New trends for the packaging of sweets

The packaging stands in direct context to the product more than any other advertising material. It generates brand identity and sets trends. So, authenticity is particularly important here. The significance of the packaging design as a means of distinction has increased strongly over the past years, because in the meantime there is an incredible variety of sweets on the shelves.

Presenting the brand

It is above all the premium brands that strive to appeal to the senses with a clear design, haptic characteristics and striking embellishments directly on the shelves. The focus is on the selection of colours and materials as well as on the design. However, in today's era of sustainability and transparency, visual appearance is long since not everything. “Today's consumers display high awareness for well-being and the environment”, confirmed LuAnn Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights. It is thus no surprise to her that the consumers are placing more importance on the intelligent usage of resources, for instance in the form of bio-degradable and renewable packaging. The desired goal is a closed loop across the value chain and some of the innovative packaging already achieves this. The packing manufacturers exhibiting in Cologne continuously strive to reduce the raw materials consumption down to a minimum.

The thinner and lighter, the better

Light-weight folding boxes are long since not the only prime examples for material saving all-rounders. Foil solutions that reduce the material consumption down to a minimum are increasingly joining the ranks of the hitherto most successful team in terms of sustainability. Market experts are expecting the global demand for plastic pouch packaging in the food section to increase up to around 4.2 percent a year on average by 2025. This trend goes hand in hand with the strong demand of the consumers for products that are packed in a practical manner. Intuitive handling when opening and closing the packaging is just one aspect that the designers have to consider. From this point of view doypacks are one of the especially dynamic growth segments. They are resealable, compact, lightweight, non-breakable and make ideal to-go companions. Primarily snacks such as vegetable chips and nuts, but also filled chocolates and seasonal items are more and more frequently being packed in doypacks. Biobased foils, the polymers of which are gained from sugar cane ethanol or milk proteins, reduce the usage of fossil raw materials. New customising technologies and intelligent packing material combinations are also being introduced. They enable doybacks made completely without the use of aluminium and which can be produced from a digitally imprintable paper compound.

Individuality is in

In principal, also in the sweets industry the following applies: Mass-produced goods are out, individuality is in! It is above all the Millennials, who pick up products from the snacks and sweets shelves, which suit their personal lifestyle. The more individual the packing, the more likely the young consumers are to pick up the product at the point of sale and inspect it more closely. For instance, printers are able to produce customer-specific labels for sweets. Thanks to digital printing it will also be possible for small and medium-sized sweets manufacturers to design their products much more creatively. In this way, smaller and medium-sized volumes of high-quality folding boxes can be imprinted on high-performance digital printing machines, the quality of which is almost on a par with that of offset machines.

Source: ProSweets Cologne (27 – 30.01.2019)