Protecting the Small Pack Trend
Protecting the Small Pack Trend
By Mike Pipe, Head of Global Sales, Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray
Lifestyle change has the power to redefine the packaging sector, and we have seen it in recent times, with the “snackification” of mealtimes. This is particularly true in Asia Pacific where the market value of the savoury snack market alone reached US$35.6bn in 2020, with the region now ahead of both Western Europe and North America (source: Statista[i]).
Consumers living busy lives in mature markets have sought convenient, timely and portable solutions to keep hunger at bay: smaller packs of food products that they can carry with them, open and reopen. Even at home, a swing towards “grazing” – more frequent but smaller portions of nourishing food – has propelled the move to smaller packs onwards.
The small pack trend also fits comfortably with a more health-conscious and calorie-counting public: people want ready-to-go products based on sensible portion sizes. Products such as small, flexible packs for chocolate confectionery, and single-serve portions of breakfast cereal meet the need.
Changing demographic factors that have led to smaller average household sizes have also emphasised the need for packaging solutions that meet the requirements for convenience and less food wastage.
Then came COVID-19, and it changed many things in the world, including going some way towards curbing the on-the-go lifestyle in many instances. Individuals were subjected to travel and work restrictions to help curtail the health crisis which had a direct impact to increase the desire for comfort foods. Throughout the pandemic, we also saw an increase in single-serve and -use packaging due to consumers seeking additional reassurance that their favourite brands were still safe to eat and had been handled by as few people as possible.
Food manufacturers during this period have therefore had to quickly learn some new lessons about how swiftly consumer demand can change, and how this can impact packaging trends.
These societal changes and their impact upon pack sizes have been matched by innovation in packaging technology. The market is now better able to respond to demands for portability by designing packs that are made from flexible and lightweight materials, and the convenience factor is helped by developments in re-sealable technology.
The industry is therefore well-placed to take advantage of a global single-serve packaging market that has been predicted to grow by over USD 30.5 billion from 2018 to 2022, with a CAGR of 5% (source: Technavioi[ii]). This same report cites the cost efficiency of single serve packaging as a key driver for this market.
How Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection Protects the Small Pack Trend
Food manufacturers can always rely on product inspection technology to ensure that small pack products meet the same stringent standards for consumer safety, labelling accuracy and compliance with food regulations as other pack sizes. For example:
- Precision weighing of smaller portion sizes is fulfilled by checkweighing technology.
- Contaminant detection is facilitated by both metal detection and x-ray inspection.
- Quality assurance checks, including packaging defects and brand integrity, is completed by x-ray inspection.
- Label content, defects and positioning checks are carried out by vision inspection.
Factory and production line efficiency could also become an important factor, as manufacturers are potentially faced with more frequent multiple changeovers between different product types and sizes. Investing in future proof product inspection technologies, that can accommodate such multiple changeovers at fast throughput speeds, will put forward-thinking manufacturers in a good position to capitalise on this emerging small pack market.
In conclusion, small pack sizes represent an excellent and growing market opportunity for food manufacturers. The consumer experience will be of paramount importance in making pack downsizing a success, and with the correct utilisation of product inspection technologies, manufacturers can ensure that that experience for consumers is both safe and enjoyable.
[i] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1198742/global-savory-snack-market-size-by-world-region/
i[ii] https://www.technavio.com/report/global-single-serve-packaging-market-analysis-share-2018ฤ
