Lessons to learn in food packaging

Energy and raw materials are becoming more expensive, and consumers want to do more for the environment. This is forcing manufacturers of sweets and snacks to make difficult adjustments: their products have to stand out from the crowd – without extravagant packages that drives up production costs.

Chocolates made by German firm Halloren Kugeln have been a big-selling product for more than 60 years.

Last year its CEO Klaus Lellé gave the packaging of its 16 products a face lift – they now feature uniform corporate design elements. In addition, the company’s own snack brand Choc’n Snack is being sold in stand-up pouches – making them more prominent in the stores, and bags are resealable.

Anyone wanting to survive in the market for confectionery and snacks against the likes of Nestlé and Kraft Foods has to present his goods well at the point of sale.

The package is the key to the purchase. It not only has to protect the product’s contents, but catch the eye. This calls for exceptional creativity from packaging designers: bright colours and shapes are just as important as effective consumer marketing.

However, some manufacturers of confectionery and baked goods tend to overdo it. Companies misleading customers with fraudulently oversized packages have come in for repeated criticism.

A survey European products revealed that some biscuit and snack packages contained an average of 40 per cent empty space.

Wasting resources has a negative impact on the environment and damages the climate – something many consumers are well aware of.

Inflated packages are also counterproductive for economic reasons. Confectionery and baked goods manufacturers are facing massive pressure on costs, as energy and packaging materials on the one hand and raw materials such as milk, cocoa and sugar on the other are becoming dearer.

To avoid putting off environmentally aware consumers and to offset cost increases, companies have only one choice: to package and manufacture their products more efficiently.

Halloren is leading by example, as the chocolate maker’s new packages make their mark without elaborate design and extra frills. Other manufacturers also seem to be rethinking their strategies. Some are resorting to material down sizing, giving preference to packaging materials that are easier to recycle and that conserve resources by being thinner.