Packaged variety

 
Study Today's retailers not only demand attractive, sales-promoting packaging, but also easy handling.  
EHI, ProCarton and the Pan-European Association of Designer Agencies (PDA) presented the entire complexity of modern retail packaging in five different subject areas at the Interpack trade fair. In competence islands, the exhibitors presented solutions on the topics of sustainability (disposal, environment and sustainability), convenience (functionality and design), consumer insights (effects of demographic change, emotionality and multi-sensory), imagination (design aesthetics and point of sale, efficient handling and customer-oriented presentation). In addition, EHI conducted a survey of leading companies in the retail, consumer goods and packaging industries on behalf of Messe Düsseldorf for the study "Packaging as a field of tension, expectations, trends and areas of conflict from the perspective of retailers and manufacturers" and presented the results in a special show at Interpack.
Transport packaging more importantThe importance of packaging, both product and transport packaging, has increased significantly in recent years. The respondents are unanimous, particularly with regard to product packaging. Those who deal with transport packaging as a shelf carton also attribute increasing importance to it. Today, packaging no longer functions solely as a protective and transport instrument, but also fulfills additional tasks and expectations due to increased process thinking on the one hand and its increasing function as a marketing and communication instrument on the other.
Different demandsThe retail sector demands efficient handling to optimize work processes in logistics and at the point of sale. However, according to the study, the demands in logistics and retail stores are sometimes conflicting.
In logistics, optimum protection and transportability and therefore a stable design are crucial. In the retail outlet, easy handling means that the transport packaging of the respective goods is easy for the sales staff to identify by means of clear labeling with product-specific information, can be opened easily and without a knife by means of pictorial labeling of opening mechanisms and, if possible, can be put away on the shelf with a single movement. At the point of sale, the packaging should offer a sales-promoting product presentation with a clear view of the products. Retailers expect not only an attractive design for product presentation, but also a shelf-ready construction. In addition, independent retailers in particular are critical of the use of transport packaging on the shelf for image reasons. As a result, retailers can hardly agree on uniform criteria, a demand that manufacturers producing throughout Europe are urgently making.
Senior-friendly packagingThe customer-friendly design of sales packaging also involves various areas of conflict. Due to the large amount of necessary information, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to recognize it. Packaging is often overloaded with information, so that the fonts are getting smaller and smaller and the essentials, such as the best-before date, are barely recognizable. The consumer demand trend for smaller packaging units, environmental reasons and space problems on the retail shelf show that larger packaging is no solution. Opening aids integrated into the packaging, such as tear tabs, must be easily recognizable to the consumer, stand out from the rest of the packaging design in terms of colour and, above all, function well. Other innovative functionalities such as resealability, dosing function, portioning and removal aids are becoming increasingly important. Sales packaging should also be well sealed for product and hygiene protection, but still be easy for the consumer to open without any aids. Due to the increase in the number of older people, expectations of packaging are increasingly under discussion. Difficulties in recognizing graphics and text on packaging, as well as problems in opening it without aids, often give rise to criticism. Questions of packaging technology and packaging design are therefore becoming increasingly important for senior-friendly and generally customer-friendly design.
Taking environmental aspects into accountThe development of the importance of environmental aspects along the packaging value chain is assessed differently. Most take the view that consumers' environmental awareness has increased significantly, particularly as a result of the current climate debate, while others believe that Germany has already come a long way in terms of environmental issues and packaging requirements. Environmentally friendly packaging should use as little material as possible but as much as necessary in order to find the optimum balance between product protection, convincing marketing, legal requirements and environmental justice. This is an idea that has led to significant reductions in transport packaging, whereas in primary product packaging, marketing aspects and therefore excess often continue to dominate.
Sabine Flaxman