Jorge Izquierdo, vice president, market development, PMMI

Packaging is a critical tool in driving a beverage brand’s growth. To gain a competitive edge, manufacturers must constantly seek innovative ways to engage consumers at the point of purchase. This year, the industry will see several packaging trends take shape as brand owners aim to boost sales with both classic and innovative materials, containers and print effects.

Canning the bottle

Competition in the beer market has risen steadily and there are currently 2,722 operational breweries in the US – the most since early 1876. There’s no doubt that liquor store shelves have become more interesting over the past decade with an ever-expanding range of packaging formats and shapes, but sometimes you can’t beat a classic.

In an effort to cut through the clutter by maximizing brand real estate, many brewers are opting for aluminum cans, which offer a larger "billboard" for messaging to engage consumers. Also, aluminum cans are lightweight and stackable, for easy transport and convenient storage. The sustainability benefits of cans are also widely understood thanks to a recycling infrastructure that has been established for decades.

Emerging markets take the wheel

Countries experiencing large economic transformations – such as Russia, Brazil, China and India – are seeing booms in several beverage industry sub-sectors. This creates opportunities for brand owners to capture market share as the emerging middle classes hit the stores. These four nations account for 85% of the world’s beer volume growth (per liter). China alone is forecast to drive 50% of global tea growth through 2017, while Brazil is projected to spearhead worldwide growth for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) over the next three years.

Due to a growing middle class and an increase in disposable income and retail outlets, packaging sales in these emerging markets are forecast to continue to grow as increased consumption and demand for consumer goods accelerates the need for more sophisticated packaging. When comparing the growth of these three indicators, it is immediately clear that new packaging opportunities will come mainly from countries in development – with Asia playing the most significant part in total growth potential – followed by Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa.

Drive success with the right technologies

To help beverage manufacturers leverage these new opportunities and build brand preference, North America’s largest processing and packaging trade show – PACK EXPO International (Nov. 2-5, 2014, McCormick Place, Chicago) – will feature the most up-to-date trends and technologies for the beverage industry.

On-floor show destinations like The Brand Zone will offer for inspiration for brand managers and package designers, showcasing the latest and greatest in paperboard, glass, metal, plastic and flexible packaging. Additionally, the show will see the return of The Beverage Cooler lounge where beverage brand-owners and manufacturers can network with suppliers and peers.

Visit www.packexpointernational.com for show updates and to be notified when registration opens.

PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, is a trade association representing over 600 packaging and processing supply chain companies that provide a full range of packaging and processing machinery, materials, components and containers. PMMI actively brings buyers and sellers together through programs and events such as The PACK EXPO family of trade shows, packexpo.com, PMT Magazine, PACK EXPO Show Daily, networking events and educational programs.

PMMI organizes the PACK EXPO trade shows: PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas, PACK EXPO East, EXPO PACK Mexico and EXPO PACK Guadalajara, connecting participants in the packaging and processing supply chain with their customers around the world. Coming Up: PACK EXPO International 2014, Nov. 2-5, 2014 (McCormick Place, Chicago); Pharma EXPO, co-located with PACK EXPO International 2014, presented jointly with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE); EXPO PACK México 2014; PACK EXPO East, debuting Feb. 2–4, 2015 (Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia); EXPO PACK Guadalajara 2015, March 18-20, 2015(Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico); PACK EXPO Las Vegas, 2015 (Las Vegas Convention Center)

Learn more about PMMI and the PACK EXPO trade shows at PMMI.org and Packexpo.com.