Predicting what the packaging trends for 2021 will be has been a little tougher, and now, with the latest lockdown announced it certainly feels like a crystal ball would be more appropriate for assessing market demand, market conditions etc at this moment in time.

Whilst the future at this time still looks unpredictable in terms of what the pandemic will continue to throw at us, one thing remains fairly certain; that the need for corrugated and recyclable packaging will continue at the high levels that we witnessed in 2020. All part of a perfect storm, businesses shifted their retail and supply chains to online and many discovered the benefits that corrugated can bring when protecting product through the supply chain and whilst in storage. Furthermore, as consumers bought more online, they expected companies to choose sustainable packaging to support this.

Gareth Stell, Group Sales Director at Logson Group identifies the three key trends that we expect to be present in 2021.

Sustainability

Even amidst everything else that is going on, companies are still placing sustainability high on their to do lists. With many sectors facing specific waste directive targets in the next decade or so, and the world’s press continuing to celebrate or shame companies’ actions regarding the way they are handling recycling, packaging and sustainability we expect to see the shift towards recyclable packaging continue to gather pace.

Ecommerce

We also expected that the ecommerce sector would be a primary focus in 2021; this further lockdown will no doubt drive even further growth in this sector. It will continue to be the only method of shopping for a while, and we think that after such a prolonged period of online shopping some consumers will be reluctant to return to in-person purchasing. As such, the ecommerce sector will prosper across the entire platform, right from weekly groceries, essential products and luxury gifts.

In support of this corrugated has become the material of choice for many due to the way that it can be designed to support everything from food box deliveries to expensive goods. The design, and print capabilities dovetail perfectly with the sustainability aspirations of businesses who continue to press ahead with achieving these, even during the pandemic.

Waste reduction

This goes hand in hand with the above, and yet requires a strategic approach by businesses to fulfil this objective. It can be useful for those businesses who currently use corrugated to reassess how they use the material to achieve waste reduction targets. Or, for those that currently use packaging that is hard to recycle or completely non-recyclable, replacing it with a material that can be recycled with ease can help to remove the non-sustainable element from their business operations. As consumers become more aware, we expect that an increasing number of purchasing decisions will also take into account the way that goods are despatched through the supply chain either for purchase in person, or through ecommerce and home delivery.

We recognise that corrugated is not suitable for protecting all products through the supply chains however, 2020 highlighted to many the possibilities that corrugated can present to businesses in a variety of ways.

Let’s make 2021 the year that we push forward sustainable and recyclable packaging to achieve some positive outcomes.