Food Packaging Trends in 2018

Food packaging developments, sustainability and packaging design trends lead as top issues so far this year in this ever-growing business.  Griffin-Rutgers offers coding and printing equipment to deliver high-quality coding for your food packaging needs. Here’s a look at the current food packaging trends in 2018.

Food PackagingPouch filling operations: On-shelf differentiation and enhanced user experience matters to the consumer. Spouted pouches deliver both. The revolution started in the mid-2000s with applesauce and quickly moved into baby food, disrupting both categories. This packaging disruption continues today with many brands, and in the growth of ecommerce for groceries, not only with products marketed for babies and toddlers, but into other food choices to offer convenience and sustainability to the consumer.

Proposition 65 and food packaging: A preview of coming changes: There’s a saying that goes: ‘As California goes; so goes the Nation’. Therefore, this ‘Prop 65’ is an important piece of the puzzle for food packaging companies.  Anyone selling product in California must abide by the Prop 65 labeling law, to inform consumers when the product contains chemicals known to the state that cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm.

Forthcoming changes to the regulation, which will strongly impact food packaging, include a revision to the warning language. Brands will need to identify at least one carcinogen and at least one reproductive toxicant in the product on the label. They will also need to include a website address where consumers can get additional information from the lead agency. There will be more changes to the regulation that will more strongly impact food packaging.

Shelf Awareness: A family owned company, Nature’s Path has been organic for over thirty years, long before ‘organic’ was vogue. They recently re-designed their packaging with brighter, bold colors, clean design, and images on both the front and back.  Getting your products into the hands of the consumer will require bold, new innovative graphics.

Sustainable packaging: Companies that are trending towards using recycled materials are making waves within the consumer base to which they market their products.  For instance, Procter & Gamble’s shampoo bottle was made with ‘ocean waste’, i.e., plastic that was recovered from beaches, and recycled. Other companies are making their packaging refillable, reminding the consumer that is an eco-friendly option.  Coca-Cola and McCormick brands are among the leaders of this trend.

With many companies looking for solutions to reduce waste and to cut down on their carbon footprint, the materials that are being chosen for their products could lead to coding and printing challenges. Griffin Rutgers can help you select the right system for your needs. The type of package you’ll be printing on (bags, blister cards, boxes, cases or pouches), as well as the size, shape and other factors will be considered when selecting the printing system for food labeling.

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