Gaining customers, and keeping them; these are two basic requirements any industry needs in order to maintain a sustainable trade and even increase yearly turnovers.

For the food and drink industry, these factors can be directly influenced through the quality of packaging which products are stored and displayed in, meaning the level of packaging machinery, equipment, materials and designs needs to be of the highest standard day in, day out.

Of course, innovation will always play a key role in the future of food and drinks packaging, but as a direct result of more demand for differing and improved packaging developments, the environment is, as always, making its mark on the industry with the continual need to be ‘green’.

Whether it is saving on materials to limit wastage, reducing weight through the use of various materials for improved transportation, or using biodegradable and other environmentally friendly materials, the role of manufacturers to improve products and operations to benefit the planet’s resources and sustainability continues to be an ongoing challenge.

Luckily the industry has been benefitting from various innovations on a regular basis when it comes to showing their good green-fingered nature. Some of the biggest companies across Europe are collaborating on a number of designs which aim to not only please the demands of the environment, but also those markets who see flexibility and convenience as a key selling point. One company in particular has made the move from glass bottles, to pouches for the storage and packaging of beverages which has significantly cut the percentage of carbon emissions, whilst preserving the contents for a number of weeks after opening of the product. This in comparison to the bag in box design offers a much easier package to display and has the ability to attract a greater market due to its excellent potential to integrate with busy lifestyle driven consumers.

Many more companies are warming to the vision of eco-friendly processes and products with the introduction of compostable materials within their packaging, with fair-trade producers in particular wanting to add an ecological aspect to their packages as well as the produce. The advantage with some materials is also their ability to act as barriers against external contaminants such as moisture, ultimately increasing shelf life of some products.

With the protection of products in mind, especially since the health and safety of operations and the consumer drive the majority of innovations, the development of edible films have taken a step towards a number of fat based components. Benefits include reduced costs for manufacturers, as well as increased food quality and life, however it seems that in light of the ethical issues in using food sources to create such films, that in the next decade the use of sugar-based bioplastics (which can be sourced from non-food crops) may end up making their way into the market. Degrading much quicker at lower temperatures compared to polylactide, such degradable polymers will no doubt soon be welcomed as the future of packaging.

Due to the preservation of the environment, the phrase ‘less is more’ has never been so appropriate when it comes to materials used, along with the manufacture of multi-functioning machinery and other production processes.

Thus protecting food and drink quality through edible films and other protective materials for packaging purposes, is a step in the right direction, but what about the savings regarding labelling?

The many rules and regulations surrounding labelling means there is a certain amount of legal copy required on each product, particularly for food and drink products, yet the majority of the time, space is an issue. In addition to nutritional information, cooking guidelines, storage instructions, allergy warnings and so on, there is the need for multilingual information among other required copy. With this amount of information being presented on one product it doesn’t leave much room in the way of sales and promotions, which is essential for brand popularity and loyalty from consumers.

However, the solution to this problem lies with the innovative, flexible development that is multi-page labels, offering opportunity for any product no matter what its shape or size. Multi-page labels allow consumers to be better informed about products, or give companies and their brands the chance to promote and attract through creative on-pack communications.

Fix-a-Form multi-page labels, first created by Denny Bros, help deliver messages effortlessly to the consumer without the restrictions which non booklet formatted labels provide. Since marketing is as big a part of the food and drink industry as picking, packaging and distributing the products, the use of multi-page labels offer a great number of advantages; from simplifying a products appearance, providing all relevant information in a easy read format, and easy application, to protecting information during various environmental factors such as storage and transportation; making whatever message companies want to put across, as easy as reading a book.

Nicole Tinmurth, Food & Drink Network UK, 26 April 2010