Outlook for 2022: Trends and disruptive innovations

OUTLOOK FOR 2022: TRENDS AND DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS

As we move ever closer to a new year, it’s time to ask what kinds of trends, priorities and disruptive innovations we can expect 2022 to bring. We hear from a range of voices across the industry on subjects such as bioplastics, packaging waste, automation, recyclability, paper & board and more.

NOVEL BIO-BASED MATERIALS: HASSO VON POGRELL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN BIOPLASTICS

The bioplastics industry has made substantial progress in developing renewable, bio-based plastic packaging solutions that are poised to eventually displace the established class of non-renewable plastics. The European Union is supporting this transition with funding from its Horizon Europe plan and the BBI JU programme and its successor CBE JU, the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, which are expected to scale up bio-based technologies and lead to industrial deployment.

European Bioplastics (EUBP) is involved in several of these leading-edge research projects, one of which, PRESERVE, has the ambition to replace 60% of food packaging currently used on the market with innovative bio-based packaging materials that can be upcycled into new products. The project partners are developing removable protein-based adhesives and coatings to reach the desired barrier properties of PLA (polylactic acids) and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) materials for food packaging. A recycling pilot plant will be built to demonstrate the viability of a new delamination technology and feature sorting technology via advanced photonic and artificial intelligence. The recovered materials will then be used as secondary raw materials for non-food applications, such as upcycled textiles, durable reusable packaging materials, and personal care products, all with less than 15% of virgin bio-based materials.

TACKLING PLASTIC WASTE: SANDER DEFRUYT, NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY LEAD, ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

Adopting a circular economy requires the redesign of products, packaging, and business models. New innovations are making this possible. Apeel is a new technology that replaces plastic with an edible material that creates no waste. It’s a powder that when mixed with water at the point of production and brushed onto fruit and vegetables keeps them fresh for longer without the need for packaging. Food manufacturers no longer only have the option of unrecyclable plastic wrapping.

Tech innovations are also starting to emerge that help manufacturers provide essential information on products, while reducing plastic packaging. Danone has produced a bottle with branding directly embossed on it, removing the need for the usual plastic sleeve label. The barcode has been moved onto the cap, and the bottle itself is produced from 100% recyclable PET.

The HolyGrail 2.0 project is breaking new ground in facilitating more efficient recycling of packaging. It applies digital watermarks onto packs, allowing both users and waste sorting centres to more accurately identify the packaging that can be recycled. Packaging supplier Amcor is currently piloting the technology with brands in Copenhagen.

PRINT TECHNOLOGIES: FRANÇOIS MARTIN, MARKETING & COMMUNICATION MANAGER, BOBST GROUP

After two pandemic years, we have learned that flexibility in printing is a must. This new motto will require more automation, digitalization and new materials developments.

In labels, the digitalization of colour such as BOBST DigiColor and oneECG will fuel flexo press sales. Inkjet, with its simple architecture, will impose itself as the ultimate technology for label production. Speeds up to 100 metres / min and competitive economics speak for themselves. Laser cutting will enable short runs to be finished faster. A new class of presses combining digital printing and flexo modules, like the BOBST DM5 All-in-One, All-in-Line, will help customers to optimize their entire production floors. Demand for water-based printing solutions will grow but such solutions are not yet ready.

In flexible packaging, new mono-materials and processes enabling companies to address the sustainability pledges will become reality. Digitally printed flexible packaging continues to grow with highest growth rates in stand-up pouches, flow wraps, and single-serve packages

Corrugated remains the highest growth engine for packaging overall. The increase of e-commerce and retail-ready packaging is a winning formula. Corrugated board companies will boost the sustainable appeal of corrugated packages with new design and inside-outside printing. Digital printing has gained momentum, with more than 100 units of digital printing presses installed worldwide. Its promise has not yet been fulfilled as economics do not yet answer the market requirements, but this will come before the end of the decade.

TRACEABILITY – NFC TECHNOLOGY: GILLIAN EWERS, VP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, PRAGMATIC SEMICONDUCTOR

TO date the most common applications for near-field communication (NFC) have been for bank, transport and ID cards. However, whilst there have been examples of NFC being used for product authentication and customer engagement, so far these have been relatively high value products in low volume and have not scaled to mass market adoption.

At PragmatIC, we believe there are two main reasons for this. The first is quite simple – the cost of silicon-based NFC tags is too high for everyday goods like food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, where the cost of each item is less than one €/$/£. This barrier will be overcome in 2022, with new ultra-low-cost NFC being delivered at volume.

The second reason is that the use case of ‘consumer engagement’ is not attractive enough on its own. What could drive uptake in the use of NFC is seeing how this technology can help brands deliver on their promises to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For example, all businesses want to improve the circularity of their goods and the biggest barrier to doing that is enabling consumers to do the right thing once they have finished using products. NFC can be used to provide up-to-date and localized recycling information, as well as rewards. We believe 2022 will be a breakthrough year for NFC, when we will start to see the technology used to address this and other global challenges.

PACKAGING DESIGN: MEGAN RAE, MARKETING AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, ECHO

Inclusivity will be one of the biggest drivers in design for 2022 and beyond. Creating a packaging design that is accessible for all is imperative. This can already be seen from the likes of Degree Inclusive, who won the Innovation Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions for the development of a deodorant that makes application a seamless process for those with visual or limb impairments.

Merging technology and packaging will soon become the norm, as QR codes take the user to a virtual world where they can access further information that they may struggle to attain on-pack. In fact, with packaging generally facing increased scrutiny, using technology to enhance the pack experience will become commonplace. As companies begin to incorporate ESG into their business model, brand transparency is key, and consumers will want to virtually access information on supply chain and product source.

As highlighted at COP26, food waste is a huge contributor to the carbon footprint so obtaining assurance that food will stay fresh for longer will also be an imperative. In order to tackle the problem of food waste, the durability of a product is increased when wrapped in plastic packaging. 2022 will see a shift on the war on plastic towards a more nuanced approach, as we reach an understanding of how this material can actually help protect the environment.

LUXURY PACKAGING: ANNETTE CLAYTON, GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGER AT FEDRIGONI

2022 will see rapid acceleration of sustainable packaging across the luxury sector. The past century has taught consumers that ‘premium’ is glossy, polished and refined. Yet, more often than not, this relies on plastic, heavy glass, or foiling and lamination adornments that make it extremely difficult to recycle.

The ‘conscious consumer’ holds more purchasing power than ever before, expanding beyond millennials and Gen-Z to all demographics as the climate crisis escalates. I predict that luxury brands will cotton on to the fact that they now have no choice but to authentically embrace sustainable packaging if they want to engage the new generation of consumers.

Long considered weak, blemished and too ‘rustic’ for the premium look, the luxury sector has typically avoided recycled papers for not fitting with their brand positioning. While this may have been true ten years ago, the paper industry is expanding the look, feel and quality of its recycled ranges exponentially, which is set to explode even further over the next 12 months.

In the world of recycled papers, textures are diversifying. Weights are getting heavier. Whites are becoming brighter. Materials are looking cleaner and less blemished. The choice in recycled papers is developing rapidly, with swatch books such as Materia Viva offering nine families of fine papers from recycled materials. I expect luxury packaging that unites beauty with environmental responsibility will increasingly become the norm across 2022, with paper selection playing a large role in this transition.

PAPER & BOARD: DAVIDE BRAGHIROLI, PRODUCT MANAGER PACKAGING MATERIALS, TETRA PAK

WE expect sustainability goals to continue driving innovation in the packaging industry into 2022 and beyond. At Tetra Pak, we are working to create the world’s most sustainable food package: one that is made entirely from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, is fully recyclable and carbon neutral. In short, a package that has circularity and recycling ‘built in’ – along with anti-littering measures, too.

To realize our future package, further improving design for recycling is critical. With this in mind, we continue to collaborate closely with our suppliers, start-ups and other stakeholders across the value chain, to simplify the material structure, increase the paper-based content and minimize the usage of virgin, fossil-based components, replacing them with renewable or recycled materials. This focus area includes progressive replacement of aluminium foil where possible from our aseptic packages as well as investment in the development of anti-littering solutions, such as tethered caps. In this regard, our first aseptic packaging solution without aluminium is already on shelves, and we are committed to launching a fully renewable aseptic package by 2023.

Today, carton packages are recyclable. They are collected and recycled where efficient waste management and recycling infrastructures are in place. But for us at Tetra Pak, that’s not enough. Accelerating design for recycling is only one out of the six strategic areas we are working collaboratively across the value chain to improve how cartons get recycled and contribute to a low carbon circular economy. Alongside 4evergreen, we created a forum to make synergy and boost the contribution of fibre-based packaging in a circular and sustainable economy that minimizes climate and environmental impact. n