5 strategic areas to focus on for success in post-pandemic packaging

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    As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate a significant increase in new product launches due to changing consumer trends. Five areas of strategic focus can help packaging companies position themselves for success.
     
    The COVID-19 pandemic has forced consumer goods companies to shift priorities and pause new product launches in some categories. This has had a direct impact on the global packaging industry, as brand owners have not only demanded fewer redesigns, but also ditched innovative packaging.
     
    However, as the world begins to emerge from the current economic and public health crisis, we anticipate that brand owners will accelerate their product launch plans to meet the needs of consumers. untapped market demand. At the same time, the pandemic has also changed consumer behavior, raising new requirements for packaging performance. In this article, we highlight five strategic areas that packaging businesses need to address as they prepare for a new product launch.
     
    Five strategic areas for the packaging industry to proactively address
    Many changes in consumer behavior and needs will have important effects on the packaging industry. As packaging companies ponder how they can become successful partners for the next wave of new product launches, we see five strategic areas where they will need to be proactive.
    1. Develop packaging adapted to e-commerce. E-shopping is predicted to be the most attractive consumer behavior after the pandemic. As a result, many current packaging formats will have to be updated or redesigned to optimize them for e-commerce and shipping: future packaging formats will be needed to prevent product damage. , supporting productivity throughout the supply chain, reducing transportation costs and improving the consumer experience.

     
    2. Rethink sustainability. Packaging sustainability efforts often focus on the desire to reduce leakage, improve circulation, and reduce carbon emissions. Going forward, we believe it is important for packaging manufacturers to make sustainability a core component of their strategic framework in three ways:
    • Update and enhance the company's product and technology strategy map with relevant sustainability stories.
    • Identify development opportunities, potential lighthouse projects, and the partners needed to deliver them.
    • In the event that a solution cannot be developed, understand the risk areas if the mass shifts to an alternative substrate.
    As a starting point, we recommend creating an actionable fact base, at the granular and local level, to understand evolving consumer sentiment, as well as consumer preferences and evolution. brand owners and retailers, regarding sustainability.
     
    3. Serving the changing needs and habits of consumers. The lasting behavioral changes have been the result of the pandemic. To assist brand owners in launching their products, packaging companies need to respond to such changing behaviors, for example by developing packaging that can help meet consumer preferences. Generation Z and the younger generation in terms of purpose, quality and novelty.
     
    4. Develop a flexible asset footprint. Changes to the value chain in response to e-commerce and consumer change will increase SKU complexity. We are likely to see continued demand for cost-effective, long-term packaging formats, as well as acceleration for fully customized short-term packaging. This polarization in packaging formats will mean that companies need to improve their flexibility and capacity to meet different packaging production requirements.
     
    5. Embrace the digital end to the end. The packaging industry is in the early stages of digital adoption. This offers significant potential in terms of both reducing costs and increasing revenue and working capital. In a recent survey, half of the respondents saw the potential for companies to achieve revenue and working capital gains of more than 5%, while around 70% suggested digital adoption. can lead to an overall cost improvement of more than 5%. Digital also presents great opportunities for both increasing customer engagement and tracking and tracing. With the right approach and execution focus, packaging companies will be able to pursue the cost-effective, growth and productivity opportunities offered by digital.
    Packaging companies have an opportunity to create value and capture growth as brand owners revamp their product launch in the next normal. Success will require an innovative mindset combined with the right strategic choices in the face of emerging trends. A proactive approach helps companies stay ahead of market developments, while providing opportunities to be thoughtful partners for their customers.