In your opinion, what are the most important motives for companies to think about a change in packaging materials?
Quite simply, sustainability and its impact on future business simply cannot be ignored by companies in the future. This has changed quite a bit in the last few years. Not so long ago, we used to have to point out to companies that a more sustainable packaging solution also meant a more sustainable positioning of the company in relation to its competitors and rivals. Now the hint has become unnecessary: Sustainability and its visibility to consumers simply determines whether you stay in business or not.
How has this change affected PACOON's consulting portfolio?
I remember that as recently as 2018, we were still informing companies about how the new packaging law would change the landscape. At that time, everyone was primarily interested in recycling. That's when certificates were asked about how well or poorly packaging fits into recycling. Then we started thinking about alternative packaging. And now we're already one phase further: Today, we're seeing more and more requests to scrutinize the entire packaging, including the question of whether it should be a disposable or reusable solution and also the consideration of international distribution channels - something we've also been focusing on for years.
And what will be the next phase?
I predict that the next step will be to take a closer look at the costs of the entire value chain. This can bring great potential for savings. We have been trying to convince companies for some time that sustainability means reducing waste, which inevitably leads to savings. But companies still assume that sustainability is more expensive - fortunately, that's a fallacy. Our job is to be able to prove just that.
So what comes at the beginning of analyzing whether there is a need to re-evaluate materials for packaging at all?
For us, the first step is always to understand the complete value chain, the supply routes and process steps. This leads to a selection of possible solutions and narrowing down to various materials that could be considered. However, our customers often approach us with a specific request. We then question this and clarify the pros and cons. At some point, the company has to decide on a way forward, because unfortunately there is still no 100% solution. However, since we have been working intensively on sustainable packaging since 2008, we are naturally familiar with many more approaches than the companies themselves have in mind.
How can companies assess how large the proportion of substances of concern in the packaging material is? What do you have to pay particular attention to?
That's a good question, and one that needs to be answered constantly with new information. The deeper we delve into the matter and the complete supply chain, the more complex it becomes. This is the normal development of our time - the more I know, the more questions arise. This applies to all materials - whether plastics, fibers, metals, glass or even barriers, coatings, inks, adhesives, additives. And it doesn't matter whether the materials have been on the market for decades or have been developed from scratch. One false impression must often be dispelled immediately: that substances that have been used for a long time needn't be more harmless just because they have not been questioned before. After all, new substances often have to prove that they are harmless, even though the established substances have never done so.
What do you focus on in your analysis of substances of concern in packaging?
In general, materials can be analyzed for foreign, interfering or toxic substances. However, the result is always checked only at the state of knowledge. In the past, asbestos was a cure for everything in the construction industry. Since the 1990s, it has been banned because people knew about its carcinogenic components. Or PFAS for many cardboard applications in the to-go sector - for decades a well-known, easy-to-use substance that provided a grease and oil barrier. PFAS has been identified as a carcinogen. Today, there are already simple ways to ban PFAS from packages. But even from a legal point of view, we are lagging behind. It has been similar with BPA in cans. As a company, you can take immediate action if you become aware of toxic or hazardous substances. Or you can close your eyes for the time being and leave everything as it is. But that carries a considerable reputational risk.
What are the most important pillars of a sustainable renew concept in the conversion of packaging?
We always think of a renew concept holistically. Because the first task is usually to replace the material and not make it much more expensive - a few years ago, by the way, it was still called 'not more expensive at all.' That has changed. Since the cost aspect is the main decision criterion alongside the image factor, we usually try to keep costs stable or even reduce them. Of course, this always requires a lot of openness on the part of the clientele, which unfortunately is not always the case.
What hurdles do you encounter most often in your work when it comes to switching to sustainable materials for packaging?
As already mentioned, costs and processes are an important hurdle. Especially during Corona, it has been difficult to look into production and ask questions to the departments about the processes. As a rule, we always encounter new conditions in the course of development, which the customers themselves were not aware of at the beginning. Of course, this slows down the process, and in the worst case it also makes a development obsolete to a certain extent and we have to go back two or three steps. It's also usually difficult when our customers don't produce anything themselves, because information from the production chain is often kept secret. These are the more complicated development processes. At the same time, internal information or ideas from the past are very good starting points for new concepts. Our observation is that German companies are more conservative than many foreign companies. There is still a lot of potential here to combine internal knowledge with external know-how. However, we also have nice examples where there has been very successful cooperation.
How does the material changeover usually affect the design of packaging?
When it comes to graphic design, the impact is rather minor. As graphic designers with over 30 years of experience, it is our daily business to adapt designs to new shapes, materials and printing techniques. As far as the conception of the package - or as we call it structural design - is concerned, each material naturally comes with its differences in processability, availability, environmental aspects from resources to disposal. And, of course, there are different cost structures. Depending on how big the difference between the materials is, machine processing presents a major hurdle. What's exciting right now is that machine builders want to adapt to the new circumstances in order to become more flexible - we were also able to see this at our last trade fair presences at ProSweets 2022 and Anuga Foodtec 2022, where machine builders contacted us to work together on what packaging machines will need to look like in the coming years.
What developments and trends do you see in reuse packaging concepts?
Reuse is the next game changer in packaging with huge market potential. Here we see two main currents: those who want to keep this new development away from themselves and their established business model as long as possible and ignore it. And those who want to actively participate in the trend, to shape it in order to gain experience and be ready when the change comes in big steps. As we ourselves collaborate and develop on several levels of a new system approach, we also see how different companies deal with it.
What is in store for the packaging industry when Reuse and Renew concepts capture the market?
The Reuse industry is just setting itself up - while elsewhere the focus is still on recycling single-use packaging. I'm curious to see which development will be the first to succeed in establishing a harmonious system across the board internationally. Major investments are needed in both the 'disposable' and 'reusable' areas: for plastic or paper recycling and take-back systems for disposable or reusable packaging. So the industry will have to decide in the next two to three years in which direction it wants to invest. But I'll be honest: In the long term, a reuse system is of course much more interesting, because it is the approach to getting the packaging and resource problem under control in the long term. To achieve this, however, our current reusable system needs to be fundamentally overhauled.