{"id":8997,"date":"2018-11-02T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=8997"},"modified":"2022-07-15T08:49:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T14:49:46","slug":"pe-e-commerce-cpg-plastic-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/8997\/pe-e-commerce-cpg-plastic-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"E-commerce Reshaping CPG Packaging Priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all recognize how e-commerce is changing how we live. What is less obvious to consumers is how this tectonic shift in how we shop is impacting the design, packaging and delivery of the consumer packaged goods (CPGs) they buy.<\/p>\n

Online transactions will account for 17 percent of all U.S. retail sales by 2022, according to Business Insider<\/a> and Statista<\/a>, up from 12.7 percent in 2017. Those sources project that U.S. e-commerce sales of food and beverage products and personal-care products will grow by 14.4 and 10.5 percent per year, respectively, between 2016 and 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Becky
Becky Donner, senior vice president, Marketing, Design & Engineering for TricorBraun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Becky Donner, senior vice president, marketing, design and engineering for TricorBraun, a St. Louis-based designer and supplier of rigid packaging, pointed to some of the key challenges facing brand owners during this retail revolution in a recent presentation. Donner, who was a keynote speaker in Pittsburgh at the Society of Plastics Engineers\u2019 recent Annual Blow Molding Conference, noted that while traditional packaging has been sufficient for the brick-and-mortar segment, it often proves problematic in e-commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s primarily due to the sheer number of touch points in the e-commerce distribution channel,\u201d she said, \u201cresulting in a far greater risk of breakage or leakage. Unfortunately, many CPG companies fail to take a measured approach to determining what kind of packaging would be best suited to the e-commerce channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remarkably, Donner says, laundry detergent has emerged as the CPG category experiencing the greatest year-over-year growth in the e-commerce space, with an increase of 85 percent, according to a 2016 study by Bemis Co. Inc [PDF]<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s great news for makers of laundry detergent, but not so great for the consumer finding a soggy box on their porch because the packaging was not optimized for the unique distribution requirements and multiple touch points of the e-commerce distribution model.\u201d<\/p>\n

To understand the e-shopping phenomenon, it\u2019s necessary to understand consumer lifestyle trends. Donner pulled from a variety of sources to report that 37 percent of the global population today are active social media users, and that a whopping 77 percent of U.S. households have an Amazon Prime membership. And generally speaking, according to Marketing Tech News<\/a><\/em>, the younger the consumer, the more time they spend on their devices\u2013\u2013 with Generation Z types (age 21 and below) spending an average of 5.9 hours on their mobile, vs. 5.2 hours for Millennials (age 22-37).<\/p>\n

These two groups \u2013\u2013 which comprise 47 percent of the U.S. population and account for a combined annual spend of $743 billion \u00ad\u00ad\u2013\u2013 value brand authenticity, peer reviews, seamless technology and new product discovery, Donner said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understandable that brand owners want a piece of this massive pie, quickly, and with minimal investment, and the fastest way to adapt is to leverage existing packaging and then promote and sell online.<\/p>\n

Too many companies simply take their existing packaging, shove wads of paper into the shipping box, slap some tape on trigger sprayers or caps, and encase the products in Bubble Wrap before shipping them off. The results often are not pretty and can be costly \u2013\u2013 both in terms of product returns and brand reputation. (Think, for example, of liquid soap or glass cleaner leaking on expensive electronics items that were packed and shipped in the same order.) Such damage costs companies millions of dollars per year.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the often-excessive packaging frequently results in environmentally-unfriendly wastefulness that consumers love to ridicule in viral online unboxing videos. The resulting nasty product reviews can put a serious dent in sales.<\/p>\n

Translating brick and mortar success to the e-commerce sector, Donner says, \u201crequires companies to rethink their approach to package development. This is especially true for those products at an increased risk of suffering breakage or leakage in transit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Effective packaging, she notes, is not just about independent components that do the job. \u201cIt\u2019s a holistic approach that is the combination of four key areas \u2013\u2013 package design, robust sealing, packaging performance, and supplier engagement and selection. Then it\u2019s about identifying the options, such as liner options, locking features, packaging components, design technologies and more, that address those key areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Reike's
Reike’s Ultimate-E trigger sprayer. SOURCE: Reike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A recent, real-life example is the leak-free trigger sprayer that Reike Packaging, part of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based TriMas Corp., developed for Amazon. Reike, which makes closures and dispensing systems for the global market, worked closely with the e-commerce giant to develop the Ultimate-E trigger sprayer, which is said to prevent leaks of liquids shipped in the small-parcel environment \u2014 to include liquids with minimal product viscosity.<\/p>\n

Amazon instructed Reike to:<\/p>\n