It is a difficult calculation. The results of an attempt to quantify the intangible value of packaging are accordingly ambiguous. After all, visibility at the point of sale (POS), customer loyalty and the advertising impact that good packaging can generate are difficult to put into figures. For a long time, production managers tried to justify the guiding principle 'When in doubt, rather go a little bigger' with this uncertainty - in the hope that larger and therefore more expensive packaging would ultimately bring higher sales figures and ultimately profit. After all, the supermarket shelf is all about one thing: attracting attention at any price.
Figures collected by the German Packaging Institute show how important the advertising aspect of packaging still is. After the protection of the products, this aspect already comes in second place: every second production manager surveyed considers the advertising aspect to be indispensable.
The concept of controlling the advertising effect of packaging primarily through size is wearing away more and more. Not only because (especially in the retail) the argument of a deceptive package quickly arises, which ultimately promises more than it can deliver. In order to minimize their carbon footprint and costs, companies are now also trying to optimize the materials used for packaging. And this movement even started before the rapid rise in energy prices, which has made paper and corrugated board, one of the most popular and sustainable packaging materials, extremely expensive and in some places even a scarce commodity. 'Approaches are being taken to save material or to rely on alternative fiber materials. New fiber materials are coming onto the market as packaging such as grass paper, cup-plant, bagasse or other agricultural and production residues. Others are currently still being tested, which can offer CO2 savings in addition to potential cost savings and better, regional availability', says PACOON Managing Director Peter Désilets.