Page 18 - Packaging News magazine Jan-Feb 2022

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FMCG PACKAGING | www.packagingnews.com.au | January-February 2022
Brands take bold next steps in the
Smart packaging technology is spreading across the packaging landscape, as evidenced in this special report for PKN by Andrew Manly, communications director of AIPIA.
THE Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association (AIPIA) held its main event of the year in mid-November 2021, with the over- arching theme of the Digitisation of Packaging and a special focus on connected packaging and supply chain issues. With 36 speakers in
a packed five-hour virtual program, topics covered everything from smart labels, combining NFC/RFID, data access and management, to active materials and tags.
A key takeaway was the growing commitment by brand owners to develop packaging which communi- cates, not only with consumers, but all along the supply chain, to ensure security and efficiency. Other impor- tant outcomes were the growth of augmented reality and the need to communicate across all stakeholders, even within individual companies, in a common ‘language’ and how to get across key messages about the benefits of these technologies. Standardisation and stability of technological devel- opments, to enable scalable solutions, was also a talking point
“The industry is now more confi- dent about discussing the challenges it faces, as well as highlighting the obvious progress it has made,” said AIPIA managing director Eef de Ferrante. “In a perverse way, the pandemic has enabled the sector to highlight the need for stronger supply chain management, better customer and internal communication, contact- less transactions, and the dangers of
counterfeiting in the world of online purchasing and e-commerce.”
He said the industry must recognise that take-up of smart packaging is still slower than expected and address the reasons why. Several presentations and Discussion Rooms at the event did just that.
“AIPIA is working with global con- sulting group Accenture, to develop ways to accelerate the implementa- tion of smart packaging technology and make more noise about it,” de Ferrante announced.
In her opening address to the Congress, Accenture’s Anita Etrati, explained that the consultancy will be publishing its Smart Packaging Point of View: Transforming the ordi- nary with smart connected packaging, in the coming months. It will be pro- duced in collaboration with AIPIA and its members and focus on the mis- conceptions companies hold around smart connected packaging and the steps they need to take to succeed.
“Smart connected packaging pro- vides digital touchpoints at every stage of the product lifecycle. It helps brands deliver exceptional customer experiences that delight and achieve ongoing operational value. And it involves an ecosystem of power- ful technologies, which drive new modes of product interactivity,” Etrati explained.
ABOVE: SmartLabel on Pepsico snack brand Lays’ packaging.
PEPSICO’S SMARTLABEL
Telling the story of how his com- pany has evolved the SmartLabel was the key theme of John Phillips, SVP, Customer Supply Chain & Global Go-To-Market at PepsiCo, and one of its main platform development partners, Scanbuy, in the opening keynote. Phillips explained how the SmartLabel initiative started out in the USA as a customer transparency project to offer far more informa- tion digitally than could be put on a normal label. It has evolved to now include content such as regulatory information and go beyond that by creating genuinely smart packag- ing which can have ‘curated content’ for the individual brand and prod- uct via what PepsiCo is calling an Intermediate Menu.
The 20 or so companies working on the SmartLabel project through the Consumer Brands Association anticipate that in five to seven years the Unique Product Codes (UPC) will
SMARTLABEL PAGES ON PEPSICO BRANDS RECEIVED
5.6m VISITS IN 6 MONTHS.