Abstract
In this report, Mintel employs a tactical approach to the topic of food and beverage packaging by:
- assessing consumer-driven concerns relevant to packaging, such as sustainability, functionality, and health and wellness, and;
- gauging the extent to which food and beverage packaging is or is not meeting the needs these concerns
We employ extensive use of product imagery to enable rapid reader insight, evaluation and potential ideation, and weave consumer analysis (derived from our custom study) throughout the report. With this report, you will be in a position to:
- see how international food and beverage packaging concepts provide ways to address issues in the U.S.
- assess consumer awareness and use of independent nutrition labeling programs such as Smart Spot
- weigh the impact microwaveable packaging technology on consumer portability needs
- tailor sustainability marketing messages
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- Overview
- Sustainability
- Sustainability innovation and innovators
- Sustainability and the consumer
- Functionality
- Functionality innovation and innovators
- Functionality and the consumer
- Health, wellness, and safety
- Health and wellness innovation and innovators
- Health, wellness and the consumer
- Market Factors: An Overview
- Consumer in the driver' s seat
- Figure 1: How the consumer plays a role in product and packaging issues
- But consumers want it all
- Figure 2: Product label information that influences shoppers to buy food, beverage and home consumer packaged goods, 2007
- Sustainability: Market Factors
- The reaction
- Figure 3: Leading environmental and social programs that fall within the context of sustainability, 2007
- When green is not predictable
- Figure 4: Green lifestyle choices, January 2008
- Sustainability: Innovation and Innovators
- Key points
- Plastic bottles exact a heavy price
- Innovative beverage packaging can address environmental, ecological, and ethical concerns
- Ergonomic and environmentally friendly
- Environment and ethics
- Reducing the carbon footprint
- Environmental nuances
- Waste reduction and functionality
- Sustainability: The Consumer
- Key points
- Consumers place onus on manufacturers; age affects reuse and recycling
behavior
- Figure 5: Attitudes toward and usage of plastic bottles, by age, February 2008
- Recycling does not cut evenly across income brackets
- Figure 6: Attitudes toward and usage of plastic bottles, by household income, February 2008
- The more children in the house, the more plastic bottles are reused
- Figure 7: Attitudes toward and usage of plastic bottles, by presence of children under 18 in household, February 2008
- Functionality: Market Factors
- Convenience: from important to indispensable
- Time
- Figure 8: Leading new products introduced in microwaveable category, 2003-07
- Ease-of-use innovation lacking
- Ease of use is a lifestyle issue
- Disabled consumers overlooked
- Restaurants are out and kitchens are in: putting a spotlight on packaging
- Functionality: Innovation and Innovators
- Key points
- Spill/splash protection innovators in foreign lands can make a U.S. splash
- Microwaveable portability trend afoot here in the U.S.
- Easy-grip innovation from Japan
- Ease of use also means easy to read, easy to understand
- Functionality: The Consumer
- Key points
- Setting the stage: assessing use of different soup packaging formats
- Figure 9: Purchasing incidence of soup, February 2008
- Canned soup rules; plastic and cardboard on the periphery
- Figure 10: Types of soup packaging used, February 2008
- Microwave packaging lags behind consumer behavior
- Figure 11: How consumers prepare their soup, February 2008
- The portability equation: soup goes mobile
- Figure 12: Relationship of packaging to preparation choice, by gender, February 2008
- Figure 13: Relationship of packaging to preparation choice, by age, February 2008
- Health, Wellness and Safety: Market Factors
- Key points
- Health and wellness
- Labeling intended to educate may actually foster confusion
- Figure 14: Sample nutrition symbols on U.S. food and beverage products
- Health and safety
- Safety concerns drive packaging technology
- PET on the rack, but PLA needs to win converts
- Portion control meets environmental waste
- Intelligent packaging offers hope
- Health and Wellness: Innovation and Innovators
- Key points
- Portion control: for weight loss or convenience
- Multi-appeal: portion control as convenience and nutrition
- Common sense nutrition and health
- "Free from" and clean appeal
- Health and Wellness: The Consumer
- Key points
- Attitudes toward portion-controlled products
- Portion-controlled packaging has arrived and it' s here to stay
- Figure 15: Usage of portion-controlled packaging, by gender, February 2008
- Portion-controlled packaging gets strong marks from users
- Figure 16: Attitudes toward portion-controlled packaging, by gender, February 2008
- Figure 17: Attitudes toward portion-controlled packaging, by age, February 2008
- Labeling for health
- Figure 18: Attitudes toward health claims and product labeling, by age, February 2008
- Consumer understanding of nutrition symbols
- Setting the stage
- Smart Spot succeeds on awareness; small contingent of active seekers
- Figure 19: Usage of "Smart Spot" products, by age, February 2008
- Program knowledge lags program awareness; Internet information queries
virtually nil
- Figure 20: Knowledge about "Smart Spot" logo, February 2008
- Among active seekers, program is resounding success
- Figure 21: Relationship of "Smart Spot" label to making better food choices, by gender and age, February 2008
- Innovation and Innovators: Emerging Packaging Trends
- Active (Intelligent) packaging
- Label technology
- Nanotechnology
- Mouth feel
- Multimedia brand reach
- Beverages as mouthpieces for interactive ideas: Coca-Cola around the world
- Sensory branding
- Emulating flavor and taste outside the box
- Tactile
- Visual appeal--eating with color
- Packaging strategies that stand out in the crowd
- Linked product strategy
- Hi-octane
- Edgy with a punch
- Retail Trendsetters and Innovators
- Wal-Mart shows a greener side
- Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
- Figure 35: Attitudes toward and usage of plastic bottles, by educational attainment, February 2008
- Figure 36: Attitudes toward health claims and product labeling, by educational attainment, February 2008
- Figure 37: Attitudes toward portion-controlled packaging, by race/ethnicity, February 2008
- Figure 38: Attitudes toward health claims and product labeling, by gender, February 2008
- Figure 39: Attitudes toward health claims and product labeling, by household income, February 2008
- Appendix: Trade Associations
