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Difficulty opening tinned food drives need for innovative packaging

A new study from market research company Canadean has found that one in five consumers consider tinned food to be difficult to open.

Canadean surveyed 2,000 British consumers in October 2014 about their attitudes to packaging in different food categories and of those surveyed, 22 percent of respondents find tinned food difficult to open. Young adults are the most frustrated when it comes to opening these products with 28 percent of 25 to 34 year olds saying that they find tinned food difficult to open. This compares to only 16 percent of over 55s.

“Consumers want instant convenience, particularly young adults looking for a quick lunch or dinner solution,” says senior analyst at Canadean, Ronan Stafford. “While there’s a minimal amount of time saved between opening a food can, and opening a bag or a pouch, young consumers simply don’t want the hassle of finding a tin opener or struggling with a ring pull.”

Stafford says that in addition to studying consumer perceptions of different packaging, Canadean also tracked the influence of different motivators when it comes to what consumers eat. In 2013, British consumers selected over £8 billion worth of food because it was the most convenient product.

“Consumers feel increasingly time-scarce and stressed, which makes 30 seconds saved in the kitchen a big deal. While food cans will remain a staple of supermarket shelves because of their low cost, I expect to see pouches and cartons grow in popularity as an easy to open alternative for office-workers and young families.”

A category that Stafford says is tipped to shift away from cans and into easy open packages is that of ambient fish. Stafford says that demand for pouches in this market will double from 8.7 million packs in 2013, to 15.1 million packs by 2018.

“While pouches’ market share will still be niche compared to the share held by food cans, their rapid growth shows how offering a more convenient pack format can revitalise sales among younger consumer groups,” he says.

“Brands such as Heinz and John West have led the way in developing new pack formats for tinned food, others will quickly follow.”

 

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