By Sarah Rutland, Market Development Manager at Filtrona Tapes

There is no room today for the pleasantly old-fashioned in a congested, fast-paced packaging world anymore. When it comes to innovation in packaging, the pace of change has rarely let up in recent years. And you tend to find the brand owners and packaging producers that are consistently delivering all boast a learn-it-all culture as opposed to a know-it-all culture.

So much of packaging innovation is not just coming up with the big, world-changing stuff that people don't know they need yet, but instead solving small friction points they currently just put up with.

If you create new packaging and 10 people use it, five people will love it, three will hate it, and the final two will feel indifferent. This is the constant battle brand owners and producers face. Each of the 10 will have unique reasons why they like or don't like it, some of which will overlap. And it's in these intersections of consumer feedback in which many of our solutions have been born.

Many businesses get so mired in their brands' day-to-day, or the running of their packaging manufacturing operation, that they can miss new or interesting ideas. But it's sifting through this sort of raw feedback and choosing what to double down on that so often leads us to the details – particularly when it comes to product packaging.

While brands face countless tough decisions on how they present their products, producers are simultaneously seeking out investible opportunities that help pass on more perceived value. With an innovative R&D team and renowned technical support on all application challenges, Filtrona Tapes can ensure industry-leading reliable performance and seamless packaging strategy delivery. More importantly, we never lose sight of packaging forming the first and most fundamental image of a brand in the buyer's mind.

The margins between packaging success and mediocrity are fine, with thousands of products to choose from on store shelves today and even more virtually. But whether it's the gleaming holographic designs of Supastrip® Prism or branded Rippatape®, tapes offer exciting, interactive possibilities to engage consumers and tell your brand's story; we pride ourselves on making it simple to enhance your packaging.

This new year, we're all about small changes to help you get that foot in the door and shift behaviours. So, our message would be to embrace an approach of constant evolution and partner with businesses like ours in taking those small steps that will quickly compound to put you ahead of your competitors.

Great expectations

Expectations are everywhere, yet we rarely notice them. They say expectation feeds frustration. And that sentiment is causing more and more headaches for those charged with plotting the future of packaging.

As modern-day packaging continues to evolve and the demands placed upon it continue to shift, the potential for misalignment at any step of the consumer journey gives those working to sharpen their packaging portfolios sleepless nights.

But at the same time, advances in film coating and manufacturing technology continually push back the boundaries of using holographic materials in packaging, enabling eye-catching visual effects. The hologram's bright colours and dynamic movement, combined with the ability to print on tapes, add the depth and dimension consumers love interacting with. That is what has led us to reintroduce Supastrip® Prism. It's a perfect match for those seeking to visualise their potential and, at the same time, help customers quickly identify their product or brand.

Likened to adding another layer of branding to your product, the Supastrip® Prism collection combines the renowned easy opening credentials of Supastrip® tear tape with the high impact of today's hologram technology. Not only does the Prism collection help create truly stunning and eye-catching packaging that will stand out from the competition, but it also offers features that can help protect against counterfeiting without impacting a tear tape's core ability to facilitate an unrivalled opening experience.

Supastrip® Prism endeavours to elevate a pack to something more than the sum of its parts and be able to conceal things the brand owner may want to stay hidden. In our regular dialogue with our customers, the ability to add striking design features through holography, adding to the ability of brands to stand out while maintaining all of the easy opening benefits of Supastrip®, has had a compound effect, making it difficult to ignore. With brand owners determined to make their briefs work harder than ever, tear tapes increase available options.

So, while success is too often based on ensuring that customers can find, identify and purchase products, the role of converting consumer products from unknown options to necessary go-to items is reserved for innovative packaging.

Right along the supply chain, there remains a hyper-focus on delivering on customers' needs, but the one transaction we mustn't lose collective sight of is when the scrolling stops, the buy now button gets hit, and the package finds its way into the customers' hands. It's at that moment that it must truly deliver!

Packaging personality

With virtually any product in the world now able to be sold online, we face an incredible diversity of challenges and requirements. Businesses often balance goods' safe and secure arrival and ensure the user experience is unhindered.

Consequently, some have been left scrambling to keep up, and companies are returning to their portfolios with fresh eyes, working out if they are fit for purpose in 2024 and, more pertinently, for the years ahead. After all, standing still is as good as going backwards in the packaging world.

Consider for a moment how often you have stopped to check out a product simply because the packaging caught your eye. When you've had to choose between two similar products online, did your previous experience or information from other purchasers influence your decision? We value first impressions: when a consumer comes into contact with a brand, they first encounter the packaging.

While the aesthetics of the packaging catch the eye, it is the personality of the packaging that captures consumers' hearts. Quirky, memorable and interesting packaging can all communicate a message without saying a word. The best packaging is truly representative of your brand values in the choices that are made.

We like to think of packaging as the only marketing tool with a 100% open rate and our range of tapes enhances brand communication and authentication, bolsters consumer convenience, and provides an unforgettable opening experience. We offer solutions for paper and board, plastic, and flexible packaging applications. We have a diverse range of customers worldwide and in a wide array of industries, and one thing remains consistent in our approach – understanding the issue is critical to deploying an effective solution.

Our solutions each make their unique contribution to captivating packaging, which is a critical component in product success, capturing consumers' attention, conveying brand identity, and enhancing the overall user experience.

By adopting our total tape solutions, you're addressing one of those small events that plays a role in a series of events that needs to be carefully designed to tell the brand story you want. After all, packaging is an experience that helps write that story, so be sure to align functionality, design, and production around it.