Packaging Trends in Food and Drink - US

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Mar. 1, 2009

Table of Contents

SCOPE AND THEMES

What you need to know

Definition

Data sources

Consumer survey data

Abbreviations and terms

Abbreviations

Terms

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sustainability

What’s driving the trend

How it’s playing out

What the future holds?

Health and wellness

What’s driving the trend

How it’s playing out

What the future holds?

Convenience and functionality

What’s driving the trend

How it’s playing out

What the future holds?

A balancing act for manufacturers

MARKET FACTORS: AN OVERVIEW

Sustainability

Health and wellness

Figure 1: Factors that influence grocery shoppers’ purchase decisions “a lot,” 2006

Convenience and functionality

Suppliers need to balance trends

SUSTAINABILITY: MARKET FACTORS

Key points

Sustainability goes mainstream

Figure 2: Purchase frequency of green products, August 2006-October 2008

Companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint

Light-weighting

Improving raw materials

Recycling programs

SUSTAINABILITY: INNOVATION AND INNOVATORS

Key points

Flood of eco-friendly packaging has reached supermarket aisles

Figure 3: New food and beverage products featuring “environmentally friendly package” claims, 2005-08

Light-weighting

Raw materials—using recycled, renewable content

Reducing carbon footprints

Bio-plastics are on the way

SUSTAINABILITY: COMPANIES ENGAGED IN IMPROVING “GREEN” IMAGE

TerraCycle takes a new approach to recycling

Figure 4: Capri sun/TerraCycle magazine ad, 2009

Wal-Mart pledges to reduce packaging 5% by 2013

Whole Foods switches to biodegradable packaging for prepared food

Coca-Cola is practicing the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

SUSTAINABILITY: THE CONSUMER

Key points

A majority of consumers—and more women than men—claim to recycle

Figure 5: Attitude toward and usage of plastic packaging, by gender, December 2008

Older consumers more likely to recycle, but less likely to “reuse”

Figure 6: Attitude toward and usage of plastic packaging, by age, December 2008

Plastics recycling highest among upper income households

Figure 7: Attitude toward and usage of plastic packaging, by income, December 2008

Sustainability awareness skews toward higher income households

Figure 8: Environmental attitudes, by household income, April 2007-June 2008

Plastics recycling highest in Northeast and West

Figure 9: Attitude toward and usage of plastic packaging, by region, December 2008

HEALTH AND WELLNESS: MARKET FACTORS

Key points

Manufacturers have tried to provide nutritional guidance

Figure 10: Attitude towards health, 2004 and 2008

Figure 11: Health and nutrient product claims for foods, 2005-08

Proprietary symbols and seals of approval from partners on packaging: an effort to improve nutritional profile

…but food labels remain a source of confusion

Revolutionary, front-of-pack labeling system planned for mid-2009

Portion control packaging at odds with sustainability trend

HEALTH AND WELLNESS: INNOVATION AND INNOVATORS

Key points

Portion control

Steam-in-bag packaging courts consumers with nutrition, convenience

Communicating “better-for-you” through package design

HEALTH AND WELLNESS: THE CONSUMER

Key points

Usage of portion controlled packaging

Figure 12: Usage of portion control packaging, December 2008

Attitudes toward portion control packaging

Figure 13: Attitude toward portion control packaging, by gender, December 2008

Diet and health logos give an edge to some products

Figure 14: Attitude toward diet program or health-promoting organization endorsement on packaging, by gender, December 2008

Americans are reading labels, but having trouble making sense of them

Figure 15: Attitude and behavior toward using packaging as an information tool, by gender, December 2008

Serving sizes are a source of confusion

Figure 16: Attitude toward the role of packaging in informing about the right serving size, by gender, December 2008

Usage of food and beverage products with “Smart Spot” logo

Figure 17: Usage of and attitudes toward “Smart Spot” products, by age, December 2008

CONVENIENCE AND FUNCTIONALITY: MARKET FACTORS

Key points

Convenience trend shows no sign of slowing

Figure 18: New food products with convenience claims, 2005-08

But some convenience packaging is at odds with other trends

Ergonomic packaging gives products an edge

Figure 19: Population aged 21 or older, 2003-13

Packaging can help alleviate food safety concerns

Putting the “fun” in functionality

CONVENIENCE AND FUNCTIONALITY: INNOVATION AND INNOVATORS

Key points

You can take it with you

Ergonomic

New technology helps keep food fresh longer

CONVENIENCE AND FUNCTIONALITY: THE CONSUMER

Key points

Easy to open packaging is a must-have for aging population

Figure 20: Desirable functional packaging attributes, by age, December 2008

Price still trumps convenience for some

Figure 21: Preference for can versus plastic soup container, by age, December 2008

Figure 22: Preference for can versus plastic soup container, by presence of children, December 2008

INNOVATION AND INNOVATORS: EMERGING TRENDS IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE PACKAGING

Key points

Packaging is getting smarter…

…but it’s also getting smaller

When it comes to labels, some brands are finding that less is more

Color-coded labels help break through the clutter

APPENDIX: OTHER USEFUL TABLES

Attitudes toward and usage of plastic packaging, by race/Hispanic origin

Figure 23: Attitude toward and usage of plastic packaging, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2008

Desirable functional packaging attributes, by race/Hispanic origin

Figure 24: Desirable functional packaging attributes, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2008

Desirable functional packaging attributes, by presence of children

Figure 25: Desirable functional packaging attributes, by presence of children, December 2008

Attitudes toward portion control packaging, by age

Figure 26: Attitude toward portion control packaging, by age, December 2008

APPENDIX: TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Abstract

The typical food label gives a new meaning to the expression “too much information”. Product labels are crowded with health claims (“helps lower cholesterol”) and nutrient claims (“now with omega-3”). Many food and drink labels also display “seals of approval” from health organizations, such as the American Heart Association and Weight Watchers. Several large CPG companies have adopted on-pack nutrition rating systems, such as PepsiCo’s Smart Spot and Kraft’s Sensible Solutions, intended to help consumers identify good-for- you items.

However, it seems the abundance of health information of labels has left consumers overwhelmed and confused about what’s really good for them. Only a quarter of respondents to Mintel’s consumer survey believe that food and drink manufacturers are making health claims easier to understand.

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