light weighting, minimising use of resources, and digital directtopack printing are some of the innovations delivering benefits to the food and beverage manufacturing industry.leading packaging manufacturer and innovator, pact group, has a dedicated innovation division comprised of a crossfunctional team of industrial designers and engineers, inventors, marketers, and specialists focussing on sustainability and environmental aspects.the innovation process at pact group always starts with a focus on practical performance, says siobhan mccrory, general manager of sales, marketing and innovation at the company&rsquos inpact innovation centre in the melbourne suburb of richmond.&ldquointegral to this process is developing an understanding of what the pack has to do throughout the entire supply chain. we send our designers to our customers&rsquo factories to walk their filling lines, and follow the products through distribution centres, stores, customers&rsquo homes and recycling streams,&rdquo she explained.&ldquogood packaging needs to be easy to use, freight well, stand out the on shelf and be easy to replenish in stores, but it also needs to be sustainable, so pact has a dedicated sustainability division that enables a closed loop operation, meaning material is able to be recycled and reused.&rdquosiobhan points to the development of the recyclable plastic lightproof milk bottle, which the company developed in conjunction with fonterra in new zealand, as a good example of groundbreaking innovation.&ldquolight drains some of the goodness out of milk, including vitamins a and b2, and even though opaque cartons and bottles already exist, up to 25 percent of light still finds its way through the packaging and into the product.&ldquothis lightproof bottle that was developed for the fonterra anchor range starts with an induction foil sealed cap that keeps light out of the bottle neck and finishes with three lightprotective layers that make up the body, thus providing a 100 percent shield from light.&rdquolight weightinglight weighting and minimising the resources required to produce a product are some of the latest developments in packaging for the food and beverage industry.siobhan says a good example of light weighting is the imminent launch of the infini milk bottle. under exclusive license from nampak plastics, infini will be the lightest bottle in the australian and new zealand marketplace and has been designed to fit both domestic supply chain requirements and consumers&rsquo fridges.&ldquoanother important development is the evolution of directtopack printing in the form of digital technology. pact group has invested in the ability to print directly on to containers and caps, removing the need for labels.&ldquowe believe this will be a paradigm shift in the industry as it allows marketers to form a dialogue with customers and print in real time. digital technology also means that there is no lead time needed to set up artwork and no inventory.&ldquoit also means that every pack can be different &ndash allowing you to build a billboard in store with personalised messages. we believe that this will transform the way that marketers will engage with their customers.&rdquoin relation to key issues and challenges facing the industry, siobhan advises that growth in private label products has put branded goods under more pressure and that there is a need to differentiate to make it easy for customers to see that the value in the branded premium is stronger than ever.&ldquoin heavily commoditised categories like milk and flour, packaging can enable branded players to differentiate their products and justify a price premium. differentiation through product formulation can be difficult and packaging can play a key role in offering consumers convenience, extended shelf life, and reseal or storage ability.&ldquoas exporting continues to increase, there are other challenges around security and maintaining the integrity of the pack in light of an increased risk of counterfeiting. this is not only important from a brand management perspective but also in ensuring consumer safety.&rdquoinnovative labellingthe labelmakers group produces a wide variety of packaging formats for the australian and new zealand markets, using both conventional and digital printing processes with the aim of providing innovative labelling solutions for major companies and brands.developments over the past 25 years have expanded from wet glue paper and selfadhesive labels to areas such as rollfed polywrap, barcode labels, promotional, shrink sleeves, and the recent addition of digital printing and folding cartons.national sales manager at labelmakers, domonic calderan, says every brand owner is looking for their version of a &lsquoshare a coke&rsquo style campaign, where the brand can engage with as many consumers as possible.&ldquothese days a lot of onpack promotions relate back to social media or online platforms, and in most cases additional promo packaging is not required. all new packaging needs to focus on customer experience and then work back toward how your technology or new investments can achieve that format,&rdquo he said.&ldquosingle serve packaging is steadily increasing, so it&rsquos important that packaging suppliers are able to react quickly to customer demands and support this change in consumer spending.&ldquoenvironmental sustainability is another key focus for the packaging industry and it&rsquos our intent to design all our products with the aim to be processed and captured through the waste and recycling streams.&ldquolooking ahead, some of the key industry challenges revolve around how the market is shaping with the consolidation of large companies and the investment in global brands. after cost, innovation and security anticounterfeiting will become the key drivers in global branding.&ldquothe increase in digital platforms will continue to grow to facilitate global branding through onlinesocial media campaigns. the two major retailers will have more control over branding, cost and placement, continuing to put pressure on supply chain costs.&ldquoadded to that, the growth around private label will continue to rise aggressively, and food companies and retailers will both be seeking innovation and speed to market.&ldquothen there is the next generation of packaging which will continue to emerge, such as linerless construction and directly printed primary packaging.&rdquo 
