Page 12 - Packaging News Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT January-February 2019 www.packagingnews.com.au
Omnichannel explored
The 11th annual Tetra Pak Index focuses on the rise of online grocery retailing, and the opportunities it presents for the food and beverage industry. Libby Costin, Tetra Pak
VP for Asia Pacific sales and marketing, tells PKN
associate editor Wayne
Robinson what it means.
ONLINE shopping, initially
the domain of books and
fashion, has spread its digital tentacles to almost all areas of consumption, including food and beverage (F&B). While the purchase of F&B products online can be dis-
ruptive to traditional channels, it presents brand owners with many challenges, and as many opportunities.
According to the latest figures from Kan- tar, one of the world’s biggest research and data agencies, online sales for the global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market grew by 30 per cent in the 12 months to March 2017 – double the figure for the previous year, and compared to just 1.3 per cent growth in all FMCG channels. Going forward, online grocery is expected to continue growing much faster than any other channel, albeit from a fairly modest base – 4.6 per cent share globally.
To explore this exponential trend, food and beverage packaging giant Tetra Pak has just released its 11th Index, the annual white paper it researches and prepares on
a topic of interest to its customers. This year’s Tetra Pak Index provides insights to the new omnichannel world of grocery shopping. It is based on consumer research conducted in five countries, plus interviews with e-retailers in North America, Europe and China, and a global market segmen-
tation study.
The report highlights
four key trends: conve- nience, which is driving online demand in all geographies, as consum- ers look for ways to make their time-
crunched lives easier; technology, which is transforming both supply chains and the consumer experience; sustainability, with environmental issues becoming more im- portant for consumers, brands and retail- ers, and governments alike; and personali- sation, as marketers look for new ways to attract consumers online, build relation- ships, and drive loyalty.
Libby Costin, Tetra Pak vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific speaking exclusively to PKN, says, “Online F&B purchasing is growing strongly; the latest Tetra Pak Index looks at its impact and what it means for brand owners and pack- aging producers. The report will help our customers assess the topic in context, and give them ideas on how to position them- selves to exploit the opportunities.”
Costin says F&B brand owners have largely built their businesses on physical channels, but now there is a new channel that those brand owners need to consider
carefully, and to do so they need to work with their packaging producers.
“We looked at the consumer angle and e-retailers. One of the most striking re- sults to emerge was that in many cases consumers have skipped comput- ers and are purchasing direct from their
mobile phones,” she says. According to Costin, the re-
port looks at how brand own- ers can position themselves to enter the channel and how they can interact with con- sumers: “Will they go direct,
will they work with retailers, will they work with e-retailers (also known as consolidators), or will they do all three? Then there’s the issue of distribution, particularly the last mile – how is the brand owner going to get product to the consumer, will the consum- er pay a delivery charge, does the consum-
er have to order many to make it viable?”
PACKAGING’S PLACE
Packaging is crucially important in online F&B, says Costin. “First is its role in the physical journey, which may be different to that of the carefully controlled journey to the traditional supermarket. This may impact on the structural design of the pack- aging, especially if there is no secondary packaging. The product may be handled roughly as it makes it journey to the con- sumer, especially in the final part of the journey. How do we make sure the package is robust enough to resist potentially damaging touchpoints?
“Second is the pack’s graphic design. If the mobile phone becomes the primary point of purchase, and all the signs indi- cate it will be, then the consumer is typi- cally looking at a small screen, so a small image. So, the brand owner needs to con- sider how to convey the message it wants to get across in a smaller format than it may be used to, certainly smaller than a maga- zine page, TV or computer image, or outdoor advertising. If it is too complex it will not work,” Costin says.
The third factor Costin identifies is enhancing the package through consumer interaction. She says, “Smartphones have
ABOVE AND LEFT: Examples of innovative Tetra Pak cartons that speak to consumers’ desire for well designed, smart packaging with, in the case of the pack on the left, digital connectivity.