Progress in Packaging series: Mapping BOBST’s progress against the latest industry trends

04 February 2022

Progress in Packaging series: Mapping BOBST's progress against the latest industry trends

Trends in Packaging Design

In 2021, FACHPACK - the leading trade fair and vital guide for the European packaging industry - published its Trendradar 22021 report. The FACHPACK Trendradar 2021 report outlines the current hot topics and trends in the packaging industry and picks out the ones that will be transformative for the industry over the next three to five years. At BOBST, we agree with the assessment of these trends and have some very relevant developments that will help the packaging industry to stay ahead of them.

In total, the report includes 21 trends across the following four categories:

1. Packaging materials
2. Packaging design
3. Functionalized packaging
4. Production and logistics technologies

In the first article in the series we looked at the trends in packaging materials. In this second article, we will look at the key trends in packaging design and some of the exciting pioneering work at BOBST ongoing in this area.

Progress in packaging design
The trends described in the first article around packaging materials are closely linked to the trends around packaging design - design is absolutely central to sustainability.

The FACHPACK report highlights resource-saving packaging as a key trend in packaging design, citing increasing demand from consumers and society at large for better sustainability. The work of BOBST and its partners to replace non-recyclable high barrier multi-material packaging structures with mono-material alternatives designed for recycling is covered in article 1

But in addition, we continually look for opportunities to design, or re-design, our equipment so that it reduces process waste levels, energy use, or any potential environmental risks that its use might create.

Take BOBST oneECG (Extended Color Gamut) technology for example, which is deployed across analogue and digital printing processes in label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated board industries. ECG is a process to digitalize colour matching, and therefore results in minimal waste of substrates, inks and water as well as reducing energy consumption needed for drying.

Quality control is also an essential element of waste reduction. Product damages, poor packaging quality, mistakes in production all lead to unnecessary and avoidable waste. BOBST's oneINSPECTION, an integrated set of BOBST Quality Control solutions, enables end-to-end quality control solutions, closing the loop from artwork design to the final product reducing production recalls and resulting waste. BOBST ACCUCHECK, BOBST Digital Inspection Tables and BOBST Premium Gap Control are examples of solutions available today delivering significant waste reduction.

E-commerce optimization
The FACHPACK report also mentions e-commerce optimized packaging design and brand experience as key trends. With e-commerce sales forecast to reach US$4.89 trillion worldwide in 2021, optimization in this field this has never been more crucial.

Brand experience is an important element of e-commerce now. We now talk about the "unboxing experience", and the way the product is delivered (and in some cases how they are shipped back) is central to the customer experience. Optimizing e-commerce packaging can include things like new packaging styles (even with inside printing), various container choices, inclusion of a personalized card or gift based on purchasing patterns. It has driven box manufacturers to come with new solutions where speed and quality both matter.

BOBST is an expert in e-commerce packaging. With a wide range of machinery and services in the corrugated packaging sector, BOBST understands the specific considerations of e-commerce box production.

This means producing e-commerce boxes faster than before with a growing offering in sizes. Fast running speeds, fully automatic settings and extreme configurability are needed.

A key challenge of for converters resides in delivering boxes of all kinds within the shortest amount of time with the highest level of quality at the most appropriate price. In this given landscape, the BOBST FFG 8.20 is the industry benchmark in terms of speed and fast order change for a fully automated complete line.

A new trend in ecommerce packaging is "inside-outside" printing, where high printing quality brand design can be printed in one pass on the inside of the box as well as the outside. BOBST has recently launched the MASTERLINE DRO, which is a new rotary die-cutting solution that sets a new gold standard for inside-outside printing with ultimate productivity.

Meanwhile, MASTERFOLD 230 is the cornerstone of corrugated box production for many companies and arguably the world's best folder-gluer. With very fast running speeds, fully automatic setting, a host of upgraded systems, and extreme configurability, MASTERFOLD is the fastest, most highly automated and versatile folder-gluer available today, ideal for e-commerce.

BOBST MASTERLINE DRO

Added shelf-appeal
There are many other things that BOBST is doing to help brand owners to optimize the brand experience for their customers.

For example, with oneECG, BOBST has digitized color matching and bridged the gap between printing technologies. We can guarantee color consistency on any substrate, irrespective of the operator, all over the world.

Hot foil stamping is a great way to make a product stand out on the shelf. BOBST has remained at the forefront of advances in this technology, MASTERFOIL 106 PR delivers unequaled foil stamping results as well as running foil and deep embossing jobs in one pass and ensure sharpest details.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the third article in the series, when we tackle the key trends in the next category of the FACHPACK report - functionalized packaging.

Bobst Mex SA, Switzerland