38
MAR 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
But individuality and differentiation are highly popular not only
amongupmarket brands, asagrowing throngof drinksmanufacturers
aremarketing theirmineralwaterand lemonadeadditionally insmaller,
0.5 litre returnable bottles to appeal to smaller households. Or they
sell their product in elegant faceted bottles to improve their chances
of selection by high-class restaurants, for example.
The benefits notwithstanding, lavish packages do have their
drawbacks.Thegreater the individualityandcomplexityof theproduct’s
packaging, the more elaborate and expensive its production. The
higher production costs are ultimately passed on to the customer in
higher prices – a point that consumer activists often criticise.What is
more, elaborate production methods and disposable bottles burden
the environment. Tominimise the impact, some countries have set in
some cases ambitious targets for bottle reuse.
Germany, for example,wants toachievean80percent reuse rate,
although this has fallen since 2004 from two thirds to 45 percent. At
the same time, the quantity of waste from one-way drinks packages
has since increased by 30 percent. According to current statistics
from the German Federal Government, package consumption rose
from roughly 465,000 tonnes to 600,300 tonnes in 2014. Retailers
andmanufacturers are regarded as the instigators of this single-use
boom. In the mineral water sector particularly, price wars are taking
place in drinksmarkets and supermarkets, but the special offers only
workwith single-usebottles, as the collection, cleaningand refillingof
plastic bottles is a costly process. Among other things, politicians are
thereforedemanding thedevelopmentof thesingle-usedeposit intoan
environmental steeringchargeonone-waypackagesand theextension
of the obligatory deposit to juices and nectars.
Demand forResource-efficientPackagingTechnology
Packagingmanufacturers are also under an obligation. They have to
achieve thebalancingactof spectacularlypresenting thepackagewith
a consumer-friendly design while conserving rawmaterials and thus
easing theburdenon theenvironment. The requirements that have to
bemet bypackagingmachinesare thereforebecomingmoreexacting
aswell. “Treatingnatural resources responsiblyanddoingbusiness in
an environment-friendlyway have high priority amongmanufacturers
of food processing machines and packaging machines. They know
that sustainable production processes are hugely important for their
customers,” says Vera Fritsche, expert at the VDMA (Mechanical
Engineering Industry Association) association for food processing
machinesandpackagingmachines. Intelligent control andautomation
technology and energy-saving drives, compressors, fans and pumps
In the beverage sector, the packaging industry has
to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, consumers
expect individually designed packages, if possible with
supplementary functions. And secondly, increasingly
eco-minded drinks consumers are showing a growing
thirst for resource-conserving containers manufactured
with environmentally compatible methods. The industry
achieves thisbalancingactwithnewpackagingstrategies
andefficient productionequipment.
It is no longer enough for guests to bring their host a bottle of
wine, sparklingor otherwise. The latest trend ingift packages involves
celebrating the act of giving and stimulating the emotions with new
materialsandfinishes.Thecompanies in thissegmentdevelopcartons,
folding boxes, baskets, wooden crates, decorative items and carrier
bagsso that giftsmakeabig impression.Bottlesofwinearepresented
in exclusive gift boxes with the feel and appearance of real wood. Or
thepackagescomewith intriguingextra features–suchasaminiature
lampshade foreasilyconverting theemptybottle intoadecorative table
lamp. Exclusivityanddiversityareall-important as far asgift packages
are concerned.
What applies to this packaging segment is evident throughout the
beveragesmarket:selling justwineandbeer instandardbottles ishardly
capable of inspiring consumers any more. The selection of alcoholic,
mixedand flavoureddrinks and thus of ornate bottles aswell has now
become so vast that the consumer can afford to be choosy. Anyone
who wants to take the consumer’s fancy has to have a product that
stands out of the crowd at first glance. “There is a growing emphasis
on packaging aesthetics – and hence on the emotions – and this is
increasingly important in goods consumption. In a complexworld, this
appliesall themore, as it saves time if decisionsare takennot rationally
but intuitively,” says Andreas Steinle of the Zukunftsinstitut (Future
Institute), a think tank for trendand future research.
TopTrends: Individuality andDifferentiation
For example, the mineral water brand evian, which is owned by
DanoneWaters, goes tohuge lengths tohighlight theuniquenessof its
products.For itsprestigiousplasticbottles, itexploits thenewpackaging
technology
1
, apackaging innovation that usesspecialisedadhesives to
join the individual PETbottles together in such away that they can be
individuallypositionedand later released from theotherswithease. In the
designfield,Danone isalsogoingunusualways.Since2008,evianhas
issuednineLimitedEditionsofmineralwaterbottlesstyledbywell-known
fashiondesigners. In2016, theAmericancouturierAlexanderWanghas
taken up the barcode as a package theme and rendered it with black-
and-white stripeson theglassbottles. The spacesbetween the stripes
and the purist design are intended to express evian’s natural purity.
PackagingTechnologyandDesign
ThePerfectBlendof IndividualityandEfficiency
