Stability is the main focus of many brands and converters.  In fact, it’s actually one of the biggest priorities today.  Trends that do conflict with these, especially when you’re dealing with customers who pay attention to this. Building sustainability is the future, and here, we’ll talk about why this is at the front of everything. 

The Landscape of Trends 

As we start to move forward into later 2023, even 2024, we have to look at the current trends, including what’s becoming more easily accessible to people.

One of those things is sustainability, as this is starting to become more important. Lots of customers want more effective resources, and don’t want food to be wasted or spoiled. Customers are also more in tune with the environment than they were before. 

Regulations are starting to be implemented in order to commit to the goals of sustainability, which have since become more aggressive. 

All of this is happening near the packaging levels and spheres, which is why a lot are paying attention. 

Did you know that packaging waste accounts for about 10% of the carbon footprint in total?

The one catch 22 that a lot of people struggle with however, is that despite their efforts to prevent waste from being made, they end up creating more and more waste.

One example of this is in the realm of ecommerce.  With more and more people getting boxes, and more packaging used for these items, and more liners in place, especially for safety concerns, this can actually create more excess. This is something that customers have to struggle with too, since they want to support their favorite companies as they try to scramble and navigate this problem. 

There are a few trends to consider, which we’ll mention below. 

First, is health along with wellness. A lot of people are now more focused on general wellness and health, and on their habits, especially dietary, social, and even financial. They spend money on self-care items to help. 

Another trend is urbanization and convenience. People want things that fit into the lifestyles that they have. Many are busy, so they want packaging that’s easy, so they’re not sitting there fighting with wrap rage just to get their coffee started in the morning.

More as well are becoming aware of the type of hygiene and care they have, which means that they want packaging that’s safe and traceable. They want to know exactly where the product originates from, and also where it’s being protected and secured. 

Finally, many customers crave individualization. This means more and more SKUS in their business, and also more ways to make it personalized for the customers. 

How Digitalization has Helped a

 A lot of new and better technologies that boost the interactions of customers have helped with engagement, and also increase the data along with connectivity.

Some have moved towards digital solutions for their packaging in order to reduce waste.

But how? Well, let’s look at ecommerce. With the sales rising, and more and more wanting goods to come to them faster, people want to make sure that they have tools which are sustainable. A lot of digital items also are great for collecting waste, and also are good as well to sort out different recyclables, thereby closing out the loops. 

This allows for the resources used within the past to be put back, and also utilized in further production activities. 

These trends in packaging have offered more ways to be efficient, to minimize waste, and also to focus on the reusing and recycling of materials, benefiting everyone, especially the customer, in the process.