Kristen Kazarian

So long national brand imitations, lackluster packaging design and sub-par taste. Today’s private label brands are head-to-head with national brands as more retailers are entering the market. On store shelves and e-commerce platforms, it’s hard to miss the dramatic growth.

Smart labels allow retailers and brands to engage directly with consumers, and with manufacturers to track inventory through the supply chain — which, in turn, provides consumers with the transparency and convenience they desire in packaging.

E-commerce has reached the grocery aisles. In fact, online grocery shopping has nearly doubled in the last year. A report by the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen shows that 49 percent of U.S. consumers are now shopping for groceries online. And retailers from Amazon’s Whole Foods to Target, Kroger and Sam’s Club are investing in it too.

When we think of household packaging we often think of laundry pods, disinfectant spray bottles, and surface cleaners in aluminum cans or rigid containers that include a trigger spray or aerosol. Not anymore.

When it comes to snack food choices, consumers know what they want and how to buy them. E-commerce packaging for snacks is showing fast growth in the U.S., according to “Snack Foods – Packaging and Processing Market Assessment and Trends 2018,” by PMMI Business Intelligence.

The world market for packaging machinery value is expected to reach $42.2 billion by 2021, according to PMMI’s “Global Trends Impacting the Market for Packaging Machinery 2018” report.

In today’s connected world, consumers desire availability and speed with their purchases. Whether it’s food and drinks or clothing and cosmetics, we want everything fast. The rise of e-commerce packaging has soared to new heights, and a new set of parameters for packaging has come with it.

From products sold bare to compostable paper and reusable containers, beauty brands are making the move toward more sustainable and eco-friendly packaging options. We can thank the millennial generation, as well as the Generation Z up-and-comers, for pushing this movement.

Automating your packaging operations can increase productivity and help with labor costs, line efficiency, changeover time and more. Next-generation machines are doing more, and taking up less space.

New extended shelf life (ESL) and food waste prevention methods in fresh meat and seafood packaging have consumers craving more. This is noticeable by the global market’s strong rise over the last few years, thanks to increased shelf life of meat products.