How consumer expectations are driving packaging demand

Rewind the clock ten years or so and the way that goods were packaged perhaps didn’t mean that much to consumers. The convenience and ability to acquire goods quickly as the ecommerce market begin to prosper was the most important thing.

But, as recycling and sustainability awareness began to become more mainstream, the effect of single use plastics, hard to recycle and hard to treat waste became the packaging materials that consumers no longer wanted to have to try and dispose of.

Whilst kerbside recycling supports the recycling of many materials there were still those that couldn’t be easily recycled, and it is these that posed a consumer conflict of interest to an ever- increasing number. In turn, consumers began to actively choose brands where the packaging their goods arrived in, or were purchased in, were of a more sustainable nature. This of course had a significant impact on how businesses began to source their packaging, and the decision that they made impacted not just on sales but on brand recognition and brand positivity too.

As the ecommerce market continued to grow and luxury goods began to benefit from the online retail sector too, the unboxing experience also became a conscious element in buying decisions with high end brands hitting the nail right on the head when it came to sustainable packaging that made the customer go ‘Wow!’

And so, packaging purchasing teams across the UK and beyond began to review the way their goods were packaged, not just in the commerce sector but also on shop and supermarket shelves.

It’s a change that has been happening for a while and a change that is still happening as even the biggest brand are now seeking ways to remove hard to recycle waste from their packaging solutions. Couple with the demands of large retailers to ensure suppliers provide products that don’t use non- recyclable or hard to recycle materials, the change is certainly gathering pace. With a raft of Government directives some of which are in place and some set to come into play in the years ahead, everyone from manufacturers to retailers to suppliers and purchasing professionals have got a clear focus, to place recycling and sustainability high on the agenda and achieve responsible goals wherever possible.

Corrugated and paper based packaging is the perfect solution to this and we have achieved great success with customers, removing hard to recycle materials and replacing them with corrugated; a material that has incredible strength, design capabilities and recyclability.

Why not get in touch with a member of our team to review your packaging?