creating pretty packaging to designing packaging in order to back up natural qualities of the product.
