3 Consumer Trends Driving Product Innovation and Packaging | Jabil
Important to note for CPG brands, almost three-quarters of people are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. Close to 30% of younger consumers, both millennials and Gen Z, said they would be willing to pay more than 10% more for their goods if they came in sustainable packaging.
Although consumers clearly want sustainability, as we discussed, they also want convenience. So businesses should look for ways to make packaging sustainable without needing much work from the consumer — whether that’s refill programs like Loop, which handles container cleaning so consumers don’t have to, packaging that is fully recyclable in at-home bins, transparent sustainability information on packaging, or even just the option to choose more eco-friendly packaging on e-commerce orders.
One packaging trend to keep an eye on is paper packaging. In the summer of 2021, Ecologic, Powered by Jabil, launched the Eco.bottle, a substitute for the traditional single-use water bottle made from a combination of paper and plastic. The bottle uses 70% less plastic overall, and a unique tear strip separates the paper and plastic components for simple, proper recycling. Considering less than 10% of plastic ever made has been recycled — partially due to the varying success levels of recycling programs around the world — this type of packaging could help make recycling easier for the average consumer.
Still, paper is not the only eco-friendly packaging option. Numerous sustainable packaging solutions are being rolled out or are in progress within the CPG industry. There is no single or simple option; what works best will likely look different from product to product and brand to brand. What we do know is that making sustainable packaging a reality will require buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders — including governments, local municipalities, private investors, CPG companies, consumers and more.
For consumers looking to make more sustainable packaging choices, it’s often the digital world — with its array of eco-friendly products and enabling of connected packaging — that they turn to for options. The online world has entered the real-life packaging discussion for consumers in a huge way.
Consumers embrace a digital reality
While I’m not talking about virtual reality here, the digital world and the physical world are connecting like they never have before. Think about online grocery shopping. With a few clicks, the ingredients you need for this week’s dinner or the snacks you need for your kid’s soccer game can go from pictures on an app to real items in your kitchen within a few hours.
People in all generations have come to embrace this new reality, with digital-focused consuming, like online shopping, becoming more popular every year — especially in 2020. Globally, 31% of Gen-Xers and baby boomers reported buying groceries online during the second quarter of 2021.
Occasionally using an app for a grocery order or buying from an online retailer like Amazon is just the beginning of this new “digital reality,” though. As consumers begin embracing more facets of e-commerce, like connected packaging, the interoperability of this packaging and smart home devices needs to be improved. In Jabil’s 2021 connected packaging survey, seven out of 10 consumers said connected devices need to be very simple to use. Connected packaging must be able to effortlessly “talk” to consumers’ smart devices, from smartphones to built-in control panels, to create a seamless ecosystem that’s easy to set up and operate. Otherwise, the packaging’s biggest selling point — convenience — is lost in a haze of frustration and unsuccessful Wi-Fi connections.
Beyond the convenience of knowing what you need and when, connected packaging can also help create a personalized consumer experience. Sensors and digital displays on food or medication packaging can provide consumers with specific best-buy dates and recall information. When a consumer is at the store, they can pull up their smartphone app to see how much product is left in the container. Or, most crucial for safety, connected medication packaging can tell consumers if they’ve already taken their medicine for the day.