How to Safeguard the Future of Packaging Industry?

Here, the industry needs to make a decision, as technology and E-Commerce solutions have changed the business scenarios in the world. Therefore, the packaging industry must find a path that will not only help survive but also safeguard the planet.

The Challenges for the Packaging Industry

Packaging has been taken for granted not only by the manufacturers but also the packaging companies. No one got the notice in the past that its role has been effective for promoting the business when there is no other plan of marketing. Having a strong and iconic symbol of a specific brand with other information on the custom packaging box evokes your feelings.

For example, how will you feel when you have the packaging box of the latest iPhone model? But even then, the manufacturers did not accept its importance in the past. And when the industry is under pressure due to the great impact of E-Commerce solutions, environmental issues, and many other relevant issues, the industry experts and manufacturers find a direction that can evolve it.

However, the concept of making it the marketing tool is a new one, as previously, the manufacturers had been using packaging only for transiting the product safely and securely to the end-user. However, they identified that that packaging helps them develop first-time contact that will improve their branding, create a difference, awareness, and loyalty among customers.

Factually, for preparing a product, the manufacturers invest a lot. However, when they plan about packaging, they consider only safe transit. However, the packaging can be more than important for you than the branding itself. Moreover, the product inside becomes less essential, as if a customer is choosing your product for the first time, he does not know the quality. But, the issue of the environment and the company source ingredients have created some hurdles for the industry. Additionally, some unboxing videos on social media have been devastating to the industry.

Packaging For A Manufacturing Industry

The packaging is a need of every sector of every industry. No manufacturing industry can survive without packaging, whether you are selling a nuclear reactor or french fries. So, how can someone claim that packaging will be obsolete?

The fact is that you cannot disassociate packaging with brands. For example, do you ever imagine that your iPhone will be delivered to you without packaging? In many cases, packaging works as a signature tone, as when you find it, you start exciting. So, once your packaging has captured the mind, it becomes difficult to disassociate it with the product, customer, and collective memories.

Sustainable Packaging Solutions

As described earlier, the packaging is an integral part of any manufacturing unit, so it confirms that living without it is not possible in the upcoming decades. The figures and statistics also confirm. According to packaging experts, the packaging market is at around $1 trillion in 2020, which was at $839 billion in 2015. it is the confirmation that packaging marketing is escalating even when negative marketing still exists. However, this negative marketing is only due to the materials that the packaging industry is using. There are five major materials, which are normally preferred. These are rigid plastic, grassy plants, paper, board, cans, and flexible plastic. All these materials are contributing to recycled materials and waste. In this situation, making sustainable companies is a task that the packaging industry needs to perform. Many companies have already started using those materials, which help reduce waste. They have also done a lot for introducing a circular economy by producing lightweight products.

However, the industry needs to address it on a large scale. With cardboard, corrugated, and Kraft, it is easy. But some companies use plastic packaging. This type of packaging creates issues for the industry. However, they can change the material if they find a substitute that can provide their products with the same protection and safety. Moreover, the use of plastic has been minimized in those cities and countries where it is banned by their governments. So, to control it, the governments also need to contribute. According to some stats, plastic produces about eight million tonnes of waste in a year. Moreover, only 14% of the total material can be recycled. These reasons have made the use of plastic for packaging difficult, and now, the packaging companies are shifting themselves towards recycled and reusable packaging materials.

Tech Innovations

However, technology and digitization are some other threats that are pushing the packaging industry towards more complicated products, which can be more secure, protected, and tracked. Adopting this technology is an uphill task but for the survival, packaging industry should consider it. For example, 3D printing has transformed the whole world, so it is not favorable for the packaging industry to survive with that.

The Bottom Line

After adopting technology, it is also essential to inform your customers about the changes that the industry has initiated and implemented in the packaging companies. Moreover, the interaction with their customers will be improved by adopting these changes. All accept that the packaging industry is facing challenges. However, if the packaging companies are ready to accept the challenges, we assure that it will not only survive but also become a major ingredient in developing and implementing the marketing strategy.