Packaging design, sustainability successes dominate in August 2019

Lisa McTigue Pierce, Executive Editor

September 12, 2019

5 Min Read
Packaging Digest logo in a gray background | Packaging Digest

Between enjoying an end-of-summer vacation and preparing for a new school year, last month packaging professionals kept up to date on design and sustainability trends through avid reading of Packaging Digest articles.

The list of top seven articles from August 2019, based on PackagingDigest.com page views from our global audience, starts with…

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7. 6 package design tips you probably haven’t heard before

How do packaging designers excel once they’ve mastered the basics?

With a quarter century of experience working with consumer packaged goods companies, Shane Breault, vp/partner/creative director at Ultra Creative Inc. in Minneapolis, has these six suggestions:

• Start from the bottom up
• Give ’em your best opening line
• Blow the lid off
• Stick or schtick?
• Crack the code
• Deliver the goods

NEXT: Top sustainable companies by state

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6. Top sustainable companies by state

This infographic identifies the leader in sustainability in each of the 50 states in the U.S., as judged by sustainable practices drawn from four key industry studies: Newsweek’s Top 500 Global Companies rankings, Barrons’ “100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies” list, Corporate Knights’ “2019 Global 100” ranking, and Rubicon’s “Top Sustainable Small Businesses in Each State” list.

Many are well-recognized companies within the global packaging community—such as Campbell’s, Hasbro, Nike, McCormick, Estee Lauder, Sonoco and UPS.

What successful ideas of theirs can you replicate in your sustainability program?

NEXT: Dasani's next 5 steps to greater packaging sustainability

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5. Dasani’s next 5 steps to greater packaging sustainability

Sneha Shah, group director, packaging innovation, Coca-Cola North America, discloses details and reasonings behind the company’s five sustainability initiatives for its Dasani water brand:

• hybrid bottles from renewable resources;
• a major entry into highly recyclable aluminum;
• package weight reduction research;
• recycling-enhancing labeling; and
• packaging-reducing dispensing for foodservice outlets.

NEXT: Most food cans no longer use BPA in their linings

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4. Most food cans no longer use BPA in their linings

Regular Packaging Digest readers will no doubt remember seeing this article in our top-read lists for most of 2019 (February, March, April, May, June and July). It has dropped one more position in our “Top” list, from the No.3 article in July to the No.4 item for August.

Overall, “chemicals of concern” and their migration from packaging to product continues to worry consumers, and thus packaging developers at product manufacturing companies.

NEXT: Packaging recovery tops sustainability conversations

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3. Packaging recovery tops sustainability conversations

Packaging material recovery and end-of-life options, especially for plastics, are dominating headlines today and are top-of-mind for consumers—partly as a result of the global outcry on pollution.

Tristanne Davis, senior manager with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), shares key takeaways and perspectives on this topic gleaned from presentations and other conversations at a flurry of recent packaging-sustainability events: SPC Engage: Minneapolis, GreenBiz’s Circularity ’19, Plastic Free World Conference and Expo, and the International Product Stewardship Forum.

• Recovery is increasingly about more than just recycling and recyclability.
• Reuse is among the key solutions being discussed more seriously (partly due to the new Loop initiative).
• Compostable, biobased solutions are quickly gaining momentum but the conversation can be confusing.
• Packaging optimization has a conflicting but evolving role in the conversation.
• Recycling needs to continue to play a key role in the solution to plastic waste and needs to be disrupted.
• Recovery needs to be safe and then circular (Bill McDonough from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute introduces the idea of retox—where we cycle products over and over through recycling, but some of these materials we are recycling are toxic. So, we are also cycling toxic chemicals.)

NEXT: 7 best packaging practices for cannabis marketers

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2. 7 best packaging practices for cannabis marketers

Cannabis, CBD, THC, weed or whatever else it’s called…this burgeoning product category is all over the place when it comes to skilled (or not!) packaging designers. What do newbies desperately need to know to create a marketing success?

Tom Newmaster, FORCEpkg. founder with more than 25 years of experience in branding and package design for consumer packaged goods, outlines his packaging tips for cannabis brands:

• Understand the “Natural Habitat” and aim for mind-blowing shelf impact
• Shape, color, text—repeat after me…shape, color, text
• Make the connection—embracing technology and social media
• It’s easier being green—messaging and responsibility
• Understand the consumer—know the generational cues
• Authenticity and brand voice—be yourself
• Don’t think of cannabis as an exotic category—consumer behavior is still in play

NEXT: 10 pack redesigns earn honors in Nielsen competition

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1. 10 pack redesigns earn honors in Nielsen competition

When you’ve got an established brand, periodic packaging updates tell customers you care. But striking a balance between a fresh package design without scaring off your fans isn’t easy. How do other brands do it? Our top article of August 2019 shows 10 success stories from around the world in a variety of categories with Before and After photos so you can see the changes, not just the new designs:

• Nice! by Walgreens (U.S.): More than a nice try
• M&M’s (U.S.): Redesigned pack stands up on-shelf
• Icelandic Provisions (U.S.): New Skyr package is eco-friendly
• Hess Select (U.S.): The lion still roars
• Alpura (Mexico): Milk pack redesign is a natural
• Arawana Oil (China): New design tackles ergonomics
• MAQ (South Africa): Redesign brings brand family together
• Playboy Deodorants (South Africa): Aerosol redesign highlights fragrances
• Prestígio (Brazil): Candy bar packaging gets a makeover
• Satis! (Brazil): New seasoning packs showcase product benefits

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MinnPack 2019 (Oct. 23-24; Minneapolis) is where serious packaging professionals find technologies, education and connections needed to thrive in today’s advanced manufacturing community. See solutions in labeling, food packaging, package design and beyond. Attend free expert-led sessions at multiple theaters around the expo.

About the Author

Lisa McTigue Pierce

Executive Editor, Packaging Digest

Lisa McTigue Pierce is Executive Editor of Packaging Digest. She’s been a packaging media journalist since 1982 and tracks emerging trends, new technologies, and best practices across a spectrum of markets for the publication’s global community. Reach her at [email protected] or 630-272-1774.

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