London, UK – New research suggests that demand for personalised packaging is becoming an industry norm and is increasingly being integrated into companies’ packaging strategies. 66% of packaging professionals who took part in the study stated that the personlisation of packaging is something they are currently implementing into their offering, or at least considering. In addition to this 89% of those questioned believe that this trend will only increase over the next two to three years.

Over 335 leading brand owners, retailers, suppliers, agencies and packaging professionals took part in the study, which was commissioned for a report by Packaging Innovations, the UK’s largest annual event for the whole packaging supply chain, and ThePackHub, the leading UK packaging innovation consultancy.

James Drake-Brockman, Divisional Director for the Packaging Portfolio at Easyfairs, said, “Our show provides a place for suppliers and the buying community to meet, network and do business, so we need to have our finger on the pulse in terms of industry trends, especially if we want to make sure we have the right mix of people and innovation at the show. In order to generate some industry intelligence, we teamed up with ThePackHub to better understand the dynamics of the personalisation market, and explore the influences and challenges facing this sector.”

When asked how involved in personalisation projects the packaging professionals were, 66% stated that they are currently undergoing ventures or are considering projects that have a personalised packaging element. When these statistics are broken down further, it highlighted that nearly three quarters (73%) of brand owners and three fifths (60%) of suppliers have either done or were considering doing a personalised packaging project within the past year.

The survey identified the main benefits of undertaking this type of packaging activity, with increasing consumer engagement (87.9%) and brand awareness (86.1%) both selected as main impacts. The data also showed that nearly two thirds (63.7%) felt that personalised packaging increases sales, while over half (52.8%) felt that personalisation projects have a positive impact on consumer loyalty.

In terms of challenges, financial factors topped the list, with 73% of those surveyed stating that financial constraints and the perceived on-cost of personalised packaging activity would hinder their willingness to undertake personalised packaging projects. This number actually rose to 80% when brand owners were questioned specifically. Interestingly, the data also suggests that technology is advanced enough to withstand this type of project, with only 29% of professionals highlighting technology as being a potential issue. Demand also seems to have increased, with a mere 17% selecting it as a challenge facing them.

Each respondent was also asked to identify a personalised packaging campaign that has stood out for them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Coca Cola ‘Share a Coke’ campaign topped the poll, followed by KitKat, with Marmite also receiving several mentions. 

James Drake-Brockman, concludes: “There have been several high profile personalised packaging initiatives to come to market in recent time. I would agree that the Coca Cola campaign jumps straight out to me. We have already seen more interest from our attendees this year looking to identify suppliers and opportunities within the personalised packaging market. This coupled with the recent advancements in digital print for packaging technology, spells a really exciting time for the industry. With all of this in mind, we designed our show to help educate the packaging community through a conference programme, at-show features and leading international suppliers.”

To download the report, click here.

For further information about Packaging Innovations, which takes place at Birmingham’s NEC on 28 February and 1 March, please visit www.easyfairs.com/PIUK, or call +44 (0)20 3196 4429.