By Susan R Stansbury
When product designers and developers work closely with converters and manufacturers, packages do the expected job. For consumers, as well as institutional markets and pre-market packaging protection, packages are often as important as the contents.
These are aspects on the checklist as packages are created.
- How well will the package provide access to the product? Is there a tricky, troublesome way to open, getting to the contents?
- How well does the package protect the contents? Having worked with several nonwoven “wet wipes” converters, I remember how the “flat packs” had issues when wipes dried out after repeated peel-openings. Newer snap-open packages do a better job.
- Will the package need to be reopened and require ongoing protection? Consumers are turned off when they have to trash the item before its time.
- Is it being designed for superior freshness, crispness, wetness (such as wet wipes)? Freshness is key factor. “I love Oreos, but hate the packaging,” says an online user. Part of the issue was “sustainability.” Stale cookies is another issue when the opening mechanism deteriorates.
- Will it keep the ingredients or additives working use after use? Mold, dry-out, or another factor can render the contents unusable. Packaging has to be age and mistake-tolerant.
- Is it aesthetically pleasing? For consumer brands in particular, packaging must attract buyers. Designs can be classic, trendy, or innovative. Developers are current with color, type fonts and many other elements.
- Ergonomics play a role. From ketchup bottles to canola oil and “big gulp” types of drinks, containers that are easy to grip allow packages to hold more content. The ratio of package-to-content is studied.
- Is storage a consideration? Shelf life? Packaging testing predicts whether the chosen item has sufficient shelf life to live up to its “use by” date. Labels, bar codes, and traceable identifiers are crucial to many types of packages.
- Is the product pleasing to set out in plain sight? Are your cleaning canisters set out on countertops?
- What about the throw-away/disposability & sustainability factors? “Even well-intentioned brands can inadvertently mislead consumers with unclear environmental claims and eco-friendly images that don’t quite match reality,” says Elisabeth Cuneo of Packaging World.
- Does the package appear expensive? Economical? Is it designed for certain demographics where people self-brand with all their buying and words like “experiential” are in the mix.
Substrates & Materials
Many building blocks of packaging have been around for decades. In some cases, substrates are becoming scarce as owners are consolidating and cutting back on specialization. While Wisconsin is still the number one papermaking state, evolving to a situation where commodities have taken over. Boxing substrates are ever present while coated papers and colored substrates are nearly non-existent.
Printing has picked up much of the design shortfall. Companies like Legacy Flexo in Green Bay are masters of multicolor printing on polyester and other materials. Substrates are selected for their performance characteristics, from strength and protection to flexibility and stretchability. In recent years, factors such as quieter chip bags and flushability have turned shoppers’ heads. In the later case, some early stumbles have made proof of flushability a regulatory issue.
Equipment & Processing
Carrying the promises of packaging success is the buildout of equipment, production line sections, and seamless start-up-to-finishing throughput. In every step, waste is tracked. Sustainability begins with source reduction within the facility. In some cases, waste is returned to the original producer for a cleaner stream to reprocess, rather than using post-consumer waste. The Shawano Mill of Little Rapids Corp. has been a good example. One of my customers in the healthcare industry certified a factory as having a “clean stream” of substrates for packaging.
“We tackle the pressing issues of production disruptions and explore groundbreaking automation solutions tailored for the food & beverage and consumer goods industries,” says Packaging World’s Matt Reynolds. It’s acknowledgment of the critical need to meet all the packaging parameters.
With some 2500 exhibitors expected at Pack Expo November 3-6 in Chicago, Wisconsin will be well represented. It’s a place for walk-around packaging research.
