The packaging industry is undergoing a period of rapid transformation. Evolving consumer expectations, environmental sustainability goals, regulatory requirements, supply chain disruptions, and extreme competition within the market are requiring brands to differentiate and accelerate innovation. But while this disruption is taking place, manufacturers cannot lose sight of the critical considerations that must be made around quality, safety, and cost when developing new packaging. 

Packaging innovation is an exciting frontier with opportunities on multiple levels – from material choice to production processes and other technological innovations, such as smart packaging, there are various elements at play that have the power to inspire radical change. However, in order to fully realize the benefits of these options, there are adaptations that thriving brands, manufacturers, and the wider industry as a whole will need to make. These include considerations surrounding testing and standards to support both the development and adoption of new materials, as well as sharing information and shifting attitudes to new packaging approaches.

To better understand the current state of packaging innovation and the impact for packaging and material manufacturers, Industrial Physics surveyed 284 packaging manufacturing decision-makers in the consumer goods, food and beverage, and medical and pharmaceutical industries. In this report, you’ll learn what these professionals believe is driving packaging innovation, gain insight into the biggest challenges the industry is facing, and discover what the greatest opportunities for future innovation are. 

This report also includes insights from a global network of technical experts who have provided additional insight from their first-hand experience into how manufacturers can implement and innovate with packaging while protecting the integrity of their brands and products through appropriate packaging testing and inspection.

The top goals for packaging innovation are waste reduction (57%), reducing the cost of packaging (55%), sustainability (55%).

Considerations surrounding cost play a critical role in almost every aspect of packaging - this is why it remains one of the chief drivers of innovation, according to 55% of packaging decision makers. When it comes to budget constraints regarding R&D, the biggest obstacles were highlighted as the allocation of budget to other departments (53%), profit margin (52%) and the difficulty of justifying ROI (52%).

When ranking the importance of innovation goals, reducing waste and the cost of packaging were ranked number one and two, respectively. And more environmentally focused goals like recyclability and sustainability were ranked third and fourth. This suggests that even innovation objectives that appear to be focused around sustainability on the surface, such as waste or energy reductions, can often be driven by cost rather than a desire to lower the carbon footprint for environmental motivations.

The biggest differences noted when comparing innovation goals across industries sat within medical devices/pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, these areas placed more importance on recyclability and less on waste reduction. One reason recyclability might be a priority for pharmaceuticals is that finding new materials that can satisfy both environmental criteria and demanding safety regulations is a challenge. Recyclability allows the industry to use already tried and tested materials like aluminum, which is easily recyclable and can meet regulatory requirements.

Cost considerations trickle down into all aspects of packaging innovation, especially in deciding which materials to use. The cost of materials was rated as the top challenge for manufacturers by a wide margin – 20% more than the next biggest challenge (manufacturing/production complexities).

Packaging innovation goals by industry

Packaging innovation goals when ranked by industry

In addition to the material cost, manufacturers must factor in other cost considerations, such as production and transportation. Materials like glass are a lot heavier than plastic - they cost more money to transport and require more energy to produce. This is one of the key reasons it’s been hard for manufacturers to break away from using plastic in packaging, despite growing consumer and regulatory pressure to do so.

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Plastic can be produced so cheaply, and many businesses factor that into operations – this results in the cost implications of moving to more sustainable alternatives breaking down their business model.

Toby Lane
Product and Applications Manager
Industrial Physics

Consumer preferences, government regulations, and a desire to do the right thing in the face of climate change are driving manufacturers to look for more sustainable packaging options. Currently, 81% of consumers say they want sustainable packaging options, with 50% saying they’re willing to pay more, according to a new study by Protega Global.

In a previous survey conducted by Industrial Physics, over half (55%) of respondents said sustainability was a top goal for packaging innovation. In our report last year, Global Outlook of Sustainable Packaging, manufacturers noted that they were primarily investing in sustainable packaging to reduce their environmental footprint (65%), reduce waste (50%), and meet consumer demand (49%).

This year, recyclability has increased in importance, being ranked as a top area for investment by 60% of respondents. According to Steve Davis, Product Line Director at Industrial Physics, this focus is often due to external pressure. “Consumers, and lobby groups that speak for the consumer, are driving the industry toward endlessly recyclable packaging,” he notes.

Other areas of investment for innovation also focus on sustainability, such as reducing waste (58%), biodegradable material (47%), reducing the use of plastic (43%), reuse/reliability (38%), and light weighting (35%).

Packaging innovation goals by industry

Manufacturers continue to transition away from single-use plastics in favor of more sustainable materials. Last year, 65% of respondents said they were reducing plastic. This year, 90% of respondents said they had either reduced or replaced plastic (57%) or flexible plastic (33%) in the past five years. The top material choices replacing plastic are biodegradable plastics (58%), organic materials (54%) or paper (43%).

While it varies by material type, sustainability was often the top reason for replacement, especially when dealing with plastic materials. Cost was another important consideration for material replacements, especially for cardboard, glass, and aluminum.

In the food and beverage industry, metal packaging has grown significantly, likely due to an increased focus on sustainability and the desire to eliminate plastic packaging.

“There is a negative consumer narrative against plastic in all forms, so the beverage industry is reacting to that narrative,” says Davis. He notes that he’s seeing this manifest in the metal packaging industry, where there has been a transition from PET containers to metal cans and bottles.

According to CRU, aluminum consumption from the packaging sector will increase from 7.2 Mt in 2020 to 10.5 Mt in 2030, driven mainly by the rise in popularity of canned drinks in North America, Europe, and China.

Packaging’s primary duty is to protect products during transit, extend their shelf life, and provide branding and marketing opportunities. To meet these objectives, packaging must maintain a high level of integrity. So, it’s hardly surprising that ensuring the quality (70%) and safety of packaging (61%) were cited as the primary motivators for packaging innovation, even more so than reducing the cost of packaging (52%) or sustainability (52%).

However, in a disruptive environment with new materials, technologies, and processes constantly being introduced, it has become a significant challenge for manufacturers to innovate while developing new test methods and associated standards that allow packaging integrity to be maintained.

According to our survey, the high cost of expertise (62%) was the biggest challenge in testing new types of packaging. Limited testing facilities (48%), a lack of in-house expertise (38%), and current testing methods no longer applicable to new materials (36%) were other challenges manufacturers faced when testing to ensure the quality and safety of new packaging.

When evaluating the cost of packaging innovation, the entire packaging lifecycle must be part of the equation.

Developing new and innovative packaging is a complex and multifaceted process shaped by various factors. In this section, we’ll look at the biggest influences driving innovation and explore the various motivations at play.

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When talking about sustainable materials, it’s not enough to think about whether a material is biodegradable. We have to factor in the cost of material in terms of transportation weight, production energy, food safety approval, and other related challenges.

Toby Lane
Product and Applications Manager Industrial Physics

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The top challenges in packaging innovation are the cost of materials (56%), manufacturing/ production complexities (36%), and supply chain issues (33%). While none of these challenges are easily solvable, the manufacturing and production challenges may be the most difficult for manufacturers to address.

For example, issues surrounding coatings and labeling can become complex when switching materials. “Inks coating systems that are used to produce a can have been meticulously fine-tuned to meet brand colors, so when switching to paper bottles from aluminum, the same coating system is no longer available with a change of substrate. Understandably, this can cause issues.” says Jessica Tuynman, Application Specialist at Industrial Physics.

If we consider some of the world’s biggest beverage brands, the color, style, and overall branding that appears on packaging is truly iconic – trying to replicate this across different packaging mediums when switching to alternative materials throws a whole new set of challenges into the mix.

Adopting innovative packaging solutions poses numerous challenges for manufacturers in relation to testing and associated standards. According to 71% of packaging decision-makers, testing standards are a significant challenge.

As to why testing standards cause so many headaches, 42% of respondents cited a lack of suitable testing standards. And when asked about the biggest challenges their company faces with innovation – nearly a quarter (23%) also cited limited testing capability. 

Additionally, 40% of respondents said they lacked the appropriate standards, 39% said they struggled with outdated standards, and 32% said their technology was unequipped to meet testing standards. Another 26% said they had difficulty understanding or interpreting those standards when it came to testing.

The use of internal standards also makes testing more challenging than for those using industry, government/national, and international standards. While 57% indicated current testing standards were a significant challenge, those using industry or government standards expressed slightly less concern across the board, with 52% highlighting this challenge. Vendors (38%) and international standards (37%) presented the least difficulties.

“The drive to reduce plastic packaging is not a brand new concept in our industry, however at Gartner, we predicted just over a year ago that 90% of public sustainable packaging commitments will not be met by 2025 due to reliance on plastics and single use packaging. There are a number of reasons why well-intended corporate efforts to establish sustainable packaging are not progressing. For example, most kinds of plastics are not broadly recyclable, and even if they were – the recycling infrastructure and the aftermarket for recycled materials are far from mature. 

Therefore, the overwhelming amount of packaging today is not technically recyclable or is not widely recycled in practice. One solution to this is for organizations, on a precompetitive level, to come together and scale innovative recycling methods and packaging solutions, for example by collaborating via an industry association. The Consumer Goods Forum provides “Golden Design Rules” for optimal plastic design, production and recycling, and How2recycle provides member organizations with harmonized labelling to improve package recycling.”, explains John Blake, Senior Director Analyst of Gartner Supply Chain.

Material choice (71%), the technology available for manufacture (58%), and light weighting of packaging (48%) were cited as the biggest opportunities for packaging innovation today.

Manufacturers are continuously striving to find more sustainable, eco-friendly materials that have the power to replace traditional plastics and other less sustainable materials. New materials can include the use of bioplastics made from renewable resources, as well as the development of biodegradable, compostable, or easily recyclable materials.

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PCR (Post Consumer recycled) material is another choice that is definitely an option in today’s packaging world. We find PCR particularly valuable in use cases where other materials either aren’t suitable, are not efficient enough or ultimately are not economically sustainable.

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Lara Botta
VP
Botta EcoPackaging

Sustainable quality of materials (55%), cost-effectiveness (51%), and durability (50%) were cited as the top three material-related opportunities when it comes to packaging innovation. “Cost is definitely an issue we find when it comes to selecting materials,” says Botta. “We also find it a challenge to source the volume of bio material that we need, especially in the food sector where the quantities required are particularly high.”

The impact of new materials on meeting testing standards for packaging is significant. As manufacturers explore new and more sustainable materials, they must ensure that they meet the necessary testing standards for product safety and quality. This can include testing for strength, durability, resistance, and environmental factors such as moisture and temperature.

One challenge in using new materials is there may be no established testing standards, or the materials may require the development of new testing methodologies. A potential solution here is to test new materials with the same types of instruments used for regular materials. “This allows manufacturers to test toward the same standards, to ensure that the new materials will perform as well as the existing material” says Will Geller, Director of Sales – EMEA at Industrial Physics.

For example, if a company is using seaweed to make plastic bags, they can test to ensure it conforms to the same performance as regular plastic bags. Starting with this testing approach can also help determine what additional or different tests need to be performed. It’s important to note though, that this approach can’t be applied to every test or material, so determining when or where this can be done in consultation with a test and inspection partner can be helpful.

Time is a huge factor when we’re talking about developing testing standards – the entire process can take many, many years. Using paper as an example, Davis explains the reasoning for this, “Manufacturers will have to test a new paper material with numerous products, carbonation levels, types of environments, and then develop testing standards to ensure they can manufacture the packaging to a repeatable level. It’s a big investment for any company, which is part of the constraint in the industry for innovation – there aren’t massive research centers to invest in that kind of enterprise.” 

Also, it’s important to note that current testing standards present a significantly greater challenge for those making investment into the reduction of the use of plastics, light weighting, and coating and testing instruments.

New technology and production processes can help manufacturers reduce costs, reduce errors, save time, and produce better quality packaging. Automation in particular is a huge area of opportunity. Of those surveyed, 48% said that enhancing productivity on the production line was one of the biggest motivators for exploring new packaging mediums.

Automation can also help manufacturers stay competitive in a rapidly changing market and meet the growing demand for sustainable, high-quality packaging solutions. Automated testing equipment is already improving the quality and consistency of packaging, including using automated inspection systems to detect defects or flaws in packaging or integrating sensors and analytics to monitor the performance of packaging over time. 

From plastic to glass to aluminum, brands are looking to reduce the amount of material used in packaging, which is why 48% of packaging decision-makers cited light weighting as an important opportunity for packaging innovation. 

Light weighting can reduce the raw cost of materials, lower shipping/ transportation costs, reduce a manufacturer’s carbon footprint, and increase how sustainable packaging is overall. However, the challenge for manufacturers is to reduce the amount of packaging material used without compromising product safety or packaging quality.

“Brands need help accommodating thinner substrates and modifications to instruments so they can test thinner cans or bottles,” says Geller. He notes that because Industrial Physics works globally with some of the world’s largest manufacturers across a number of test and inspection parameters their in-house expertise is unparalleled.

“Customers consult with us and send us packaging they’re developing so that we can test and customize our instruments if needed. We’ve seen it all, we know what’s being tested around the world, and we know what the different standards are and can consult with manufacturers as experts,” says Geller.

Nearly one-third (31%) of respondents believe that in the next five years, some of the best developments in packaging innovation will come from packaging testing processes and equipment. Developments could include increased automation of testing processes and equipment, new testing methods, or new equipment designed to meet new materials or standards.

Another area of opportunity is packaging shape, according to approximately one-fourth (26%) of survey respondents. Packaging design has traditionally focused on functionality and branding, but manufacturers and brands are now exploring new shapes and forms that can improve the user experience and reduce waste. For example, some companies are experimenting with reusable or collapsible packaging, while others are developing packages that can be easily repurposed or recycled. Lastly, package coating was also seen by 26% of packaging decision-makers as another area of opportunity for innovation.

“There’s a lot of automation going in to what would previously have been manual processes. There is a lot of deep learning from the sensor data, which helps manufacturers identify potential quality issues, and be proactive instead of reactive,” says Geller. Equipment like the TQC Sheen LinQ, for example, can be used to automate inks and coating testing across a wide range of applications. Automation reduces the time, labor, and training required to do testing and measurement. It also has the added benefit of ensuring that they will get the same results regardless of who does the testing.

Lastly, package coating was also seen by 26% of packaging decision-makers as another area of opportunity for innovation.

Many packaging materials, such as plastics and paper, require coatings to improve their barrier properties and protect the contents from external factors. However, these coatings can be harmful to the environment and human health. To address this issue, manufacturers and brands are exploring new coating technologies that are more eco-friendly and sustainable, such as plant-based coatings or biodegradable coatings. 

Overall, manufacturers and brands are innovating in these areas to meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing while also meeting other critical goals of reducing costs and maintaining packaging quality and product safety. By investing in new testing equipment, exploring new packaging shapes, and developing eco-friendly coatings, manufacturers can create packaging that is better for the environment, consumers, and the bottom line.

It’s not surprising that manufacturing and brand executives understand the importance of innovation. This is evidenced by the fact that 96% of packaging decision-makers say innovation is important. Innovation is also broadly supported by 62% of manufacturing executives.

In the next five years and beyond, there are several additional areas of opportunity for packaging innovation, including package testing processes and equipment (31%), packaging shape (26%) and package coating (26%)

Challenges in current testing standards are a significantly greater challenge for those investing in:

Across our family of brands – including Testing Machines Inc., CMC-KUHNKE, TQC Sheen, Eagle Vision, Quality By Vision, Technidyne, Steinfurth, and many more – we’ve been supporting the food and beverage, flexible packaging, medical, and coatings markets for almost a century. Not only do we provide the highest quality of equipment that allows manufacturers to test across a wide range of specialized applications, we understand that innovations surrounding packaging materials are disrupting industries across the globe – and that expertise in packaging testing and standards is in high demand.

Our experts are at the forefront of technology, and we’re constantly developing cutting edge instruments that allow you to ensure quality while also contributing to a better future for our planet and increasing the ability to automate testing processes for greater precision and time-savings. Thanks to our global network of technical and support experts, access to advanced technology, and diverse product portfolio, we’re able to offer reliable equipment that adheres to all relevant industry standards.

Utilizing the latest advancements in technology, our instruments test across highly specific applications that will ensure the integrity of your packaging, products, and materials With Industrial Physics, you’ll experience safe, cost-effective, and highly accurate results. But our job doesn’t end there – we can also provide you with a full-service offering – this includes depot and field repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.

Industrial Physics surveyed 284 individuals in 2023, from around the world who work for manufacturers and have a role that involves the packaging process.