Packaging is quickly becoming more than just a layer of physical protection, or wrapping for a product, according to one of the world's leading packing companies. In a seminar at Hort Connections in Adelaide, Visy Industries explained the importance of how 'smart packaging' can help retailers to win the trust of shoppers.
Category Manager Innovation Simon Gray says the consumer's desire for fresh food has led to retailers driving a message back down the chain, making packers more accountable for what they are supplying. One of the easiest ways to do that is through printed codes, and he says while many in the produce supply chain are good at managing coding at batch level, not many realise how they can effectively utilise codes to item level.
"Where we are seeing codes go now is into what I call serialisation," Mr Gray said. "What I mean is coding where you can print a unique code onto every pack. Driscoll's Berries in the U.S have been using a unique code in the form of a QR code on every one of their berry punnets. That enables them to track at pack level, so they can go back the farm, region, they can look at variety, manage recalls and use it as a quality tool. And where they are going one step further is engaging the consumer, through a smartphone (for feedback)."
Another function of smart packaging can be to help protect exported items, and ensuring products and packaging are not being tampered with, and therefore damaging a company’s brand. In Norway, small tags with microchips and antennas are being placed in packaging allowing consumers to scan the product with a smartphone to determine if it is factory sealed or has been compromised. Visy believes this technology could sell one billion units worldwide next year.
He mentioned two other forms of more covert protections. One is concealing a code into the artwork of the packaging that is not visible to a naked eye, but can be detected by a smartphone scanner. The second one is a bit more complex, using the particles of the packaging, in similar ways to DNA and fingerprinting.
"It works on the premise that no two items of packaging are identical," Mr Gray said. "Let's say you are printing a corrugated box, and you are running the box off the same machine using the same inks, it appears identical in our eyes except it's not because the makeup of the fibre is different. The makeup of the inks is slightly different. When you view that at a micro level, there are subtle differences."
But Visy says its objective is just as much about packaging efficiency as it is about product security. While automation and robotics are already being used in other industries, Mr Gray is quick to remind that it is more challenging when dealing with sensitivities of fresh food. He says his company is working with a business in Israel, who is developing a more advanced piece of machinery.
"It's a robot that effectively teaches itself using a camera and a set of algorithms," he said. "So it's pretty exciting to think a robot can teach itself to do something once it has observed the human process. But it's something that will probably take a few years to come to life."
Mr Gray also says research has shown that by 2025 all petroleum based packaging could be replaced by cellulose. While the plastics industry is yet to reply, he points out cellulose is abundantly available, and is stronger and more versatile.
"(Cellulose) is sourced from trees and plants, and recycled boxes and papers," Mr Gray said. "It has a textile strength eight times of steel, and stiffness level higher than Kevlar. For us we are looking at future applications being a barrier for oxygen, being a barrier to moisture and being a barrier for UV. This for us is pretty much the future of packaging as we see it."
For more information:Simon Gray
Visy Industries
Phone: +61 3 9247 4777