Beverage brand owners are exploiting packaging opportunities to deliver a variety of innovative solutions for their brands. Beer, water, wine and the carbonated soft drinks categories have been particularly active over the last twelve months as identified in a new study from UK packaging consultancy ThePackHub.
The report focuses on over 240 packaging innovation ideas. Many of these are smart and intelligent solutions. These R&D developments focus on the latest technological advances and may still take a number of years to come to market. Some adapt existing technologies and knowledge and move the game forward slightly.
Others are new to the world initiatives that really take beverage packaging innovations to another level. Some of the packaging innovations we’ve spotted include a beer bottle cap from Beck’s with a 360 degree lens for taking pictures, a smart packaging application that activates LED lights when consumers interact and a smart cap device that reminds consumers to stay hydrated.
Another area showing good growth is around sustainability as brands aim to gain competitive advantage, consumer acceptance and improve the environment through the implementation of ecologically focused packaging. Digital print has also opened up opportunity for beer and carbonated soft drink brands to create, in some instances, millions of uniquely designed packs to improve shelf stand out.
The beverage packaging innovation market is brown down into the following key themes:
- Added Functionality – packs that deliver extra capability to improve value for consumers
- Sustainability – meeting brand owners’ requirements for more eco-friendly packaging
- Active & intelligent – packaging that uses the latest technological advancements to deliver ground-breaking and sometimes disruptive solutions
- Innovative format – a new way of presenting product that meets an unmet consumer need
- On the go – packaging that facilities on the move consumption. Very important in the beverage category
- Consumer interaction – packaging innovation that encourages consumers to interface with the product
- Product preservation – packaging that improves shelf life or keeps product fresher for longer
- Pack security & anti counterfeit – solutions that improve tamper evidence, make the pack safer or make it more difficult for fake brands to operate
- Shelf impact – packaging that disrupts the shelf and/or encourages shoppers to take a second look
- Alternative pack format – packs normally seen in other categories help to create a point of difference for a beverage brand
[Paul Jenkins is Managing Director of ThePackHub]