Flexibility, sustainability and serialization were among the market drivers recognized in a report on trends at Pack Expo International and Pharma Expo 2014 published by show owner and producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
The complimentary online report covers eight trends:
- Flexible packaging as a replacement for rigid materials — Films are becoming more functional, economical, ecological, and in some cases, antibacterial.
- Sustainable materials and machines — Sustainability efforts impact a range of action areas, from source reduction to renewable content.
- Operational flexibility and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) — The axiom ‘Do more with less’ translates into shorter runs, operator turnover, cost control and maximizing OEE.
- Adaptability in robotics — Robots are no longer relegated to the back of the line. Collaborative designs are allowing robots and operators to work side-by-side.
- Easy-open/reclose functionality — Portability and individual servings drive demand for multifunctional closures.
- Retail-ready packaging — Sometimes, secondary packaging is retail ready — it all depends on what the customer wants.
- Serialization — Thwarting counterfeiting and facilitating regulatory compliance are central objectives for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- New ideas in child-resistant packaging — With stories of poisonings related to detergent pods and marijuana legalization making headlines, child-resistant closures are in high demand.
The report describes nascent trends, including additive manufacturing (i.e., three dimensional printing) for parts production and the use of near field communication to increase the consumer’s interaction with the package.
