Ready? GO! 2014 forecast for the packaging industry

Elections, pension funds, Mundial World Cup, Olympic Games and historical anniversaries. The calendar for 2014 is pretty full of important events. What’s interesting going to happen in the packaging industry though?

The next twelve months promises to be positive for business. According to Grant Thornton research, the number of companies planning to increase investment in 2014 rose in the last quarter from 34 to 58 percent. This means that Polish economy finally overcame the crisis phantom for good. "The last time companies were so inclined to invest was before the global outbreak. This is very good news. Businessmen are finally starting to believe that the recovery is stable and it’s worthwhile to prepare for a stronger demand ", said Tomasz Wroblewski, managing partner at Grant Thornton in Poland.

Ecology in different dimensions

Investments will be also visible in production and processing changes, because in 2014 two very important laws will pass in Poland. Since 1st January packaging producers are obliged to ulilize and recycle at least 50 percent of the produced goods what will be thoroughly checked by the regional governments. Additionally they are expected to actively participate in ecological education of the communities by donating 2 percent of net value of the packaging introduced to the market a year before. Plus from 13th December they must adapt to new EU regulations regarding marking the nutritious content on the food packaging in a way they will not mislead the consumers. This requirement means placing a lot more date and will boost the demand for new coding applications like booklet or multitag labels. The ecological approach is showing through the packaging trends as well. The Reseach and Markets portal analitics’ published a report where they state that between 2014 and 2018 the global demand for bioplastic will rise ca. 20 percent. Smaller, lighter and more environmental friendly packaging will require a high-tec print. It can be assumed that the change from analog to digital printing will progress. Hewlett-Packard company estimates that the value of production inkjet print will raise in 2014 till 50 billion dollars. Ecology will accompany manufacturers from the production, through whole logistic chain, till the ready packaging will reach the shelves. It will be possible mainly due to more efficient RFID and QR codes which reduce the costs and shift them to the Web. As we can see the main slogan of 2014 will be ecology in different dimensions – let’s hope it will be remembered by those who impose the extra costs on the packaging business.

Origin: www.pulsbiznesu.pb.pl, www.buzinesswire.com, www.packaging-polska.pl, www.wiadomosci.mediarun.pl

“A good feeling and a clear conscience, those are the goals of consumers for 2014. Sustainability remains a prerequisite, not only with regard to the products they buy, but also in terms of their origin and manufacturing” – Suzanne McEwan, Pro Carton head of marketing communication.

“Put together, the key challenge today and tomorrow for any label printer is to decide what his new label printing press investment will be this year, next year or the year after. Will it be another conventional UV flexo analogue press? Or maybe an offset or combination process press? Some converters are perhaps still deciding whether to go digital. If so, will the investment be in toner or inkjet technologies? No matter what he will decide, he should take into consideration also the environmental footprint, available added-value finishing options and possible flexibility of changing jobs from labels to different packaging materials”, said Jules Lejeune, FINAT Managing Director.

"In an increasingly more crowded shopping and marketing environment, and with today’s communications culture demanding fewer words and more visuals (think Twitter and Vine) brands need to reconsider the strength of their visual assets. It’s imperative to make them own able, leveraging elements such as color texture, artistic treatment, and shape so that a brand can make a consumer connection in a split second. When done right, such immediate visual associations can help consumers feel like a brand or product understands them, helps them easily find the product for their need in a sea of choices, or helps them feel a part of something bigger” – Nanda Sabol, senior director brand strategy, Anthem in San Francisco.  

“I can be sure of three things: there will be new highly improved technologies , we will see interesting and innovative design solutions and finally the youngest designers will surprise us once again with their customized proposals. Is it possible in such  situation to anticipate some explicit, named direction or trend? I can not, beyond a trivial statement that this year will surely be interesting. I wish only that it there will be less (preferably no at all) of superfluous packaging, unnecessarily cluttering the world. Let them all catch the eye of consumer, but also carry a reliable and necessary information, protect perfectly the content and function properly " - prof. Marek Adamczewski , vice-rector of education and development in Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk

 "It will be a tough year in my industry , because the Minister of Finance announced an alcohol tax increase of 15 percent. This will hit the vodka market , which means more work for the marketing department to make this blow hit our competition harded than us”- Robert Kabot , marketing director at Sobieski brand.