Page 26 - Packaging New magazine Jan-Feb 2023

SMART PACKAGING
allows consumers to read a public QR Code from their smartphone for authen- tication; while an optional fourth code can provide directions for use or ingre- dients that can be read in any language.
In a rousing ‘call to action’ Robson Lisboa, CEO of Midiacode, challenged brand owners to implement smart pack- aging at scale across all their products, not just for pilot projects or targeted campaigns. He feels the time is right to offer smart packaging as a standard. But asked his audience how that can be achieved at an affordable price and how to do it without letting marketing and packaging teams go crazy with endless work! He believes simple connectivity via QR codes – which he says are set to boom – are the answer and offered a highly upbeat vision of the future and use cases across a range of applications. Watch this space!
DIGITAL PASSPORTS
There was much talk about Digital Product Passports (DPP). In a presen- tation on this ‘hot’ topic, Monica Gross, ecosystem engagement manager Food & Beverage for Avery Dennison and her colleague Noam Assael, director business ventures, at AD, outlined the reasoning behind the creation of these. A DPP is designed to make it easier to repair or recycle products and track substances of concern along the sup- ply chain. According to the European Commission proposal, all regulated products sold in Europe will need to have a DPP within the next couple of years.
They explained just what is meant by a connected digital item-level prod- uct; how digitisation of the supply chain can provide the transparency, circular- ity and provenance needed to comply with DPP, as well as how organisations can prepare for this new regulation and which tools and methods need
A convergence of smart and connected technologies is transforming humble packaging into a new source of real value.
sector. Having undertaken research on NFC-enabled product packaging she said that, despite all the significant capabilities of NFC, the technology is still not as widely accepted by con- sumers, retailers or manufacturers as it should be. Various challenges related to technological feasibility, customer acceptance and economic benefit for businesses hinder NFC technology from being more widely applied in packaging. The main aim of her research, which is ongoing, is to carry out experiments to examine the peculiarities of the user interaction of NFC-enabled packaging which could lead to more comprehen- sive insights regarding its potential implementation. She urged the indus- try to work together with academia to overcome these obstacles.
BUILDING A FUTURE
Closing the Congress for 2022, AIPIA’s managing director Eef de Ferrante summed up his view of the event, “It is clear that our members and stake- holders welcomed the return of a live event and the ability to have in depth discussions with real people. There is still a lot of work to do to build back both the Congress and the momentum of the smart packaging sector. While we never lost the innovative energy, the pandemic did put the brakes on both new product development and imple- mentation. As l always maintain, we are building this industry together. It’s been a great start, there is still much to do. See you all in 2023!” ■
26 ❙ JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2023
WWW.PACKAGINGNEWS.COM.AU
ANITA ETRATI, ACCENTURE
to be implemented. There are several benefits DPP could bring to consumers beyond the information currently found on websites, they say, but challenges remain to make DPPs happen and they strongly advised collaboration across the supply chain.
A further panel discussion on DPPs, featuring Per Christian Myklebost, Johan Borg and John Beerens all from Kezzler, as well as contributors from Accenture and GS1 went fur- ther, explaining that these passports are designed to support sustainabil- ity and circular goals. Soon they will be required to sell products in specific categories (starting with apparel and textiles) within the European Union. They highlighted the critical elements to consider when choosing a traceability platform, the importance of interoper- ability and technology standards and the benefits of end-to-end traceability beyond regulatory compliance in creat- ing sustainable value chains.
NFC CHALLENGE
In one of the final presentations, Justina Karpavice a PhD Fellow at Aarhus University laid down a challenge to the
Above: Martin Stahel of Zappar showed how augmented reality is being used to both entertain and inform consumers about the products they buy.
Left: Securikett introduced the ‘IT’s PAPER’ based security labels and tapes series.