Opportunities in Smart Packaging

Smart packaging is a term that means different things to different communities. The aim of this article is to take a wider look at trends in smart packaging and consider some of the potential implications for authentication and brand protection. To do this, we should start by attempting to define smart packaging from the perspective of the packaging industry, taken from a recent trade show.

The perspective from Interpack 2023

Interpack is a trade show for the technologies of packing and packaging. It normally takes place every three years, and this year it returned to Messe Düsseldorf after a six-year break caused by the pandemic. Meetings such as this, and the subsequent plethora of articles coming out of them, serve to not only give a snapshot of an industry, but also note the terminology currently in use therein.

One key observation is that a definition of the term ‘smart’ in packaging terms really depends on whom you ask. For some, in particular those from the packaging printing industry, the term ‘smart’ simply denotes the ability for the print to interact in some way with cloud services by way of a smartphone. By this interpretation, a QR code on a pack equates to smart packaging, and therefore many of our authentication and brand protection solutions could already be considered ‘smart’ to that community.

However, as the aim of this article is to take a wider look at trends in smart packaging, we should look a little further as to where this will lead. RFID tags are an existing smart packaging solution now often deployed at pallet level for smart warehouse solutions. The current frontier being worked upon is going down to item level, particularly in response to an expanding mandate from Walmart into a further list of product categories.

Future features in smart packaging

QR codes and RFID tags could be only the initial steps into a journey into smart packaging. Technology providers see a compelling commercial opportunity in a future list that could include sensors and indicators, plus features such as lighting and display.

From a food and pharmaceuticals perspective, there are rational arguments for sensors in packaging, leading to the removal of sell-by dates through product quality sensing and verifying compliance with medication regimes.

From a brand protection perspective, the addition of electronic functionality could take the verification of ‘identity’ of a product to another level, but the danger here is that technology providers may see this as a replacement rather than an addition to some of our existing solutions. From a product marketing perspective, the opportunities for enhanced user engagement with the brand are enticing.

Enhancements to packaging is a tantalising option, as packaging is a huge addressable market, extending from cardboard delivery boxes to the packaging of high-value branded items such as spirits and perfumes.

As such, it also encompasses many of the items of interest to the authentication and brand protection community, and here we should consider this as both an opportunity and a threat as some of these solutions could seek to supplant some of our business models. However, these innovations may be challenged by one overriding societal trend: the need for packaging to take into account sustainability considerations.

The challenge from sustainability

In a similar fashion to smart packaging, the approach to sustainability in packaging depends on whom you ask. One output from Interpack 2023 was a focus on paper as a replacement for film and the removal of mixed materials, leading to a notable trend towards a rise of cellulose-based (paper and card) packaging. The sustainability driver towards the removal of even small quantities of polymer materials from cardboard packaging on sustainability grounds could have significant implications for the use of components such as embossed foils, so we should remain aware as these trends develop.

Smart packaging, in the widest sense, could also facilitate effective packaging recycling. Offerings from the likes of Digimarc and PragmatIC Printing can add features to packaging to facilitate waste sorting and subsequent recycling. Due to the ongoing focus on technologies for sustainability, this type of smart packaging may well gain the most traction.

In summary

The term ‘smart packaging’ is not well defined and appears to mean different things across communities, so it is important to establish common language in discussions on this topic. It is the subject of some ‘technology push’ for new features in the packaging industry. While it can be a facilitator for sustainability in packaging, it could also be detrimental through the use of mixed materials and thus more difficult to implement without a strong business proposition.

In a similar fashion, the opportunities and threats for the authentication and brand protection community are mixed. Some of the smart packaging technologies which incorporate printed and flexible electronics may add further benefits for both authentication and brand protection. And as noted above, some of our existing QR code processes are currently already considered as smart within sectors of this industry, which may provide marketing benefit.

To counter these opportunities, smart packaging initiatives could also bring technology threats to existing solutions. Technology providers may position a smart packaging proposition as offering all the necessary functionality to replace some of our existing solutions, and market it thus. Finally, the continuing focus on sustainability in packaging looks likely to be a major influence on authentication and brand protection, and smart packaging solutions alike.

Additional resources

The printed and flexible electronics technologies being deployed in some of these smart packaging solutions were set in the context of secure print solutions in a recent Reconnaissance International report entitled ‘Printing Beyond Colour: Commercial Innovations for Security Print’. This is available for purchase from the e-store.

A further report entitled ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ was released earlier this month. This report covers smartphone interaction with QR codes and RFID, as mentioned in this article, plus a broader view on product and personal identification. It also features case studies on already established applications in currency and payments, personal identity, and product and document authentication.