When you’re continuously looking for ways to be more sustainable, it’s easy to lose your creative edge. It’s like writer’s block, but for sustainability innovation. It’s what has kept so many vehicles running on gasoline and shaped our cities into concrete structures, deserts of plant life. However, this blog post is here to help. Here are six innovative, sustainable food packaging designs to inspire your brand. These are ideas that embody our philosophy: be bold, stand apart, and lead the pack!
1| Design Aspects
When considering how you’ll design your product sustainability, it takes some thought. For example, how will the following items be manifested?
- Labels
- Finishing Options
- Sleeves
- Pouches
- Tear-open technology
- Resealable technology
- Biodegradability
- Shelf life stability
- And more
The need to pin down each of these individual items is the same whether a business is in cosmetics, wine, cannabis, or food.
2| Biodegradable Packaging
According to a market analysis published by the Organic Trade Association, organic sales topped over $40 billion in the United States in 2018. More importantly, that number has been steadily rising for over a decade.
Consumers are starting to pay more attention to the products they purchase daily. There is more awareness when making a decision to buy food wrapped in non-biodegradable plastic and the lasting effects it has on our environment long after we've consumed it. As they think about the pile of garbage they’ve created as a result of the food they eat, they may start searching for more biodegradable food packaging options. The market is moving towards researching and producing biodegradable films and coatings, which are testing the tensile strength to contain most types of food.
3| Sustainable Materials
Biodegradable food packaging is just one way to ensure a business is using sustainable materials. The source of the material, labor that goes into its production, and the environmental cost of production are all valuable reasons to work with sustainable materials.
Whether a business is using shrink sleeves or trendy little pouches, customers want them to be sourced with sustainable materials. Certain food products, could be wrapped with films formed by protein-polysaccharide powders converted into a film. In that case, the consumer can eat the package along with the food.
4| Specific Finishing Options
Business leaders are often surprised to see the vast list of finishes that are available, even for relatively small products. That’s because finish options sell products. Choices include:
- Matte
- Glossy
- Sparkling
- Eye-catching shapes
- Stylish sleeves
- And more
It’s becoming increasingly popular for products to showcase what’s inside the package with glossy, see-through windows that make the contents glow. In turn, this creates a more natural feeling for the consumer.
It would be hard to sell an organic product in anything other than a attractively sustainable and eco-friendly container with out contradicting your brand and product. That’s why your labels, pouches or sleeves need specific finishing options that fit your brand and product message.
The more a product can stand out on the shelf, the more likely it is to sell. A sharp, matte finish with glossy window displaying beautiful, edible products is a great way to catch the eye over competitors.
5| Ready-to-eat
Sometimes, the best package is the product without a package. This is especially true for customers on-the-go who don’t want to be wasteful. Not only does ready-to-eat food look great on the shelf (imagine a shiny, red apple for sale vs. a small bag of fruit in plastic), but there’s a depth of brand space to be filled in this niche, as well. Can you quickly name the top three ready-to-eat food brands? That’s brand real estate for sale.
6| Socially Considerate Design Processes
If you’ve got an awesome product, but you’re not an expert in design, that’s okay! In fact, many companies turn to design studios like Flexible Pack. Our teams of experts know how to ensure that your package design meet socially-acceptable standards while also consulting you on attractive colors that match your branding, materials, and package shapes that entice customers to buy.
How Will Your Brand Innovate and Inspire?
There are plenty of sound ways to improve the look and outcome of a brand. Making sure products look and feel good in your customers’ hands is one way, giving them the option to buy from a company with sustainable and innovative design practices is another.
It is becoming increasingly more important for people to begin to tie their food consumption to their sustainability practices. Sustainability-thinking customers don’t want to purchase an organic fruit just to have to remove a one-time use wrapper.
In today’s climate, consumers want the healthiest food in the most sustainable way possible. That’s what makes sustainable food packaging designs so valuable to brands that want to lead the pack.
Are you ready to get #sustainable?
