Are plastics fit for tomorrow's consumer?
"The ageing population is turning into a major consideration for the packaging industry, as is the increase in single-parent and single-person households," said Jo Stephenson, vice president marketing and innovation at Linpac Packaging, the events' organiser.
Easy-peel options and overall openability and ergonomics will become increasingly important as the demographic balance shifts. Packs will need to reflect the need for better portion control, she says, and reducing food waste.
The firm is not the only one to underline packaging's role here. "It gets such a bad press," Stephenson said. "But if it was invented today, it would be embraced as a green technology."
At the same time, lightweighting continues. "We're working with 'champion packers' to establish the maximum weight reduction on a given tray, so that we both make a saving," she says.
Looking at advances in materials, Linpac's director of innovation Alan Davey contrasted the recent "flirtation" with degradable materials with developments in the established commodity polymers. "With these polymers, bio-based feedstock will increasingly have an impact," he said. "But the focus could also be on reducing carbon impact via lightweighting, foaming, the use of fillers and more recycled content."
He added: "The recycling of other major polymers such as polypropylene and polystyrene is one of the biggest opportunities. But achieving food-grade recyclate will be a tough challenge."
Also contributing was 'futurist' David Smith, chief executive of Global Futures and Foresight.
"The supermarket is now a defunct model. If you were setting out to create routes to market today, you'd base them on online ordering and delivery," said Smith. "The role of local convenience stores is permanent, because they're in situ. But the large sheds will decline."
In an online environment, the role of packaging is predominantly protection, he says, and convenience at point of use.
"The packaging industry needs to have the vision and the organisation to adapt to changing distribution patterns, and to build partnerships with the new channels and potentially with new players," he said.
