Trends in the packaging industry for the 2020s are designated by consumer needs, buzz-words, development of technology, regulations, market needs, and costs. Quite often these factors are contradictory, making managers’ and scientists’ jobs difficult. Partners of the FreshInPac project, as well as Natureef association members, are among those who struggle with these challenges.
Michal Pestka, Director of the Packaging Division at laboratory J.S. Hamilton Poland S.A. speaks with packaging producers on a daily basis. The company he works for provides a wide range of specialized analytical and testing services for traders, retailers, producers, industry, transport, distribution, and storage. What is the buzzword in the industry in his opinion?
– Each of the clients I have met with in the last few months had been asked by their customers (from the food or cosmetics industry) for “eco-friendly” solutions (no matter whether they are really sustainable in every case).
– Reduction of plastic, focus on plastic mono-materials for recycling, replacement of plastic by renewable raw materials, especially by paper-based packaging – points out Klaus Pähler when asked about the specific trends in the industry for the next few years. Mr. Pähler is a Project Manager at Pacarto GmbH and has 20+ years’ experience in the business. His company is focused on paperboard and corrugated board in terms of design, marketing analysis, and product implementation.
Krzysztof Janiak, Managing Director of CDM, one of the leading manufacturers of film packaging in Poland reminds us that, in 2018, the European Commission issued a regulation indicating that by 2025 and then 2030 accordingly, the amount of packaging waste has to drop significantly. Simultaneously, much more waste has to be recycled: – This regulation is a clear sign for all EU countries, including Poland, and encourages all main market players to make changes. Retail networks, for example, declared actions leading to diminishing the amount of packaging materials they use. Therefore packaging (especially plastic) will undergo design and construction changes. Multi-material types will be replaced by mono-material to make it more recyclable. The mass, thickness, and amount of material will be reduced. Another trend is using biodegradable (and sometimes also compostable) materials. However, as they are globally produced in just about 1 to 100 ratio compared to plastics, they are up to four times more expensive , and its carbon footprint is often higher.
– Many companies want to switch to biodegradable packaging for their products. But when they realize how much it costs, the idea fails to turn into reality because it becomes evident that the final customer will not pay so much for the product. The other thing is a limited possibility for using recycled paper and plastic in the production of food packaging. All these factors make the problem really complex – adds Michal Pestka.
Scientists see similar tendencies; according to Dr. Pramod V. Mahajan from the Dept. of Horticultural Engineering at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering & Bioeconomy, among the trends to look for currently are sustainable materials which include biodegradable or compostable materials as well as recyclable packaging materials. However, they are usually significantly more expensive than relatively inexpensive plastic. Packaging has many positive effects on the shelf life of produce, e.g. leafy vegetables and other perishable fruits which definitely need protection in terms of stable packaging. Then, there are products that actually require no or only limited packaging such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, apples, pears, bananas or oranges. This means we need to take a step back and only pack the products that really need packaging, and by using the minimum possible amount of packaging material and less complex packaging design, or at least a monolayer material.
Dr. Marius Arz of the Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung admits that recyclable and bio-based packaging materials are a hot topic, stimulated by the current eco-political developments, and there is great movement in this field: – However, we still have to overcome major hurdles related to the implementation of these materials used routinely as our commodity packages in a truly ecological way, especially considering reasonable disposal and reprocessing.
Dr. Arz underlines that intelligent packages, which enable better control of supply chains and allow the consumer to interact with the package, are becoming more and more affordable and will play an important role, particularly in the emerging area of e-commerce. There is also significant progress in the area of active packaging, where the package can control its inner environment in order to extend the shelf life of a specific product to the maximum, thereby reducing food waste.
To come away from plastic entirely and obtain sustainability seems to be the number one trend for Dr. Filip Tintchev, Product Manager Food Packaging at McAirlaid’s – a company considered to be the biggest airlaid manufacturer in the world. But according to him, the whole thing is much more complicated: – although we make some developments in paper-based products, the question is if there are only positive sides of the trend? For example, mold grows faster on paper than plastic packaging, therefore, the shelf life of fresh products (i.e. fruits, meat) in paper is shorter, which leads to food waste that can be even worse for the environment than dealing with plastic. You have to see the whole picture.
– Apart from our main duties, we deal with buzz-words and myths regarding packaging. I believe that education and popularization of fact-based discussion will help us reach our goal, which is to create access to a wide knowledge base, contacts, and to enable information exchange, to create new products and services – says Jasmina Solecka, president of Natureef Association, an organization that brings together Polish leaders in the packaging, chemical, and food production sectors, who introduce new technologies, implement joint research and development projects, and care for the natural environment.
All individuals and institutions mentioned above are involved in a project called: Active packaging for Fresh Food Market (FreshInPac) under CORNET (short for Collective Research Networking, a transnational funding network that supports the implementation of international research projects in favor of small- and medium-sized enterprises). The project assumes that multifunctional packaging materials with tailored active functionality (ethylene scavenging; release of plant-based antimicrobials; water vapor condensation control) will be developed to extend the shelf‐life and to maintain the safety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. FreshInPac Project is co-financed by NCBiR under the CORNET initiative.
