Food For Thought: 4 Fast-Growing Trends Brands Need To Be Aware Of

Like any consumer-driven area, packaging and labels are also subject to trends that all brands need to take heed of. As trends evolve, it’s important to stay abreast of what consumers want to see, so your brand can remain relevant. So that you can maximise your brand’s success, we’ve compiled 4 fast-growing trends that are changing the way customers interact with products and packaging.

Personalisation

Giving consumers the chance to customise products has the potential to create a new source of revenue. Due to technological advancements, it is now possible to personalise a huge variety of packaging – ranging from Nutella jars to HP sauce bottles to Coca Cola cans. This customisation allows customers to put their mark on the brand, engaging them on a more personal level, and changing their expectations for packaging to deliver a wholly new experience.

Cleaner and clearer labels

For aesthetic and informational reasons, consumers are now demanding that the labelling on their food and drinks packaging is utterly clear and concise. When trying to choose which products to buy, consumers don’t want packaging to be overloaded with messages; they want the most important information—such as ingredients and nutritional value, function and safety—to be communicated to them in ways that are visibly clear and easy to understand so that they can make informed purchasing without confusion.

Appealing to the senses

Aside from being relevant in the modern day, there are so many benefits to having different sensory elements being integrated into packaging. Of course, the visual element of packaging is what customers interact with first, and can sometimes be strongly influential in terms of choosing which product to buy. However, many experts define touch as the most arousing of human senses, with consumer neuroscience showing that the activity of the orbitofrontal cortex is also related to our willingness to buy, and even more importantly, a willingness to pay a higher price.

Packaging mobilisation

As mobile technology allows for more information to be communicated, mobile-engaged packaging is on the up. As this information is communicated in both simple and smart ways, the vast majority of consumers are now being presented information via WIFI, Bluetooth and near-field communication (NFC). Beverage company Diageo has introduced NFC technology onto printed labels on liquor bottles. This technology works by sending signals over a short distance and thus can wirelessly speak to consumers’ smartphones.

Packaging is such an integral part of selling a product. It has to be attractive, clear, concise and have the customer’s desires in mind. Why not try incorporating some personalisation or mobilisation next time you’re thinking of a product packaging design? Or perhaps you just need to adopt some more white space, to make your message stronger. Whatever technique you employ, keep these 4 trends for packaging at the forefront of your mind.

For the biggest range of food packaging machines and materials in Australia, check out our selection online or visit our showroom today!

Top Tips For Reducing Food Waste This Holiday Season

During holiday season, it’s far too easy to waste food (and therefore your hard-earned money) when your routines are all over the place. The holiday period is expensive enough without throwing away perfectly good food! Below are some of our top tips for you to save time, money and waste, both now and year-round.

Use leftovers as your guide

Think about what you usually have leftover and spend some time searching for recipes you can use to transform them into new dishes. If you always have leftover mashed potatoes, look for a recipe for mashed potato cakes. Use your turkey carcass to make turkey dumpling soup or whip up a batch of homemade chocolate cups filled with peanut butter and leftover cranberry sauce!

Use your freezer

It’s always a good idea to keep a large zip-top bag in your freezer that you can put veggie “scraps” into, such as the ends of carrots and mushroom stems. Once the bag is filled up, roast a whole chicken and use the veggie scraps to make a big batch of broth. This allows you to use the whole chicken as well as get a use out of veggie scraps that would have otherwise been thrown away. Vacuum sealing leftovers is another way of preserving food for another occasion rather than disposing of it. 

Plan your meals

This one is no surprise! Planning your meals gives direction to your grocery shopping and ensures that the food you purchase is put to good use. If you’re new to meal planning, start simply: before looking up recipes online or in a cookbook, make a list of your family’s top five to eight meal types. Once you have a list of the types of meals you prefer, you’ll have a framework for your plan which will make finding specific recipes easier.

Take inventory

Before writing down a shopping list, make sure you thoroughly survey your pantry, fridge and freezer. Get out all the old bags of frozen peas and the year-old cans of coconut milk. How can you make use of what you already have? Get creative. Not only will this prevent you from buying things you already have, but it can begin a wonderful meal inspiration. If you find a bag of dry lentils, a can of tomatoes, half an onion and a few carrots, why not make a delicious soup? This will help you stick to your food budget and satisfy your need to be food efficient.

‘Tis the season to be saving, on both food and money! Avoid throwing away more than you need to this holiday period, by making use of your scraps, getting creative and planning ahead. Not only is this good for your budget, but it’s great for the environment, too!

Resource

https://www.bookculinaryvacations.com