What do you think will change in the packaging industry in 2014? We have come to 6 conclusions and think it is likely to happen this year (or in the future). Whether you agree or not, you can email us to talk about your thoughts.
1. Flexible packaging is more widely used! Existing data indicate that flexible packaging will become the mainstream packaging form in the food, personal care and pharmaceutical industries in 2014. Canadean, an international researcher, said that in 2017 Americans will be more inclined to use rigid plastic containers and flexible packaging materials (32.85 billion U.S. dollars) when packaging, more than in 2012, so the flexible packaging industry will become the most developed packaging industry in the United States. The quick part. The Freedonia survey agency (Freedonia) predicts that the demand for flexible packaging in the United States will rise by 3.5% annually, and by 2017 it will exceed 21 billion US dollars, or 9.1 billion pounds. The growth of the flexible packaging industry market will stimulate the development of materials, design and packaging machinery, and at the same time, these will in turn promote the progress of flexible packaging.
2. Development of retail packaging of dairy products
Look at the follow-up phenomenon of Tillamook County Creamery Association's vertical pillow bag packaging of dairy products. The reason for this phenomenon is the use of vertical pillow-shaped bags to make supermarket milk products packaging more European (such as pile-like). Retailers welcome this, because for them, vertical packaging dairy products that require stocking and freezing have a shorter shelf life and higher storage costs. These retailers have taken a long time to promote the use of vertical pillow bag packaging in dairy retail.
3, more intelligent
If the definition of smart packaging is extended to more than simple packaging products, 2014 will see the development and application of data transmission and interactive packaging in packaging machinery. Time/temperature indication, program presets, near field communication (NFC), freshness/efficiency monitoring and other functions, some of which have been implemented, and some are still being studied.
4. How will biopolymers develop in the packaging field this year? So far it is not clear. The low cost performance and the wide application of plastic flexible packaging materials (substrates formed after processing by-products from petroleum extraction) have delayed the development of biopolymers in the packaging field. High-profile, advanced developments such as the Coca-Cola PET bottle show that biopolymers are still profitable in the current packaging industry. Around 2020, the packaging industry’s focus on bio-derived polymers will become clearer.
5. Nanotechnology. Five years ago, scientists and US regulators discussed the safety of nanotechnology, health packaging, and engineered nanomaterials at the Wilson Center in Washington. Nanomaterials are small enough to penetrate cell membranes that larger materials cannot. Since then, nanomaterials have been quietly applied in many fields. This year, we will see that nanomaterials will replace foil (metal flakes with a thickness of no more than 0.2mm) in paper/polyester fiber/foil structures to make the materials recyclable and sustainable.
6. E-commerce and mobile e-commerce promote the development of the packaging industry. We don't think Jeff. Bezos (the chairman and CEO of Amazon Group Board of Directors) put forward the idea of using unmanned aircraft with a set route to deliver packages this year. However, the explosive growth of online and mobile consumers has triggered a blowout in the demand for protective packaging. Compared with the traditional method of transporting bricks and sand and mud dealers using pallets to load items, the United States Post Office or courier companies have higher packaging requirements for single items. The packaging used to buy General Mills’ snacks online is safer than the packaging used to buy the same amount of candy in the store.