CONFORMING TO THE NEW NORM

 Packaging - Packaging Design for the New Norm

The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on goods that we used to take for granted. The £700 billion a year packaging industry is no exception. As the world starts to emerge from the public health and economic crisis which has followed, packaging companies are beginning to re-think short & long-term strategies.

Previously, packaging was all about cost, convenience and performance. During lockdown, sustainability took a back seat as companies strove to deal with ever-changing demands and restrictions. The global stay-at-home has resulted in a surge of online orders resulting in increased engagement with e-commerce platforms. Following the emergence from lockdown, consumer preferences have now shifted. There is still a continuing focus on price, but health and hygiene have now become a top priority.

The new norm is now focussed upon sustainability, hygiene and ship-ready e-commerce designs. The shift in priorities has resulted in the packaging industry revising its designs to enable their customers to be future-ready and able to stay ahead of the competition. Packaging already plays a key role in supporting the consumers perception of a brand through look and feel of the materials to helping to contain and protect a product. As the industry moves towards the ‘New Norm’, packaging companies and designers must start to rethink their attitudes and concentrate on the newly emerging demands of the consumer. There are 3 key areas that are the main focus for the packaging industry. These are:

1. Sustainability

Minimal improvements can be made such as educating consumers about recycling through to major modifications such as new substrates allowing packaging to be developed into shapes and forms that makes it easier to recycle. Barrier requirements will be important, such as a multi-substrate pack which allows the consumer to dispose of the outer packaging on receipt revealing a hygienic inner layer underneath. Again, sustainability needs to be given due consideration to this concept.

2. Hygienic Design

Consumer awareness of hygiene and safety have increased dramatically over the past few months. Many customers will clean their products with household disinfectants before any further use. Therefore, the choice of substrates needs to be considered. Research has shown that differing substrates can retain the virus anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours. Exposed surfaces, especially in the food and beverage sector need to be easy-opening, single-use and incorporate peel-off film technology to keep contact areas as hygienic as possible. Tamper-proof packaging is also a requirement to ensure protection from contamination and to give the consumer confidence in the product they are purchasing.

3. E-commerce

The growth in online shopping has meant the requirements for e-commerce packaging are now more important than ever. Products originally designed for retail will now require to be updated to conform with online retail guidelines for shipping. Areas such as preventing product damage, increased productivity from rapid-fill packaging, convenient packaging to return items and an overall improvement in the consumer unboxing experience will need to be taken into consideration.

These 3 key factors are obviously dependant on what happens next. Covid 19 is affecting the world in many different ways and the packaging industry and its designers need to be pro-active to deal with this rapid change. Sustainability has been a major trend for a few years now, but hygiene and e-commerce practicality are now coming to the fore where packaging innovations are concerned.

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