Certainly, the packaging industry faces a delicate balancing act—navigating cost pressures while ensuring consumer satisfaction and environmental responsibility. Let's delve into three strategic approaches that can help companies adapt to these challenges:
1. Embed Design Efficiency to Secure Savings:
- Operational efficiencies play a crucial role in mitigating manufacturing costs. By optimizing packaging designs, companies can achieve both cost savings and environmental benefits.
- Consider downgauging or removing surplus material to reduce overall packaging weight. This not only lowers costs but also minimizes the environmental footprint.
- Address the rise of e-commerce by minimizing void in transit packaging. Streamlining outer packaging is essential.
- Flexible packaging, as an economical alternative to rigid plastics, is gaining traction. In home care and beauty, refill pouches offer value for money and resonate with price-conscious consumers in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
2. Diversify Pack Sizing:
- Brands must tailor pack sizes to consumer preferences and budgets. Reducing pack sizes maintains an accessible retail unit price point.
- Shrinkflation—where products decrease in size while maintaining the same price—requires careful management. Brands need to balance downsizing with consumer expectations.
- Conversely, consider upsizing through bundling, multipacks, and bulk buy options. This approach provides better price per ml/g and encourages consumption.
- Upsizing isn't limited to food and drink; even premium beauty brands are adopting this strategy. For instance, Ouai offers larger refill pouches alongside its regular plastic bottles.
3. Circularity: A Driving Force in Packaging Development:
- Despite elevated costs, sustainable packaging remains critical. Brands with sustainability claims outperformed their counterparts in 2022 sales.
- Policymakers and consumers are pushing for reduced environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Circular packaging—designed for reuse, recycling, or composting—can enhance a brand's reputation and contribute to long-term success.
In summary, understanding consumer needs, optimizing design, and embracing sustainability are key to thriving in the ever-evolving packaging landscape.
Comments