Page 40 - Packaging News Magazine Nov-Dec 2018

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PACKAGING INNOVATION
PACK EXPO 2018 www.packagingnews.com.au
LEFT: PKN bumped into fellow Aussie David Roberts, packaging development manager at Kellogg Australia, visiting Pack Expo to catch up on the latest sustainable innovations from material suppliers. Roberts was impressed with the wide variety and high standard of the solutions available at the show.
November-December 2018
2E-COMMERCE EXPLOSION
Arguably, the buzzphrase of the show has to be ‘think inside the box’ to de- note how packagers are having to rethink their approach to online packaging. Driv- en in large part by Amazon, which owns an estimated 50 per cent of the fast-grow- ing e-tail market, the sweeping e-com- merce trend sees packaging converters and FMCG brand manufacturers rethink- ing their online packaging strategies as they face the conundrum of how to protect the product better with less packaging, aware as they are that lost, stolen or dam- aged packages will lose them customers and undermine brand loyalty (read more about what’s happening in on-demand box solutions in the local market on page 52 of this issue).
“E-commerce is not only changing the rules of the game, it’s starting a whole new game,” is the best quote I heard, this from Donna Ritson, president of DDR Commu- nications who authored the PMMI’s report 2018 eCommerce: Think Inside the Box, which was launched at the show.
So, it came as no surprise that the winner of this year’s Diamond accolade at the Dow Packaging Innovation Awards was a pack- aging format that works for both e-com- merce and bricks-and-mortar retail packag- ing. Procter & Gamble’s Air Assist Liquid Packaging Technology uses compressed gas to provide tailored rigidity to create struc- ture in flexible films. A proprietary one- way valve allows the new packaging form to deliver cleaner dispensing, more controlled dosing and more convenient one-handed use while still being tough enough for e- commerce shipping without extra protec- tion. Air Assist also uses 50 per cent less plastic than a traditional rigid bottle and has a 360-degree palette for design, making it a more resource-efficient solution.
P&G’s Air Assist took out Dow’s top innovation award.
Sealed Air was putting its green foot for- ward too, and among the numerous prod- ucts showcased on its verdant patch, a standout for me, given the growing impor- tance of packaging solutions to prevent food waste, was TempGuard (pictured be- low). Pam Alexander, VP and GM for Inte- grated Fabrication, Sealed Air Corpora- tion, talked me through the features.
The Sealed Air TempGuard insulated liners, she says, were tested to pass ISTA 7E standards to ensure contents main- tain proper temperature in the supply chain. Insulating products against tem- perature abuse, this solution is well suit- ed to the meal kit delivery sector, and she says customers are excited by it because it is 100 per cent kerbside recyclable (lin- ers are made from kraft paper and paper fibres). The flexible material conforms to contents, which Alexander points out means that the customer can reduce the size of the external cartons and, it fol- lows, reduce shipping costs. Also, the padded box liners cushion items and mi- nimise damage during handling and transit. The liners are compatible with refrigerants ranging from gel packs to phase change materials.
Another paper-based solution, and winner of a Dow 2018 Packaging Innovation Award, presented at gala event during Pack
Expo, was from Seed Phytonutrients. This is the first brand to launch a shower-safe paper bottle made completely from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled paper. A source-reduced inner plastic bottle is also made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic and contains 60 per cent less plastic than a comparable size rigid container. The container contains a small seed sachet inside to add to the overall consumer experience.
Sustainability is also a key focus for the World Packaging organisation, whose pres- ident, Australian Pierre Pienaar, was push- ing the cause at the WPO stand. Pienaar, also representing the Australian Institute of Packaging as its education director, told PKN that WPO believes that packaging, designed in a holistic way, can support a sustainable society. “Packaging design should start at the point of product concept to maximise compatibility with external and internal environments in which pack- aging will interact,” he stressed.
ABOVE: WPO president Pierre Pienaar and PKN editor & publisher Lindy Hughson.
LEFT: Sealed Air Corporation’s paper-based TempGuard solution is well suited to the meal kit delivery channel.