5 Trends that's shaping the Food packaging industry: And Suggestion for Improved production.

In present times, fast food, canned food, Groceries and many other food items that you buy in supermarkets close to you are all packed.

You can easily identify different packaging and attribute them to different companies because of thier distinct designs.

Packaging of products is very common with non perishable food items, and other food items that can last longer than one week or months.

The packaging of all of these items is usually very important and this has transformed the food and beverage industry.

Although the strong growth of the Food Packaging Industry has helped create different concepts, design and also the formation of new Packaging companies.

But there are 4 major trends in the Food Packaging Industry which without argument is shaping the approach to things.

They are listed below:
1. Demand for Sustainability
2. Consumer Trends
3. Technological Innovation
4. Health Challenges

Each of these trends have become common practice and debate in the Food Packaging Industry.

Food packaging companies now give attention to them as they are, in one way or the other, changing the approach to things.

Top of these trends is Sustainability!!

• Demand for Sustainability:

Climate change and environmental control is one of the most recent activities countries and Governing Bodies are paying keen attention towards.

Thanks to the grave consequences of climate change and environmental pollution, the debate for a healthy environment has seen a significant surge.

The Food Packaging Industry without any doubt has its own involvement in the environmental pollution as believed by many environmental activist.

In a publication by Food Security and Food Justice, they stated that

The impacts of the activities of the packaging industry on the environment, both indirect and Direct impact, are evident in toxic chemical pollution water pollution, solid waste pollution Soil Degradation, depletion of natural resources like Trees due to deforestation activities.

All of these impacts are believed to be harmful to the environment in general.

With the amount of population all around the world - truly, it is not sustainable for everyone to eat packed food and there is no strategic planning and process that ensures each pack isn’t harmful to the environment.

This is why the demand for sustainable packaging has increased over time because it is seen as an effective Solution to environmental degradation

• Consumer Trends

Food manufacturing industries are usually concerned about their consumers, which is usually the case.

How their products get perceived by thier customers is usually a big metric food companies pay attention to.

With the Consumer Trend now taking a new turn thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumer demand has increased overtime.

Unlike other times where buying and selling is done in a physical settings: Now with the lockdown, more consumers have now resulted to making thier purchasing decisions online with thier phone’s.

Simply because they don’t have to step out and expose themselves to the virus.

Without any doubt, the demand for food has increased and it has placed Packaging companies on their toes.

Resulting in increased production for different types of packages used in food production and also in the transportation of the food item.

Aside from the consumer preferences in package design, the big throttle that is seen in the food packaging industry is the spike in demand for packages.

Even with the lockdown, the packaging industry is one of the few thriving industry thanks to increased demand for packages.

Without doubt, consumers Trends especially in their Demands and preference has really shaped how packaging companies operates.

In a publication released by Research and Markets, they stated that

Global Packaging Market Size During the Covid-19 Pandemic is Projected to Grow from USD 909.2 Billion in 2019 to USD 1,012.6 Billion by 2021

• Technological Innovation

The innovative solutions created and adopted by many industries in every sector has seen improved efficiency in their operations and production curves.

This trend is also found in the packaging industry. It has become more evident in the production of flexible packaging by many packaging companies all around the world mostly because it is perceived as a sustainable approach to package production.

Asides from its sustainable benefits, flexible packaging is less expensive to produce as it requires cheaper materials to produce it, also it offers great protection to the product packed as well as improved durability.

The innovative solutions made possible by flexible packaging is pivotal to many companies adopting the idea and solutions of flexible packaging.

With Flexible packaging, different packages can be designed to fit any product type and shape.

It helps in reducing production cost, Operation process and also the package material cost.

The innovation of flexible packaging has ensured that the packaging companies have an array of packaging material options.

With that in mind, they can afford to design and produce durable packages whose shape can be easily altered to suit different purposes.

This in no doubt is shaping the food packaging industry and the packaging industry in general.

Many food packaging companies are now looking to adopt the use of flexible packaging solutions in thier day to day production activities.

• Health Challenges:

Production of food packages have now increased tremendously over the years.

With more demand for fast food and online purchases making things now easy, there is a Change in the purchasing decisions of the consumers.

It becomes evident why packaging of food is an important part of the food and beverage industry.

Although there is a clamour for better flexible packaging solutions by many experts and also the debate for Sustainability by some other experts.

Other than these, the health challenges posed by the food packages is probably the crux of every problem faced by the food packaging industry.

With health experts pointing to the risk the packages pose to the human health.

The question in the minds of many concerned authorities is, could there be a better packaging solution that will not pose any threat to the health of consumers?

Experts believe that packaging products pose both long term and short term health challenges to consumers, with emphasis on cardiovascular disease Cancer, Obesity and some other health issues.

All of these are usually associated with the chemicals used to produce the packaging products.

And with the demand for packages on the rise. A solution to curb the threat posed to the health of consumers is now more mportant than producing flexible packaging solutions.

If gotten right, then the fears of many experts like Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician can be alleviated.

He commented that

"If the chemicals used in the production of packaging products can be avoided then the packaging industry is taking a great step forward"

Suggestion for Improved production

The packaging industry is truly shaping up to be an important sector in both US economy and the world at large.

And the Food Packaging section is by every right making great progress too.

Although the Pandemic might have halted economical activities to a large extent at different levels but the packaging industry is thriving even with the pandemic.

This is why it’s important that there are certain improvements made to the Packaging Industry, they include:
1. Sustainable Solutions
2. Improved Health Solutions
3. Availability of more flexible Packaging

With these solutions in place, the packaging industry can produce new design and concept that are durable, environmentally sustainable and Health risk free.

Its unlikely that the demand for packed foods will reduce during the Post COVID-19 pandemic.

Asides from the food packaging industry, there are several other industries that actively produce packaging products for other requirements like health, sports, haulage, etc.

Getting the solutions and the models right will go a long way in shaping the industry to more success.

Conclusion

The demand for packages in general does not look to drop, the is why it’s imperative that better solutions for the Food Packaging Industry and the Packaging Industry at large is developed and implemented.