Candy Packaging Innovation

Some features of candy packaging may never change. But if candy packaging is to go hand in hand with other areas of the food industry, it should create a more creative, more functional new era.

Look around the exhibition hall at the Packaging Expo to find candy packaging that embodies innovative ideas. Many of the packs on display looked like precious stones in the treasure box and radiated colorfully. But as long as you look closely, you will easily find out that there are not many products that can really be called "new ideas."

The candy industry openly admits that it is a traditionalist, and the major candy brands control the market with ease, because consumers around the world have already recognized these products psychologically and tastefully. However, as far as packaging is concerned, it can be said that the more stable a brand is, the less incentive it is to develop new markets. Similar situations have occurred in this area of ​​the food industry.

Andrwe Slack of Lawson Mardon believes that the main reason for the slow change is the continual pursuit of production line efficiency in the confectionary industry, which has had a significant impact on the packaging design of the confectionery market. However, one consequence of this is that there are many packages in the store that appear to be similar in appearance.

He said that this has forced marketers to nowhere. The typical solution is to use a pattern design that immediately identifies the brand and use metal foil as a packaging material to stimulate improvisation. These foils not only provide additional protection for the candy, but also ensure a beautiful appearance.

Fortunately, the candy market has already noticed new developments in the frozen food, convenience food and snack food markets. These markets are all improving the packaging of their products to meet the needs of the society in which eating habits are changing.

Chris Gower of Drsign Bridge believes that this shift is based on the division of foods according to different needs, and is no longer classified by different dietary types. In this way, at any given demand point there will be a "loose you", a "healthy you" and some of the compromises between them. Although this sounds a bit too free, the concept represents potentially huge profits for managers who are looking for opportunities.

The distinction between different products is becoming increasingly blurred, and it has been difficult to distinguish between what is candy and what is other food. In this regard, Mcvities Go Ahead! The series is a perfect example. Their brand identity recently passed the redesign of Jones Knowles Ritchie to deliver a more daring message, “low fat and extraordinary taste” to appeal to those who are particularly concerned about health. .

Perhaps the understanding of the new trends is a little slower, but the traditional candy market has begun to adopt the same strategy, they provide a series of continuous product forms to meet the needs of each "demand state".

Mr. Gower believes that the assumptions underlying the original candy product will not be replaced because there is always an impromptu and indulgent candy buying market, but value-adding factors should be taken into account in order to adapt the product to a new type of food. In this sense, products and packaging should use functional ingredients to stimulate consumer purchases. For example, Wrigley gum emphasizes that its products can whiten teeth and relieve symptoms such as sore throat and stuffy nose. Obviously, those historic candy brands are constantly reshaping their own image through the introduction of derivative products, leaving consumers with a sense of freshness forever.

Nestle, for example, has subdivided its Smarties candy brand into two series, Mini and Giant, and uses cartridge packaging to supplement quirky surface designs. Provides a new choice for candy consumption. This spring, the redesigned mini "Smart Beans" uses angular, tetrahedral packaging. This idea is inspired by snack foods.

Lawson Mardon's experience in providing foil materials for hard packaging, including pyramid packages for Phileas Fogg Tortillachips, was chosen to develop a new package that clearly distinguishes itself from similar products. After opening the package, the internal design allows consumers to easily grab the candy inside. An 80 micron thick transparent stretched polypropylene sheet was laminated on a white hollow stretched polypropylene foil to provide the necessary sturdiness, while also ensuring that the package had a good seal and was easy for children to open. The bright and lively brand logo of “Smart Beans” uses six-color gravure printing, covering all the outer surfaces of the package.

RPC Container Market Rasen uses structural design to add value to the brand. They developed an egg-shaped container for the peak of sales during Easter. This container is designed by RPC's design department. On the shelf, this egg-shaped container competes fiercely with the Easter egg. At the same time, the capacity of the egg-shaped container is just right. It can be shared with others and it can be enjoyed by people. Its bright yellow injection-molded polypropylene container has a hinge in the center, making it easy to open the candy inside. To prevent the jelly beans from accumulating at the bottom of the container, a hinged lid ensures that the candies are evenly distributed in the upper half of the egg container. Decorative Sleeves produced heat-shrinkable sleeve labels in six-color printing with the Cadbury logo printed on it.

The sleeve label is wrapped from the bottom of the package to the top, forming a security seal. A special puncher can remove the security cover; at the same time, a heat-set glue allows the main body of the label to remain intact in its original position.

If the confectionery industry wants to enter a brand new food market and attract a new customer base, it must make a lot of effort in the packaging of candy and adopt some bold ideas. Elizabeth Shaw, a traditional maker of kneading sugar, has taken the lead: In order to attract younger customers, it launched a special Stolichnaya Vodka Shots range.

Market research indicates that consumers aged 18-25 don't like to drink chocolate. Elizabeth Shaw wants to know how to combine the new packaging form with the taste design to realize the modernization of this high-end product market.

The solution they used was a 159-gram cylindrical Silver threaded cardboard tube from Field Pakckaging, which reminds people of the packaging of Stari Vodka in the wine market. The box is printed with red and black patterns, the pattern maintains the traditional Russian style. This packaging is more about using logos than words to describe the four vodka flavors of chocolate, which at the same time further highlights the modernity of the product. The taste design of Stari Vodka Heart Chocolate is "the best frozen vodka". It can be slower to release the taste of vodka. In order to achieve this effect, different flavors of vodka are wrapped in metal foil and put into separate silver bags, and then put into the refrigerator.

This product has opened up a new product category. Here, the individual packaging is more rigid than the form, whether it is the product or the expression. Therefore, this product clearly has a greater appeal to younger consumers than traditional candy.

Brian Edwatds of Anson Packaging also believes that as long as candy packaging dares to break the shackles of the traditional way of thinking, it can change its rigid and serious image. The company recognizes that its thermoformable food packaging and snack food packaging also apply to confectionery packaging, and it also provides transparency as a value-added feature. In the specific area of ​​product visibility, he believes that the progress of the candy industry will lag behind other industries. With the help of the company's internal design studio, the company is looking for a new chocolate candy box design. Separated cells are an ideal way to classify chocolates, but they also make people feel a sense of modernity.

To further modernize the packaging, Anson has been looking for ways to eliminate packaging instructions that seem useless. One of the methods is to use a patented printing technology that the company first used to produce juice packaging for the Tesco supermarket.

The purpose of developing such a printing technique is to avoid explaining the surrounding food contact pollution caused directly on the food packaging box, and at the same time, it can solve the inconvenience that the user cannot understand the product information by placing the manual into the box.

To solve this problem, Anson used a transfer technology to print the product description on the inner wall of the box.

It now appears that if the confectionery industry can continue to learn from other food industry successful experience, but dares to boldly launch the use of brand-new traditional brand products, candy packaging innovation is still promising.

In the design of candy packaging structure, the company will gradually provide hard and durable bags to gradually replace the traditional vertical packaging. This bag can be resealed, but also provides an opportunity for further diversification of candy packaging. Andrew Slack of Lawson Mardon believes that this new form of packaging is more desirable than traditional candy packaging: in addition to providing four significant surface-printing brand logos, the package also saves significantly on the need to use extra trays. Shelf space. Slack also expects new materials to be put into use as soon as possible, and these new materials will give candy packages a better feel. At the same time, the role of printing inks will also become more and more important, increasing the value of the product by creating a package with a thermal discoloration effect.