Trends Shaping Food and Beverage Packaging

New opportunities in food and beverage packaging are emerging due to demographic changes, new lifestyles, and changed eating patterns.  Due to these demographic mega-trends, population distribution has also changed, and this shift has influenced the eating habits of the masses.

People are diverting to outdoor eating or carrying packed food items to their homes. Due to these dynamic changes in eating trends, new tendencies are shaping food and beverage packaging.

Manufacturers are heavily investing in adopting and experimenting with new forms of food and beverage packaging in line with changed behaviour and consumers’ attitudes towards edibles.  There are four key factors that shape food and beverage packaging.

Smaller Packages: Smaller packages are a big trend in packaging now. These packages contain food for one or two persons only. These also include packaging for single-serve or meals for two, multi-packs of individual portions. Smaller-footprint stores are emerging as a result of this newly emerged trend.

Convenient packaging: convenience is added to food and beverage packaging, which boosts their sale. Features like light weight, ease of opening, portability, reusability, and no-mess dispensing are such benefits that influence consumers’ purchasing behaviour in a positive way.

See-through packaging: Such packaging boxes are being used, which have see-through windows. Transparency in packaging taps increase consumers’ desire figuratively, which drives people to purchase the product. Transparency showing the inside ingredients wins the consumers’ goodwill and trust to boost sales.

Eco-friendly packaging:  Single-serve water or cold drink bottles have come under severe criticism because they are seen as a source of environmental hazard.  Companies have introduced such bottles that are easily recyclable. More environmentally friendly materials and designs are used.