How will the packaging year 2022 be?

We’re in a new year and it’s natural to look at what packaging trends we think will dominate 2022. To shed light on this theme, RAJA had a chat with Kari Bunes, CEO of the Packaging Association.

She says that the association sees some major trends that will dominate the packaging industry in 2022, and the common denominator is environment. – Firstly, packaging must be sustainable and have a low environmental footprint. Secondly, packaging must be recyclable and/or must be able to be recycled. And preferably, packaging must also be made of recycled materials, says Kari Bunes.

– It’s been a few years since the whale was found with a belly full of plastic on Sotra, but since then we’ve still seen plastic end up in the wild. Many people started to look for alternatives to plastic packaging, and that has given a big boost to fibre-based packaging, says Bunes.

Monica Vigsnes Lie, Managing Director of RAJA, agrees with Bunes’ description of the trend. “We are seeing that our customers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious,” says Vigsnes Lie. “This is not a new trend, but we have long seen a shift from plastic to paper packaging, and the trend is continuing. Paper packaging should preferably also be recycled, and this is probably also related to the fact that the quality of recycled paper packaging is improving, so that customers have had good experiences with this packaging.

See some examples of RAJA’s environmentally friendly packaging here

EU and producers are important drivers

De siste årene har det kommet nye krav fra EU om økt materialgjenvinning av emballasjematerialer og økt gjenbruk av resirkulerte emballasjematerialer, forteller Kari Bunes. – 50 prosent av plastemballasjen skal materialgjenvinnes i 2025 og 55 prosent i 2030, fortsetter hun. – Disse målene har ført til økt etterspørsel etter resirkulert plast som kan blandes inn i nye plastemballasjematerialer. Det tok litt tid før leverandørene kunne tilby resirkulert plast av god nok kvalitet, men i det siste har flere aktører tilbudt dette på markedet i Norge og Skandinavia. Ved å bruke husholdningsplast som er samlet inn i lukket sløyfe eller er resirkulert ved kjemisk gjenvinning, får man såpass god kvalitet at den resirkulerte plasten er godkjent i matkontakt og kan brukes i nye produkter.

– In RAJA, we find that some business customers, especially web shops, are sceptical about using paper packaging such as paper e-commerce bags, says Monica Vigsnes Lie. “Still, customers are asking for paper, since they feel pressure from consumers. So customers appreciate knowing that there are solutions such as e-commerce bags made of recycled plastic or bags made of biomaterial,” she continues.

RAJA’s experience is that there is a difference between what the consumer wants and what the net shops want to use. Often the net shops are most interested in getting the product safely with the best solution, whether it is in plastic or paper. However, consumer power is strong and this affects the solutions the net shops are looking for. We often get requests for information and evidence around the choice and use of packaging. Here we in the packaging industry can and will contribute with knowledge to the market about what are the best solutions, says Monica Vigsnes Lie.

Plastic ban not an option

In Emballasjeforeningen, we are following developments in other countries, says Kari Bunes. – France has banned plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables from the beginning of the year, and some believe that this may also become a trend elsewhere. However, Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide was quick to state that such a ban is not relevant in Norway, as it could lead to increased food waste, which is a much bigger environmental problem.

Norwegian scientists agree with Barth Eide that a ban is not advisable in Norway, but they still believe that the measure could work well in the French market. This shows that there is no two-strikes-under phase answer to the question of which packaging is most sustainable

In Sweden, more and more players have started to offer deposits on used food packaging, and the trend has now also come to Norway. The brand Lofoten now offers deposits on aluminium packaging for makrell in tomato. The boxes are delivered to the customer’s own source or to the nearest recycling centre. The deposit is managed with an app.

Increased prices contribute to efficiency

Due to the scarcity of raw materials, the price of both plastic and paper packaging has increased in recent years. RAJA feels that this contributes to more focus on efficiency in packaging, says Monica Vigsnes Lie. For example, time-saving products, such as ashtrays with automated bins, have become increasingly popular. Ashtrays with double glue strips, which make it easy for consumers to return goods in the same ashtray, have also become more common. This is good customer service while saving consumers the trouble of finding return packaging. Furthermore, it is important for online stores to fill up the ashtrays completely so that you do not pay to send air, explains Vigsnes Lie.

Research and innovation increase

In recent years, there has been more research into alternative packaging materials and methods that increase the carrying capacity of all stages of the value chain. The Circular Packaging Cluster, of which the Swedish Packaging Association is a formal owner, is now part of a new collaboration with NMBU, Norner and Bellona, among others, to convert plastic waste into renewable resources. The volume of research in the Packaging Research Cluster was over DKK 100 million in 2021. In the last 10 years, the growth has been over 100 percent

Kari Bunes i Emballasjeforeningen minner om at før hvalen var mye av emballasjefokuset rettet mot det som skjer før emballasjen ender som brukt. Det er også der emballasjens viktigste funksjoner ligger, nemlig å ivareta produkter og informere. Også RAJA merker at kundene etterspør emballasje som gjenspeiler bedriftens ståsted, og ikke bare har nytteverdi. – Spesialtilpasset emballasje ser vi at det kommer mer og mer av, forteller Monica Vigsnes Lie. – Logo, slagord og verdier skal synes på og inni emballasjen. «Unboxing» er ikke bare en trend i sosiale medier, det har blitt en viktig del av kundeopplevelsen. Stadig flere forstår hvilken rolle emballasjen kan spille i å kommunisere merkevaren og de verdiene bedriften står for. Her bruker mange muligheten til å kommunisere bærekraft, avslutter hun

See RAJA’s selection of environmentally friendly packaging here.

For advice on how to choose more environmentally friendly packaging, contact RAJA’s customer service at post@rajapack.no or phone 22514000