NEWS
Labelling luminaries debate print tech
“Truly inspiring”: Bluemarlin’s use of a Fresnel lens in the Sensodyne package was deemed successful rather than gimmicky.
“THE latest print technologies: Gimmick or sound ROI?” was the topic chewed over by representatives from the consumer goods and packaging worlds at the Big Print Debate at Packaging Innovations in February. Questions were addressed to a panel comprising Peter Aldhous of brand design consultancy Elmwood, Stefan Casey of the Faraday Centre for Retail Excellence, Andy Hewitson of packaging and print service provider Reproflex3, and Ian Schofield of Iceland Foods. “Just because it’s available doesn’t mean you should use it” was Aldhous’s take on the use of emerging technologies for packaging. RFID and electroluminescence were two he cited as having failed to live up to the hype. But at the same time, far simpler techniques have proven very effective. The Fresnel lens used on Sensodyne toothpaste packaging was, he said, “truly inspiring”. Who benefits from innovative packaging? Aldous said his own work was about adding value to the brand. It needs to be appropriate, he said, counselling against adding gold foil to an own-brand biscuit package. “If you start doing stuff outside the brand, it damages the brand.” Hewitson of Reproflex3 said it was increasingly possible to “transport the consumer to a fantastic place”, in terms of experience, but “the trick now is to extract value from that transportation.” One member of the panel suggested that “the UK as a culture is not open to technology”, but there was agreement that how consumers interact with packaging looks
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likely to change a great deal over the next 5 to 10 years. A shift needs to occur, suggested one audience member, in what is communicated via things like packaging. The questioner said he didn’t want to be bombarded with information, he just wanted stuff that was relevant. “I really get mad about all the information I’ve not asked for.” It needs to be transactional, sticking to the things people want, rather than simply drawing information out of a CRM database. Ian Schofield said that some retailers were already responding to such a demand. At Iceland, he said, “we communicate with our customers and they communicate with us.” As for cutting down the amount of information on packaging he added that he would love to take stuff off packaging, and make it available via thiings like iPhone instead. “But we’re constrained by legislation.” Not everyone is wired either. “We’ve still got Ethel in London buying a £1 ready meal because it’s all she can afford. And we’ve got to find a way to communicate with her about nutrition and so on.” No more oddly shaped packages? Another questioner raised the point that Tesco is now trying to dictate the size and shape of products going on its shelves. Does this spell the death of interestinglyshaped packages, like the Marmite jar? Is the structural element of a package now subordinate to the label? The panel seemed to agree that it probably was nearing the end for packages that couldn’t
satisfy shelf-ready requirements. On the up side, some brands seem able to rise above historical identifications with a package. “If you’d said two years ago that Heinz Beans wouldn’t come out in a can, you would have been shocked,” said Schoffield, praising the “brilliant” efforts that had been made in this case to move away from an iconic package. Personalised packaging The small label runs enabled by digital print hint at a possible future where packaging is far more personalised to the consumer. The panel were asked if they saw any more opportunities for this at the moment, either in-store or on-line. “Anything personalised to you is good news”, suggested Schofield, saying he had liked receiving an iPad with his own name on it. There seems scope for personalisation in other sectors. With food packaging, for example, you might choose to display recipe ingredients for someone on a gluten-free diet. Retailers have “got a lot of information about people, so could make it incredibly personal.” Efforts made so far in this direction include Coca-Cola’s massive personalised labels campaign last Summer. And on a smaller scale, the Famous Grouse recently offered customers an opportunity to create a personalised label to go with every 70cl bottle purchased, by logging onto a special website. In another spin on the personalisation issue, one panel member suggested that printed electronics could be used at present to provide labels that adapted their conContinued on p6 >>>
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Brief n PRINTED electronics company Thinfilm is to introduce low cost Near-Field Communication (NFC) time and temperature sensors that can be incorporated into the packaging of food products and other items, allowing consumers, distributors and merchants to use an NFC phone to check that a product has been kept at the required temperature all the way through the supply chain. n PROTECTIVE packaging from GWP Protective has donated to the team of wounded servicemen undertaking a trek across the South Pole with Prince Harry. The teams involved in Walking With The Wounded’s Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge received 30 Peli storm cases, able to protect electronic equipment from temperatures as low as -40°C, as well as waterproof and very difficult to break. n THE European Pallet Association (EPAL) is to begin an “EPAL Academy” to train licensees, suppliers and users on the use of pallets. It will cover things like material testing and sorting, recognising hidden damage, and the correct use of labeling. A launch is planned for June 2014. The modular programme will grow to cover other issues as it progresses. n COVERIS, the sixth largest global plastics packaging company, has announced the appointment of Gary Masse as CEO. Masse is described as a seasoned, results-driven leader with more than 25 years of experience in the manufacturing sector, most recently as CEO of Precision Partners, a $500 million engineering and manufacturing company. During his tenure he implemented a culture of teamwork and accountability that resulted in revenue growth of 19 percent and record cash flow.
packagingscotland > 5 09/04/2014 10:10