The corona virus pandemic has upended the day-to-day life and soon this outbreak will change the mindset of policy makers, industry and consumers as a whole. The humankind will start thinking afresh about fundamental necessities and priorities, and there will be a paradigm shift in consumer choices and lifestyles post Covid-19. Though the pandemic will eventually end and numerous changes that have happened in response to this virus may return to normal but something may never go back to the way they used to be. In present scenario, it is fair enough to say that corona virus stands as a pivotal point in the history, which will fundamentally alter the way we live.
Post Covid -19, a major change in lifestyle will be shift towards hygienic living, be it through sanitization, personal hygiene practices, social distancing or buying hygiene conscious products. World may see stringent requirements in terms of hygiene and safety of food products. Globally, government and regulatory bodies may strengthen the requirements related to food processing and packaging in order to provide safe food to consumers.
In countries like India, where majority of people still buy unpacked food, there could be a major shift towards packaged food. The main advantage of packaged food is that it reaches the consumer protected in packs and with minimum handling. Packaged food also offers ease of identification, and reduce the risk of adulteration and wastage due to spillage. The future may also see a surge in development of antimicrobial packaging for processed foods. Since social distancing will be new social norm, in near future people may avoid crowded places like restaurants and cafeterias and will prefer ‘Take away’ or packed food leading to an increase in packaging for cooked food.
With present scenario of the pandemic, where people across the globe struggling for life, another trend which will emerge is buying of personal sanitization products like hand sanitizers, hand wash, disinfectants, surface cleaners, chemical cleaners and other cleaning utilities. This will lead to availability of these products in various units and sizes. In fact some of the companies have recently launched single use sanitizer sachet for ‘On the go’ use. Therefore present trend may result in development of various packaging designs for these products.
Another factor which will drive the future market is eCommerce or online buying. Since most of the countries are under lockdown, and even post Covid-19, keeping social distancing in mind people will be afraid to go out for shopping. As a result, there will be an increase in online or eBuying. Till now online buying of groceries was only limited to cosmopolitan or metro cities, but soon it will be a preferred mode of buying in small cities and towns. This will further see a rise in packaging sector and will also boost development of anti-counterfeit solution in packaging.
One more factor in eCommerce packaging that will grow in importance is the amount of packaging used. The total packaging material involved in packing of a particular product needs to be optimized. Another trend which is expected is development of ePackaging in which minimum manhandling is involved and product reaches the customer with minimum touch.
It is imperative to say that Covid-19 outbreak has had a deep impact on economy and there is unprecedented collapse in economic activities due to the lockdown. This will lead to a drift towards cost effective solutions in packaging as most of the companies will reduce their operational budgets. So future may see a rise in product with reduced thickness, material savings or overall reduction of packaging cost.
In present scenario sustainability may take a back seat as there will be a decline in refill/reuse packs. Recently, there was lot of emphasis from regulatory bodies on using post consumer resin (PCR) in packaging, but there will be a reduction in such projects due to food safety and hygiene issues.
To summarize, the emergency situation has made packaging a core sector, which has become an essential part of life for keeping commodities intact till it reaches the consumer. With increasing concern over food safety and hygiene, the packaging industry may see a radical growth post pandemic, which will further be supported by confluence of innovation, diversity and technology.