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Here’s how ‘Eco Warrior’ and ‘Gaia Capitalist’ David de Rothschild made his catamaran ‘Plastiki’ out of recycled PET bottle packaging -- turning waste into resource and into an (almost) completely recyclable boat, that he then sailed from San Francisco to Sydney.
You can read the related article I wrote earlier today here: Sailing through the Plastiki soup in search of Paradise
Chris Penfold
Layar technology providing interactive packaging potential
As technology gets ’smarter’, bandwidth increases and technology/internet converge, new possibilities will open-up in the packaging arena. Imagine a world where you go to the supermarket, and via your phone you are able to download all sorts of useful information about the brands in front of you, download recipes, find out about special offers, simlar products and competitor packs.
Now ‘hold’ that thought and take a look at this recent LAYAR VIDEO. Instead of ‘city-scape’, imagine winding your way through ’supermarket-aisles’. This app has been around for quite a few months now, but is continually being upgraded and brings these fantastic interactive packaging possibilities another step closer.
If you want to find out more about this exciting area of packaging innovation and the impact it is likely to have on our ’shopping experiences’, you might also want to read another article I wrote recently: ‘Adding value for consumers through internet & packaging in a brave new world‘
Chris Penfold
Apparently over 30% of food produced is wasted before being eaten
It is interesting to read that the focus of active and intelligent (A&I) packaging has shifted from “manufacturer concerns” such as shelf-life and spoilage to “consumer concerns such as freshness, quality and information”, according to recently published research.
The report – ‘The Future of Active and Intelligent Packaging in Food and Drinks’ said that industry leaders had identified “freshness indicators as the most important innovations in the field over the next five years. A development on quality was listed as the next most important field followed by temperature and time indicators.”
However, with over 30% of all food that we buy being wasted, I would hardly call “shelf-life and spoilage” just “manufacturing concerns”. They are huge and global concerns for everyone, much of which is to do with education and the role that packaging can play to save costs for everyone in the supply chain (very important in the present economic situation) but also, ultimately, to help save the planet’s finite resources.
I’m not sure how the research was conducted, what questions were asked, or how they were asked, but apparently, consumers ranked “health, convenience, safety and enhancing product attributes” as the most important attributes that would make them willing to pay more for A&I-packaged products. “Longer shelf-life and packaging that communicates product information” were also seen as important, but consumers perhaps see these as a ‘given’ and wouldn’t necessarily want to pay extra for them.
It is my feeling that the growth of A&I packaging has been primarily technology-led, by developments in sensor technology including nanosensors and biosensors. This is highlighted by the emerging trend of the incorporation of scavenging functions into packaging with bottles, labels or films. This is great technology, but I’m not sure that most consumers would understand what these are or what benefits they bring and therefore they would certainly not want to pay for their incorporation.
It is true that “Delivery of efficiencies in the value chain and the opportunity for manufacturers to differentiate their products and boost their efficiency by reducing product losses” will be major benefits for manufacturers and retailers – but what about consumers? There is a huge consumer-led marketing ‘trick’ being missed here, especially when “High production costs, compliance with food safety regulations and consumer mistrusts” are being highlighted in the report as “potential challenges”.
So, it is good to see that the consumer perspective is taking greater prominence (to some degree at least), in the New Product developments (NPD) that will help meet consumer needs in the expanding drinks and ready-meals segments. I agree, that the current focus for A&I has to be on luxury goods initially, and that it will move to lower-end products as the technology becomes more widely available and costs fall, but maybe it’s time to take a large ’step back’, flip this around completely and look at it from a consumers’ point-of-view. It is up to us all to educate consumers – highlight the wider issues of food (and water) waste & spoilage, get them to understand the more holistic effects of these on their daily ‘wants & (real) needs’ and ultimately get their ‘buy-in’ to the ‘real’ benefits.
Chris Penfold
You can read the full article at www.foodproductiondaily.com
Many thanks to @PhilCyLaw in Brussels for bringing this to our attention via Twitter.
New Healthseeker game on Facebook
A new game called HealthSeeker has been launched to more than 400 million active users of Facebook, with the goal of helping adults with specific lifestyle and nutritional challenges. The benefits of the game are actually available to anyone, but HealthSeeker specifically helps people with diabetes make more informed lifestyle decisions in an innovative way that complements their daily use of social media. Leading experts have reiterated how important a source of support, information and inspiration social networking tools like this can be for someone living with a chronic condition like diabetes. Many diabetics struggle with the lifestyle changes that are needed to help manage their condition, such as adding more fibre, fruit and vegetables to their diets, or increasing their daily activity. HealthSeeker can help them stay motivated by presenting simple, everyday steps to help them achieve their lifestyle goals.
So the game really takes ‘healthcare compliance’, and social media for that matter, to a completely new level. Chris Penfold
Read the full article at Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News
Bionic woman - Source: Wired via BrianSolis
Do you remember the film, Minority Report? Fiction often prefigures reality and in that movie a future was depicted, where visual objects are manipulated by hand, newspapers have sound & moving pictures, billboards change & interact (depending on who is viewing them) and cereal packs ‘talk’.
In the near future, it will be technically feasible and increasingly more cost-effective to put a moving display onto a packet of cornflakes. However, whether you are a technical specialist, generalist or know nothing about packaging whatsoever, we are all consumers and the question that’s so often overlooked is: so what?
Imagine going into your local supermarket where every cereal box bears a moving image. Should we use that moving display for promotional purposes or to add more information on the pack? As pointed out by Faraday, If all the pack graphics are moving, how will you create a clear point of difference? How else will the consumer be affected by the technological tidal-wave that could result from cheap, ubiquitous nanotechnology including plastic electronic devices and ‘smart’ materials?
Sony’s Rollable OTFT screen
Remarkably much of this technology already exists. Touch-screen technology is rapidly developing and ‘talking’ newspapers with moving pictures are close, as printing & polymer science catches up in devices like flat-screen televisions, where Sony launched “the worlds first OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV” in Japan 2007 and more recently (May 2010) their organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) ‘Rollable’ material.
Elon University made broad predictions (2006) for the future:
2010-2014: RFID tied to GPS – everywhere. Super supercomputers. Intelligent materials.
2015: Adaptable materials. Genetic profiling. Human cloning.
2016-2025: VR immersion. Ubiquitous robots. Emotion-control devices. Paint-on power.
2026-2045: Space elevator. Moon base. A “singularity” due to accelerating change.
2046-2150: Mars colony. Time travel. Brain downloading. Humans assimilated into the internet
So what are the implications for retail packaging? Certainly, it will need to be ‘smarter’, not only in terms of technologies & materials but also:
Packaging will also need to communicate even more information to the consumer:
There are already a variety of ‘intelligent’ packaging formats available in the healthcare sector to help patients take their medication at the right time. In consumer packaging, some AR technology is already used, such as the Lego Point-of-Sale packaging that gives a 3D visual rendition of the assembled contents within.
Lego AR POS packaging demo
Lego AR interactive POS terminal (Source: Augmented Reality Blog)
However, AR initiatives so far have been mostly utility focused, nothing more than animated 3D demos, exploiting the novelty of new technology. As a result, the AR ‘space’ is quickly becoming overcrowded and won’t take long for the ‘AR novelty’ to ‘wear off’. What is needed is a more consumer focused ‘problem solving’ approach in order to exploit the benefits of the technology.
As technology and web convergence happen, a number of exciting packaging opportunities will arise.
In retail stores, there will be opportunities for:
However for all of this to work, there will be a fundamental need for collaboration between retailers & all their supply chain partners.
In the home there will also be potential for more interactive & vivid:
This will mean opportunities for ‘Storytelling’ and bringing the products ‘to life’, which will lead to deeper brand engagement and stronger emotional connections, leading ultimately to greater brand loyalty.
There is an argument that all of this technology will have a dehumanising effect and there is also the privacy issue recently highlighted by Facebook, but the counter-argument is that communication binds us together, gives us shared context & ultimately a shared identity. Personally I think that the benefits far outweigh the problems, and we are now already on a journey of ‘no return’. So I would urge you to ‘grasp the nettle’ and take the initiative, before your competitors and before you get stranded without a ‘liferaft’.
O’Reilly said that “If we are going to solve the world’s most pressing problems, we must put the power of the ‘Web to work’ – its technologies, business models, and perhaps most importantly, philosophies of openness, collective intelligence & transparency.” Ultimately the Web and World will be one and the same, inextricably interlinked through packaging!
Chris Penfold
If you liked this and would like to see more – check out the collection of favourite Augmented Reality videos on our YouTube site.
EC Packaging Project Funding available
Later this year (July) it is expected that the EC will publish a call for proposals to support the packaging industry to find new ways of adding value to its products. Large companies (>250 employees) can receive a grant of 50% towards their costs whilst SMEs can receive grants up to 75%. The European Commission is looking for proposals that produce packaging concepts exhibiting the following properties:
· superb barrier properties in terms of durability and protection capabilities utilizing e.g. nanocoatings or thin films for enhancing consumer safety and to extend the shelf life of packaged, perishable goods;
· smart features incorporating nanotechnology such as indicators, sensors, protection against counterfeit and tampering, product traceability indicators, interactive components or biometric components which can be added to packaging using low cost printing technologies, such as roll-to-roll printing;
· utilisation of materials derived from a sustainable and renewable source, recyclability or biodegradability, and the applicability of resource-efficient (material, energy, water) package production processes.
Maybe you are part of a large corporation that has identified some opportunities but don’t have the finance or resource to take them forward (e.g. a sustainability or technology project that has the potential to ‘add value’)
or on the other hand, you could be part of an academic institution, Knowledge Transfer Network or SME who has a technology that is looking for a ‘home’.
Either way – I am looking for opportunities to help match you up, build a ‘value case’ and try and get our hands on some of this funding. So if you are interested – please get in touch: enquiries@designcognition.com (putting ‘EC Funding’ in the title)
Chris Penfold
Design Cognition is proud to announce its partnership with a number of other successful healthcare New Product Development (NPD) companies in the Midlands to provide a ‘one stop shop’ service in consumer healthcare product development under the banner of ‘The Healthcare Development Partnership (HDP)’.
Collectively we are a group of highly skilled, experienced, like minded individuals and companies who have come together to offer a complete healthcare product development service.
As well as helping established companies redefine their market positioning, revamp and reinvigorate their product ranges, we will help new healthcare businesses overcome difficult first hurdles, bringing together all of the necessary resources under one ‘umbrella’ to get to market ‘at pace’ and ‘right first time’.
As well as continuing to run our own thriving businesses, as founding partners we all bring significant blue-chip corporate experience, having developed and launched hundreds of successful branded consumer healthcare products across the world. So Design Cognition will continue to provide the first-rate service to which you’ve all become accustomed, but now as a partnership we can build on that and together offer you so much more.
The enhanced services that we collectively offer span all aspects of product development, including strategy development, product formulation, packaging development, clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs, technology sourcing and product licensing. These services are underpinned by world class project management capabilities.”
Clients can utilise all the resources that The HDP offer or just access a specific area of our capabilities. Whatever your requirements, a project leader will provide single-point contact and co-ordinate all project activity. As part of The HDP we all combine depth and breadth of knowledge with a passion for healthcare, giving our clients tailored solutions and an integrated, seamless service.
If you’d like to find out more visit or new website www.the-hdp.com or drop me an email via chris@the-hdp.com
Packaging design and development is on the ‘crest of a wave’ which will soon coming crashing down all around us. If you’d like to avoid a drowning or secure a liferaft, a couple of safety flares and a GPS to help you navigate your way through the impending turbulence, have a look at this short video to give you a flavour of what’s to come.
It’s a short video summary of the presentation I gave at the recent easyFairs Packaging Innovations event at the NEC in the UK, entitled ‘Web 2.0 & Web Squared – implications 4 packaging design now & future’
In it I talk about the growing effect, implications and opportunities of the internet on the packaging design process and on ways of working. I also highlight the convergence of Web & technology and the effect on consumer and patient interaction and personalisation, with some great examples of emerging and leading-edge packaging design.
Once you’ve had a look at the video, if you’d like more information or access to a ‘more complete’ version of the presentation – drop us a line to enquiries@designcognition.com
You can find the video here: ‘Summary video – Web 2.0 & Web Squared – implications 4 packaging‘
Cheers
Chris Penfold
Packaging Top Ten Tips
In order to help you develop your packaging more productively, we have generated a series of FREE short 1-2 minute videos detailing our Tip Ten Tips for getting it right. We will be posting 1 x video per day on this blog site over a 10 day period – so keep a look out for them – they could save you a £££$$$ fortune in the long run!
DAY 10 – Tip No 10: There are many types of protection that you can implement to help protect your pack style, shape,colours, branding , logos or layout…but what’s the best approach? Watch the video to find out….
Have fun packaging. Cheers Chris
Today’s Video:
Packaging Tip No 10 – IP protection – by Chris Penfold – Design Cognition
Look out tomorrow for the final part in our series – a conclusion & a chance to download ALL 10 Tips in 1 x 10 minute video…..
Further to the article that we blogged last Monday ,it seems that some plastics marked as ‘degradable’ might not be as environmentally-friendly as consumers (or even experts) think, according to new Defra-funded research.A packaging solution to the Great Pacific Garbage soup?
The study, carried out by Loughborough University, examined the environmental effects of oxo-degradable plastics which are made from the most common types of plastic, but include small amounts of additives to make them degrade at an accelerated rate. In response to this report, the Co-operative (in the UK) is to drop oxo-degradable plastic bags.
Iain Ferguson, Environment Manager, The Co-operative Food has said that: “(subsequent to the above) We have also launched the UK’s first home-compostable carrier bag, certified by the Association for Organic Recycling (and to EN 13432), which is accepted for food waste collections by a number of local authorities.”
Products made from compostable plastic are tested and able to bio-degrade within six months.
You can read the full March 11th article at Ready Meals Info (thanks to @packagingradar for bringing that to our attention)
There is also an interesting & related article in Packaging News today which states that:
Apparently, oxo-degradable additive producer Symphony has issued a statement that described the report as the “latest salvo in the oxo- versus hydro-degradable war” and said the allegations were familiar to firms in the sector.
Symphony also said it would be making a full response in due course, but said: “It should be obvious that plastic which self-destructs at the end of its useful life, leaving no harmful residues, is better for the environment than normal or recycled plastic, which can lie or float around for decades.”
It is also interesting that the firm also claimed that Loughborough University had not undertaken any experiments itself and that it was concerned to find that that “two of the three assessors of the report were themselves engaged in bio-based plastics, which is a totally different discipline to oxo- biodegradable”.
The plot thickens………….What do you think?
Chris Penfold
You can read the full Packaging News 12th March article by following this link: Oxo-degradable plastics article
And you can download the full DEFRA report here: Defra Report
