Understanding the importance of Smart packaging
Consumer expectations are becoming increasingly high, and industries across the spectrum are upgrading their products and systems to become smarter, and provide exceptional customer experience.
Recent years have seen a boom in the e-commerce and the organised retail sectors in India, with the manifold increase of packaged food consumption, awareness, and a demand for quality products. This, in turn, has seen tremendous growth in packaging innovations across the country. Brands are catching up to the trend by using innovative packaging solutions to enhance consumers’ experience and increase the shelf appeal of their products.
The mithai industry is also becoming technologically savvy and entering the arena of innovative smart packaging. Also with the continuous increase in the availability of packaged mithai products in the market, it is extremely important for Indian sweet brands to use innovative packaging techniques that allow the inside product to remain fresh till the time it reaches the end-consumer.
Puneet Duggal, MD, Kap Groups articulated that in India, the traditional ethnic sweets are considered as the symbol of love and prosperity. That’s why every food manufacturer tries to represent his sweets in some innovative style by way of spending sufficient funds on design and outer packaging.
“But, due to the lack of technological and packaging knowledge, they are facing issues like quality”, he converged.
Packaging materials that have excellent barrier properties (both Moisture and Oxygen) for example, have become essential in product packaging, with examples like High Moisture Barrier Films (HMB), which are metalized and corona-treated on both sides for duplexes well as a sandwich layer for lamination in snack foods, where the loss of moisture is a concern. Other options are Aroma and Oxygen Barrier Films; which have strong moisture and gas barrier properties and are used for packaging of mithai and snacks.
When looking through retail shelves, consumers often run into a wide variety of similar mithai brands and products, which makes it really important for the sweet sector to make their products stand out from their competitors.
The shelf appeal of the product is as important as its quality, and has become a key component for successful marketing. No matter how great the packaging type is, if it doesn’t appeal to the consumers, it will fail.
Punit Chandan, MD, Trimurti Polymers enunciates that his company is bringing a range of IML containers especially for mithai, which will improve the shelf appeal, improve product shelf life and support to bring more value in terms of Re-use to consumers.
Eye-catching packaging designs give a brand and the product its desired escalation in the minds of the consumer. Packaging textures like matte, velvet, scuff-free, and linen give a premium texture and look to the products’ packaging, thus creating a feeling of luxury in the minds of the customer.
In fact Atirek Mittal, MD, Swani Enterprises opinioned, “You should buy sweets and namkeen having perfect quality with good packaging, as packaging also helps to increase the presentation and hygiene and shelf-life of the products”.
In the last few years, sustainable products have become a priority for consumers and for brands. The staggering growth in consumer awareness about sustainability, and frequent dialogues on social responsibility has pushed brand owners to do away with traditional, non-environmental friendly packaging methods, focusing more on homogeneous (same family of polymers) film structures.
BOPP, CPP, and PE come from the same poly-olefin family of polymers which can be used individually or in combination to form mono-material (homogeneous) laminate structures without compromising on the aesthetics and performance of the pack. BOPP and CPP Films also offer the benefit of better yield and in turn less consumption of plastics and overall lesser laminate cost.
Sukesh Kumar, Owner, Macro Print-n-Pack, stated that the packaging of mithai & namkeen products has undergone tremendous improvement and is becoming technologically better and environmentally good. He added, “We have added new machinery to add value to the packaging products and we call it Liquid Foil. No Plastic Film is used on the products yet the effects are metalized”.
Consumer expectations are becoming increasingly high, and industries across the spectrum are upgrading their products and systems to become smarter, and provide exceptional customer experience. Intelligent packaging uses its unique features such as sensing, detecting, tracing, and recording, and communicating to facilitate the extension of shelf life, enhance quality and safety, provide information, and warn about potential problems.
The technology of intelligent packaging can be applied to identify counterfeit products, boost consumer engagement with the help of smartphones, and avoid wastage through the clear indication of freshness levels or expiry of the product.
Punit Chandan defined that packaging with permanent branding on the containers constantly reminds consumers of the brand and silently creates a subconscious loyalty for the brand and their products.
Smart packaging is disrupting a once conventional industry
Brands and their marketing teams are increasingly looking for novel ways to engage with consumers. As a result, more and more smart packaging technologies are stepping onto the scene of the mithai and namkeen industry. From increased consumer interaction to providing a more informative overview of the product, smart technologies are improving consumer engagement in several ways.
Smart packaging is expected to continue to experience high growth in the coming years as it is viewed as an application that can create enormous value for a company. In 2015, smart packaging generated revenues of $23.5 billion, reaching $39.7 billion in 2020.
Significant players in the mithai industry are showing interest in this new area as a significant opportunity to generate and leverage data to make better business decisions and improve consumer loyalty.
It is very important for the sweet industry to have upgraded packaging to meet the consumer’s needs effectively. This is because when the sweets or dairy product comes in contact with the non-food grade packaging, there is a high risk of contamination and can be detrimental to human’s health
Duggal remunerated that, “Our containers being used are fully food grade. We have state of the art machines and robots where there is no human contact in manufacturing the container. And the temper proof lid gives a lot of safety to the product”.
He informed, “In-mould labels resist humidity and big changes in temperature: the best solution to decorate plastic containers for sweets, dairy products. In-mould labels are also scratch-resistant, cannot crack, and are not susceptible to wrinkles”.
QR-code is a type of 2D code that consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made of any kind of data such as binary or alphanumeric. QR-codes are used to help consumers make informed purchase decisions through their smartphones as well as provide manufacturers with information on the product’s integrity, inventory management, and new data insights across the entire supply chain.
Previously just a delivery medium, packaging is rapidly becoming an active component of a product, enabling brands to engage with customers, reduce their negative environmental impact and monitor the integrity of their products.
Technologies in this space are driven primarily by small startups and their solutions must scale up to have a more dominant presence in the market. This is slowly changing as smart packaging technology providers lower cost and raise performance leading to a growing interest in this sector. In the near future, more and more companies in the food and beverage ecosystem will begin to uncover the significant opportunities and disruptive benefits that smart packaging can deliver.
Environmentally friendly packaging
It is important that the mithai sector adopt a packaging technology that can not only be consumer-friendly but environment friendly too, apart from keeping the sweets and snacks fresh they should be reusable and recyclable.
“Yes we at Trimurti strongly advocate the use of packaging that is Re-usable by the end-consumers”, said Punit Chandan.
Agreeing Puneet Duggal said, “Kap Group In-mould labeling saves the environment: the packaging and the label consist of the same material and can therefore be fully recycled”.
Like one-third of all food produced around the world ends up in landfills annually, which amounts to nearly 1.3 billion tons of food get wasted. One key reason for this waste is the concern that surrounds “use-by dates” on the packaging, which were introduced as an important safety measure to prevent customers from being sold and eating food that might be unsafe to eat. But more than a fifth of still-edible food is unnecessarily discarded due to date inaccuracies or confusion about what the dates actually mean.
“In fact Government norms are very specific now for that but still packaging should be made from renewable sources and again easier for recycle this is the mantra for the future,” stated Sukesh Kumar.
Food waste is an environmental, social, and financial concern to the world but at the same time providing an opportunity for the packaging industry to develop smart packaging solutions. Intelligent packaging technologies such as Indicators and Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP) are being deployed by manufacturers to minimize unnecessary wastage as well as to improve the products overall safety and quality.
Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP) is a type of active packaging technology looking to extend the storage time of packaged food as well as maintain freshness, nutritional value, color, and appearance of the food for a longer period. MAP is used for foods that are not sterile and whose enzymatic systems may still be operative. It alters the gaseous composition of the air present such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide in a food package according to the desired profile.
Rajshree Polypack Ltd has set up India’s first integrated facility for manufacturing 9 layer PP & PS barrier sheets and Thermoformed products for MAP, Retort, MATS & Aseptic Packaging. The new facility will provide World-class packaging solutions to Mithai & Namkeen industry.
Ramswroop Tharad, CMD, Rajshree Polypack Ltd tells us that in the last 3 years there was a tremendous improvement in the packaging of Sweets & Namkeen. New MAP/Barrier trays were introduced to improve the shelf life of the product and a wider distribution network. The distribution network has moved from the traditional sweets shops to Malls & General stores.
Attractive Packaging Can Convince Customers to Purchase
What is the first thing a customer notices when shopping for a product? Yeah, it is the packaging. It is the first thing they interact with before shopping for the product. But the role of packaging is more than that. It also influences their buying decision.
A book might not be judged by its cover, but mithai can be judged by its packaging.
Packaging ensures that the mithai and namkeen stay safe throughout their transit. This way, they reach safely and intact to the stores and customers. Poorly packaging products are vulnerable to damages, thereby spoiling your customer’s experience with them.
Ramswroop Tharad reflected that attractive packaging will have a better display on the shelf and catches customers’ attention leading to an impulsive purchase.
There are many mithai brands out in the market striving for buyer’s attention. Certain come in the same size, shape, and style of packaging, creating a line of indistinguishable brands coming from the same factory. Therefore, it is very important for the mithai and namkeen companies to focus on brand packaging that should stand out and look different from similar products on the same shelf.
For the mithai or namkeen packaging to look unique, it is vital to create instant recognition and authority within the brand genre, leading to higher sales and visibility.
“Attractive and handsome packing of mithai and namkeen is very important in this business. With good packing our sweets and namkeen gets a facelift and increases the weightage of the mithai box”, said Atirek Mittal
This is a brainer. A visual presentation of packaging attracts customers and convinces them to pick up a product, explore its uses and find out if it is worth buying. Simply put, it is the selling point as it delivers a sense of quality while reflects the brand image. Color and design in packaging can have a striking effect on shopping behaviors. And it can trigger an urge in a customer to buy it the moment they see it. An attractive packaging beckons the consumer and encourages impulse buying. Symbols, colors, texture, and styling create instant recognition and persuade a customer to make a quick buying decision.
“Yes, true packaging adds value to the product and boost its sales at the first go but product inside had to be equally good for the continuation of sales growth’, gauged Sukesh Kumar.
“Actually it takes three seconds to form a first impression and the aesthetic look of the product packaging motivates consumers to buy the products”, stated Duggal.
He further added, “Attractive packaging also creates strong brand equity and positioning of the product. This premium positioning moves the product off the shelves very fast”.
The shabby stickers and the non-food grade boxes leave a bad smell in the product and the product gets lost in the herd of other similar products
If the wrapper looks good, it must taste good. This is how our subconscious association develops with good packaging and good tasting food. Simply put, if the mithai looks good on the packaging, then we tend to assume that it must taste good too.
The use of words like “delicious” “nutty and chewy” “crispy” and “juicy” as descriptors enhances the effect. This is termed priming. It means that you are subconsciously explaining about taste and feel of the products to the customers.
The mind is likely to accept the information and believes it to be true. If we are told somebody is good then our mind has already formed a positive judgment before interacting with that person. The same goes for the product.
The packaging is more than a label for a product. It provides important information like ingredients, directions for use, features, and benefits. Packaging also features customer service information like contact details for feedback and queries.
The packaging should be fully food grade and now there is high consumer awareness on ‘Food Safety and Hygiene’. Duggal deciphered that it is very vital that the packaging should occupy less storage space and easy to handle. “Our products are nestable and stackable; but the packaging should be temper proof and lock sealable”, he supplemented.
He further added that printing material on boxes should be food grade like IML labels are heat, chemical, and moisture resistant; and the packaging material should be interactive where the vital information about the product is printed neatly and in great detail.
In the same line, Punit Chandan said that packaging helps the product to showcase its true value. “We provide solutions to help customers design and develop packaging that will help to break stereo-types”, he pointed out.
But Ramswroop Tharad thinks that it is very important for the manufacturers to be involved with packaging machines and packaging material suppliers from the beginning of the project. This will help to design good packaging solutions.
Smart Gifting has big potential in the sweet and namkeen sector
In India, there are festivals round the year and all fiestas are incomplete without sweets. To celebrate festivities and rituals, we usually consume or exchange sweets and mark the celebrations of enjoyment and happiness. And as the trend of smart gifting has surfaced in India, especially the mithai industry is trying to reap the advantages of India’s cultural association with gifting sweets.
Gifting is a large segment for Mithai and Namkeen and Trimurti is working to create innovative designs for Gift packaging,
said Punit Chandan.
Smart gifting is a very nascent business idea that has quite a big potential, especially in India’s gifting industry. In a culturally-rich, a nation like India smart gifting solutions for sweets/namkeen is becoming prominent with time.
“Macro Print-n-Pack is making chocolate gifting, other ornamental gifting products also specifically made for festivals and occasions”, itemized Sukesh Kumar.
Gift-giving as a concept was never new to Indian society. It has been in practice since the old times. It is a token of reverence for dear ones for their love and affection. Furthermore, for Indians, festivals have cultural implications where emotions are associated with every aspect of the celebration. Therefore, in the current busy lifestyle, the festival is a time to get in touch with your family and friends and an occasion for gift exchange and conversation to convey the message you hear.
Sweets are not simply a delicacy in India; they’re intrinsically linked to auspicious occasions and traditional festivals, which abundantly exist in the Indian culture.
“During festival’s, attractive packaging takes the form of Celebration packaging. At festivals, the purchase the behavior of the consumer is emotional buying where the consumer wants attractive packaging for their loved ones”, evaluated Duggal.
Just as old as the concept of gift-giving, the tradition of consuming and giving sweets as a gift in festivals is also quite an old thing persisting in Indian society. And now that the tradition of gifting is being revolutionized by the introduction of technology, smartness, and customization, sweets gifting is also becoming quite trendy.
Atirek Mittal said, “We have made a lot of technical changes in the packaging of mithai & namkeen products and have also introduced many new and attractive designs of the packaging style that are a very adequate smart gift. “Along with many changes and initiatives, we are roping in new infrastructure to innovate our businesses”, he added.
The mithai industry has also seen a great inclination towards packaging. Apart from the taste, the presentation is highly valued. Online shopping is another trend given the busy time and prevalence of digitization across the globe.
“Rajshree Polypack Ltd provides printed thermoformed articles that are available in different shapes and designs that provide innovative gifting solutions”, implicated Tharad.
The very emotion that fuels people to foster their relationships makes them spend money on buying precious smart gifts for their loved ones. And with the festive period around the corner, gifting becomes imperative. Mithai gifting is an integral part of this and with upgraded technology, smart gift boxes are now in vogue.
The gifting industry in India witnesses high demand during festivals and aftermath too now. E-commerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart takes advantage of the festive season to boost sales, the gifting industry also benefits from this. “Our containers are 100% food grade and easy to handle – For example, for Bengali sweets we have small compact round buckets that are leak-proof and sealable. Also, our containers are temper evident and leak proof and we create the dividers inside the boxes – for inserting assorted sweets, said Duggal.
Kap Group offers personalized packaging / customized labels and its celebration packaging containers have best in class printing. All the sides of the containers, bottom, and lids are being used for the printing.
The website address, list of branches, instructions, pictures of products can be easily displayed.
India offers a large market for gifting but is not limited to the exchange of gifts only. The country is a land where emotions play an important role in everyone’s life. People like to give a gift that has value and superior appearance and the mithai industry has been cashing on this.
“Of late, the trend in smart gifting has brought about tremendous changes in the style and pattern of our work. The smart packaging has taken mithai and namkeen industry with a wave at the top crest”, pointed out Atirek Mittal.
When it comes to gifting, many consumers prefer a renowned brand’s products to be gifted to their loved ones. And in the case of sweets gifting, it becomes even more imperative to consider the brand name as cheap quality products can cause harm. So smart gifting solution comes in, its technology and beautiful packaging build up the brand value.