How Home Care brands are Redefining packaging: Top 4 sustainable Packaging trends
The beginning of the new decade marked the arrival of changes. As the covid-19 pandemic changed the world economy, it also created a surprising shift in our everyday lives. When considering changed consumer habits together with policy changes, there is a clear need for more sustainable packaging and the future. How do these changes affect home care brands and the packaging industry?
In this article, a team of DS Smith packaging specialists shares their market observations and advice. Read about the top 4 Home Care Packaging Trends and how global Home Care brands are shaping the future with sustainable packaging innovations.
Green, circular ready packaging
Eco-friendly green materials without problematic, single-use plastics. Why?
Paper and cardboard packaging is a sustainable, quick-win solution, which can help you achieve your sustainability goals. Going beyond 100% recyclability, compared to recycled plastic's poor quality and usability, paper and cardboard are easy to recycle and can be made into good-quality packaging. The materials must circulate and there is a stronger need to ensure packaging can be recycled or reused to preserve our environment.
Your Home caRe products can retain their former quality and become significantly more sustainable and attractive to the customers at the same time – a win-win solution.
Global companies have made a step forward with detergents in paper-based bottles. Many replaced several plastic components, such as plastic wrapping in their bundle-packed products, with cardboard alternatives.
Another answer to problematic plastic waste are refill stations where consumers can bring their empty bottles and refill them with the desired product. Many brands have been keeping up with this trend and are already offering several refill stations in specific markets.
Efficient & Inclusive packaging
Changing the materials is not the whole story.
It is essential that we design easily accessible and efficient packaging. The key word here is inclusivity, meaning that the products address the needs of all people, regardless of their age or any other disabilities, or limitations. There are already many concentrated Home Care products on the market, which take care of our well-being and the environment and are easy to use.
Think about eco boundless and smart SRP displays to gain visibility in store. By doing so you will not only lower the use of problematic plastic and reduce your transportation costs, but also make your Home caRe products more accessible to as many people as possible.
There are several options available on the market where liquid detergents are transformed into concentrated tablets that are packed in sustainable corrugated board packaging. With detergent tabs, consumers can refill existing plastic spray bottles, which greatly reduces plastic waste.
Many times concentrated formats of detergents reduce CO2 transportation emissions. Why? Because the product packaging is smaller and more compact, allowing for more product transportation per drive and resulting in fewer trucks on the road which means less CO2 emissions.
E-commerce packaging
E-commerce has accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staying at home, away from the stores, translated into shopping online. We are seeing more and more examples of right-size e-commerce packaging designs, but some go over and beyond simple adaptation with a sustainable approach.
You will not only be making it better for the environment, but also more attractive to consumers. Impress online shoppers with practical eCom ready designs that help them make more sustainable choices.
We observe the popularity of laundry pods subscription models. They are packed in efficient paper-based e-commerce packaging that is reducing the use of problematic plastic. Furthermore, e-commerce packaging with pods can be easily pushed through the mail slot.
There are also some examples where liquid detergents are packed in a special bag in box packaging so the liquid can be easily and efficiently shipped when ordering online.
*Source: https://www.dssmith.com/packaging/about/media/news-press-releases/2021/8/ds-smith-develops-100-recyclable-e-commerce-packaging-for-blaue-helden
Store visibility & brand image
Packaging is unquestionably an important part of sustainability. How does your brand care about the environment?
Retail shoppers have to be able to recognize that in a sea of colorful products. As consumers spend less time in stores compared to before Covid-19 it is an opportunity for retail packaging that ensures good visibility of your products in-store and clear and impactful sustainable packaging messaging at the point of purchase. Many home care brands have already found a smart solution.
Sends a clear and impactful message of sustainability to the potential customers at the point of purchase. Let your customers know that they will be making a positive impact on the environment by purchasing your eye-catching sustainable Home caRe product.
Irregular shapes of shelf-ready packaging for detergents that catch the attention of shoppers, sustainable POS displays to promote the launches of detergents in recycled bottles with special sustainability messages that address consumers. For example, the Bübchen displays with “For the world of our children.” message.*
Many permanent POS displays for laundry detergents in supermarkets are educating consumers with sustainable slogans like “wash colder” and energy savings messaging.
The health crisis made us more aware of good manners, especially those related to hygiene, and the store experience visibly changed. Reckitt Benckiser with Lysol POS corrugated displays have linked the new launch of their products with the Covid-19 pandemic. They educate and attract consumers with the “Disinfect to protect” message.
To make a sustainable change, many brands have not only established their brand image with the right messaging in the right channels or look and feel of the packaging, but they have also considered the right circular design and materials.
We have already helped many customers with circular packaging designs with the help of our Circular Design Principles and we are continuing to lead the way with a new breakthrough tool The Circular Design Metrics which allows you to see and compare the performance of a packaging design.
If you are eager to make your sustainability ambitions a reality, discover our brand-new sustainable Home Care packaging innovations. Download our Home caRe whitepaper or visit us for a PackRight Centre workshop with DS Smith packaging specialists.
