It’s happened to everyone: You take something home from the store, and try as you may, the product packaging is practically impossible to penetrate. Your fingernails are useless against its seals, and eventually, you have to settle for scissors or a utility knife. If you don’t cut yourself on those, you’re still vulnerable to the sharp edges of the material left behind. Frustrating, right? That frustration is what we in the industry call “wrap rage,” and it’s something that PI actively works to avoid in our own designs. When a packaging company loses focus on the consumer, they make unwieldy, hard-to-open packages. Consumers have had enough wrap rage, though, so our longtime focus at PI is becoming an industry trend: Make more user-friendly product packaging. Combining Security with Easy Opening A packaging company must be able to find balance between security and user-friendliness. For example, at PI, we manufacture product packaging for high-value items like cell phones and medical supplies. While those items need to be securely packaged to prevent tampering and theft, sealing them too tightly within the package...
Posted by rhelmke on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 | 0 comments
Here at PI, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of consumer trends. In this new blog series, we want to share with you some of the trends currently sweeping the plastic packaging industry. You’ll learn about what consumers are looking for, what packaging companies are focusing on, and how shifting priorities influence the way that manufacturers design and create custom packaging. For our first entry, let’s turn our attention to something that affects virtually every industry for which we manufacture: Environmental sustainability. Seamlessly Switching Your Substrates For too long in the packaging industry, manufacturers had to choose between style and practicality. More often than not, this meant sacrificing things like environmental friendliness in the name of producing a highly recognizable, branded package. Fortunately, advances in plastic packaging have enabled brands to shift away from that mentality over time—glass soda bottles, for example, can be faithfully replicated in more environmentally friendly plastic. Custom packaging thermoforming capabilities advance in leaps and bounds, and at PI, we see this up close. More and more package styles once thought possible only...
Posted by rhelmke on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 | 0 comments
You don’t have to work for a major packaging company to know that consumers care about quality. A recent study conducted by Ipsos InnoQuest, however, goes into more detail about what exactly people are looking for in their plastic packaging—and here at PI, their answers come as no surprise. This global study reveals that the majority of consumers would actually pay more for a product if it came in “packaging that keeps food fresh long” or “is environmentally friendly.” In our experience, those things can actually go hand-in-hand, creating a superior product that’s also more eco-friendly. Making Food Last In the United States, about 25 percent of our food ends up being thrown away. The situation on a global scale is even worse—that number can be as high as 50 percent, according to a recent study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. No wonder the consumers surveyed place such a value on packaging that maintains freshness. While there are a number of factors that affect how long food stays fresh, plastic packaging is one of them, and every packaging company owes it...
Posted by rhelmke on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 | 0 comments
According to the annual Foodservice Packaging Institute “State of the Industry Survey,” food packaging companies could see some growth—most foodservice packaging manufacturers in North America predict higher sales volumes and higher profits over the course of the rest of the year That doesn’t mean things are perfect, though, as manufacturers in both North America and Europe face hurdles to realizing this growth, as described in this survey. When confronted with data like this, you have to ask yourself: How can we improve our packaging solutions? Dealing with Common Challenges Many packaging companies that responded to the FPI survey replied with similar answers, particularly when it came to acknowledging challenges in the foodservice packaging industry. For example, one of the biggest challenges named was the general public perception that foodservice packaging is inherently wasteful. This isn’t a particularly new complaint, so it’s one that we’ve been addressing at PI for years. While plastic packaging for foodservice is inherently disposable, it doesn’t have to be inherently wasteful, which is why we invest in sustainable manufacturing processes, recycled and repurposed materials and efficient designs....
Posted by rhelmke on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 | 0 comments
This month started with an exciting announcement in the plastic packaging world, and it came straight from the red, white and blue—no, the other red, white and blue: Pepsi. PepsiCo Inc. announced that for the first time in 16 years, it’s changing its bottle design. Despite changes to the logo, the soda has come in the same bottle since 1997. So what does the sudden, drastic redesign tell us about the product packaging industry in general? Never Stop Innovating The Pepsi redesign goes to show what many product packaging companies already know: It’s never too late to innovate. PepsiCo Inc. shook things up when it debuted its newest logo in 2008, and this is the exact attitude that helps a ubiquitous product maintain its relevance—especially in a competitive industry. The new, swirled plastic packaging shape is literally a twist on the simple, classic design of the old bottle—and of hundreds of imitators on the market today. Innovating with a new design keeps consumers’ eyes on this product. The product packaging is inextricably linked to the product itself, making a statement...
Posted by admin on Food Packaging | Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 | 0 comments
When a packaging company designs for sustainability, it isn’t just the package itself that they need to consider—it’s what goes in that package. Plastic packaging should discourage waste of both itself and the product inside, or else it can create environmental problems far outside the landfill. A prime example of this is food waste. According to the Global Methane Initiative, food waste in a landfill produces methane gas. The methane produced from food waste alone is more dangerous than carbon dioxide emissions from every car on the road! Factor in that 1/4 of all purchased food gets thrown away, and you have a serious problem on your hands. So what’s a packaging company to do? Making the Most of Food What savvy packaging companies focus on now more than ever is convenience in their food packaging solutions. For example, airtight plastic packaging makes food last longer, whether it’s bought at the store or brought home from a restaurant in a takeout container. Sealing and resealing are both big priorities in the industry, including plastic packaging solutions like easy-open, resealable bags...
Posted by admin on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 | 0 comments
Sustainability is one of the biggest concerns that a packaging company faces today, and in few industries can it be more problematic than pharmaceutical packaging. After all, pharmaceutical packaging has to be difficult for a child to open but easy enough for the elderly, it has to be strong while reducing material and it needs to generate recyclable waste, if possible. One recourse that a packaging company can take is to manufacture compliance packaging as opposed to pill-bottle packaging, and the increasing popularity of compliance packaging may make you ask: What does sustainability mean to you? Combining Eco-Friendly and User-Friendly Designs Compliance-prompting pharmaceutical packaging encourages users to take the doctor-recommended dosages—one example is a tray that holds each dose in an individual cavity, so users only remove one dose of pills at a time instead of accessing the entire package at once. This type of packaging uses several different types of material, including paper, plastic and foil, which may give the illusion of poor sustainability. When made responsibly, though, medical packaging like this can be eco-friendly—particularly by using recyclable plastic...
Posted by admin on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | 0 comments
Recent recycling data shows that PET packaging continues to be one of the most recycled types of plastic on the market today, especially when it comes to consumer products. While advances in the manufacturing of PET by packaging companies are making it lighter and less wasteful, the percentage of bottles being recycled continues to rise, giving this material considerable staying power when it comes to sustainable manufacturing. PET Packaging and Water: H2-Whoa In 2010, about 32 percent of all PET water bottles were recycled. According to recently released data from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), in 2011, that number jumped up to 39 percent—a 20 percent increase. About 500 million pounds of PET plastic was recycled, and that’s just from water bottles. Consider also that packaging companies are finding ways to make PET packaging thinner and lighter all the time—recent data from the Beverage Marketing Corporation shows that the average weight of a half-liter PET water bottle went down more than 45 percent between 2000 and 2011. That adds up to billions of pounds of PET saved,...
Posted by admin on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 | 0 comments
We’ll be the first to admit it here at Plastic Ingenuity: We can’t help getting excited over the latest trends in plastic packaging. While other people are perfecting their fantasy baseball rosters and browsing the web, we’re reading up on the latest recycling statistics and innovative design awards. And sometimes we pick up on cool trends we want to share. In our new blog series, you’ll learn about some of the hottest and latest trends in the plastic packaging industry, and how they have an impact on other industries, too. Part One: Study Shows Consumers Prefer “Clamming Up” Clamshell packaging is just one of the designs that we specialize in at PI, and apparently, we’re not the only ones that think it’s pretty special. According to a recent study, consumers enjoy clamshell package as much as we do—in fact, they like it a whole lot more than paperboard packaging. A behavioral study conducted by Klockner determined that when given a choice between a clear clamshell package and a paperboard package containing the same product, the clamshell was significantly more effective...
Posted by rhelmke on Custom Packaging | Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 | 0 comments
No matter the value of what you’re selling, you want it to always look its best and be protected in a retail environment. That’s why the best plastic manufacturers have the same philosophy we do at PI: There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all packaging for retail. We always take the steps that any quality plastic manufacturer should, because success in the world of retail is highly dependent on how the products are presented to the customer in the store. See the klockner pntaplast eyetracking study report to see how different packaging options can make a difference to the bottom line. Packaging for Retail Takes Style and Substance Packaging for retail products has to be highly appealing and highly functional. This means showcasing the product visually, no matter the size or shape, while still making sure that the packaging is secure and fits efficiently on a shelf. While you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, consumers in a retail environment often associate quality packaging with a quality product, so it has to look good while doing its job. The Varying...
Posted by rhelmke on Plastics | Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013 | 0 comments
