Page 19 - Food&Drink August 2022 magazine

Post-Covid outlook for track and trace
In the wake of the pandemic, companies are keen to leverage smart packaging and coding print for more efficient and dynamic logistics, says a report by consultancy firm Smithers. Jan Arreza writes.
tagging components, and the wider trend to replace physical retail sales with e-commerce delivery,” the report says.
Smithers finds the most lucrative element of the track-and-trace market will remain industrial and transit packaging, where large unit packaging has justified the cost of bespoke solutions, such as active RFID tagging.
In the short term, Smithers says the market will continue to rely principally on coding print – unique alphanumeric identifiers, 1D and 2D barcodes. There will also be wider interest in on-pack RFID and NFC frequency antennas to provide more dynamic monitoring in more expensive applications.
For brand owners concerned about counterfeiting, Smithers
says covert taggants will be a popular option.
The report says the greatest potential will come from software systems that process product identities. Blockchain is fast emerging as an affordable, scalable platform that can ensure security, transparency, and intelligent inventory management.
Smithers says software companies are creating dedicated service lines to capitalise on this opportunity and are actively engaging with packaging and logistics company partners.
Covid disruptions revealed the fragility of trans-national supply chains, but Smithers warns it is not over yet. When it does fade, the imperative to develop resiliency and flexibility for the future will remain. ✷
SMITHERS’ The Future of Track and Trace in Packaging to 2027 says Covid has already accelerated demand for track and trace packaging.
The value of taggants, RFID antennas, and coding print has grown by 76 per cent since 2017 and is expected to be worth $1.6 billion this year. It also doesn’t show any sign of plateauing, the report said. The market is forecast to have a compound annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent through to 2027, worth $2.5 billion.
Smithers says this growth
doesn’t just reflect two years of unprecedented disruption. There is a greater appreciation of the efficiencies item-level tracking can deliver, especially in new sales channels, it says.
While traceability features, including item-level tracking, are already mandated in higher risk segments, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, Smithers says there will be “rapid adoption” in other channels including food and beverage.
“Direct-to-consumer sales in particular will benefit from the fall in pricing for individual
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