David Savastano, Editor11.12.19
Smart packaging is one of the most intriguing use cases for flexible and printed electronics . The ability to communicate between brand owners, retailers and customers offer everyone benefits. There have been successful retail projects, such as with specialty liquors and personal care products, but widespread adoption remains elusive. Still, there are signs that more widespread adoption is coming.
Harman Vorenkamp, head of product development BU Tobacco, managing director, MMP Premium Printing Center GmbH, said that his company is in development for different needed parts for smart packaging . “We are working with partners who are under NDA and we are not able to share something for the moment,” he added. “The biggest challenge is good barrier layers to print. It will be more and more important for IoT and marketing reasons.”
“Most projects are still driven by marketing campaigns, e.g. with flexible el or OLED lighting included in the package or for customer interaction via NFC tags,” said Klaus Hecker, OE-A’s managing director. “For scales in the packaging industry, these are rather small numbers. There are now pharma packages with integrated ink displays. The integration of printed sensors, for example for temperature tracking to improve cool-chain logistics, is still more in trials and development projects. The printing and packaging industry is being transformed as packaging becomes more than just an object to hold and printing becomes increasingly functional.”
Stan Farnsworth, VP of marketing for NovaCentrix, said that while there have been a few exciting high-profile applications of smart packaging, that is still not the norm.
“Costs are still generally perceived as too high for broader implementation of smart packaging in a notoriously cost-sensitive space,” Farnsworth added. “Better quantification of consumer-oriented value and continued reductions in materials and production costs are needed for smart packaging to see significant wide-spread adoption. Nonetheless, we still see interest from the brand owners as technologies and application concepts continue to evolve.”
IDTechEx CEO Raghu Das said that there is “definitely more interest” in smart packaging.
“There is interest but actual volume usage is still low,” Das reported. “There are more brands however beginning trials and pilots to prove the business case first. IDTechEx forecasts that the market for electronic smart packaging will be worth $206 million in 2025, based on research on this sector.”
“The trends I see are growing demand for interaction, identification, authentication (NFC being one solution, very often standard tags, but printed antenna being an alternative, which is always checked),” said Wolfgang Mildner of MSWtech. “The applications and demands are obviously well known, but it got a lot of refreshment due to the new support of Apple for NFC (even enhanced in IOS 13). Extended functionalities with temperature or humidity sensing are coming.”
John Hannafin, global product manager, Sun Chemical Advanced Materials, said that Sun Chemical is seeing more inquiries for smart packaging, especially regarding a variety of sensors, printed batteries and the T+Sun and Touchcode technology.
“This demonstrates that the consumer brands need some form of interaction,” said Hannafin. “There is hope that newer innovations, including smart surfaces, will create intimacy and engagement at the consumer level to improve the buying experience. Other innovations are on the drawing board. It is clear that this space will drive more and more personal connections.”
Samuli Strömberg, head of business development for Ynvisble Interactive, Inc., said that Ynvisible is seeing a steady flow of requests for our interactive printed graphics solutions for smart labels and smart packaging.
“In labels, the request is most often for visual indicators combined with sensor labels,” Strömberg added. “The demand is for increasing volumes of production. This is why we acquired Consensum Production, to grow more rapidly into roll-to-roll printed functionalities. Interactive printed graphics based on electrochromics can be printed directly onto RFID labels and powered wirelessly over RFID reading. Therefore, we see additional potential in enabling RFID and NFC labels with additional features and capabilities. As for other packaging integrated applications, the use cases for flexible and printed electronics are still more skewed to one-time promotional uses, but brand authentication is certainly another driver.”
PragmatIC CEO Scott White said he sees a consistent stream of inquiries for smart packaging.
“Most don’t necessarily assume flexible or printed electronics, but they are looking for a solution to a real-world problem, and our flexible integrated circuits have the right characteristics to provide that solution,” added White. “The most public examples involve the use of NFC for consumer engagement (e.g. Pernod Ricard’s Malibu) or RFID for improving supply chain operations (most prevalent in the apparel sector, e.g. M&S).”
“Every week we get new inquiries for use models we would never have imagined for FHE smart packaging,” Richard Ellinger, VP sales and marketing for American Semiconductor, said. “I believe 2020 will see the first products hit the shelves of FHE smart packaging and the market will begin to soar in 2021 and beyond.”
“The cases we are involved in are not yet in public use,” Strömberg noted. “Product and brand integrated functions take a longer time to reach the market than promotional uses.”
Industry leaders say they are seeing a role for flexible and/or printed electronics in smart packaging.
“Perhaps the most tangible evidence of this is PragmatIC’s announcement that within two months of launching our first RFID flexible integrated circuits, we received orders for over 20 million units. And this is a global trend – the orders were from three continents: Europe, Asia and North America,” said White.
“In smart sensor labels, there are increasing uses at pallet level and developing toward case level,” Strömberg noted. “Outside of that field, today many applications are still in concept demonstrator and prototyping stage.”
“In the future, we expect to see more and more functionality integrated into packaging for customer communication, anti-theft protection and brand protection as well as quality monitoring,” Hecker said.
“We are seeing an increase in the use of smart packaging featuring flexible and/or printed electronics,” said Hannafin. “The pre-packaged meal industry is driving a lot of sensor development to assure the meals arrive fresh. Tracking temperature, looking for spoilage and enhancing the consumer experience are all driving the incorporation of printed electronics in the smart packaging arena.”
Benefits of Smart Packaging
Brand owners are looking for a variety of benefits from smart packaging, ranging from authentication, supply chain logistics to interacting with consumers. For example, Hecker said that brand owners are looking for interaction with the customer, anti-theft protection and brand protection as well as quality monitoring, differentiation and attention at the point of sale.
“From discussions we have had and are having with brand owners, the top priority is still the customer experience and competitive differentiation,” Farnsworth noted. “Operational benefits such as cold-chain tracking and logistical accuracy are secondary to customer/consumer value. This is generally consistent with recent examples of smart packaging, such as with wine labels which link to vineyard backstories and recipe suggestions.”
White noted that there is a wide range of use cases.
“The highest-profile examples typically revolve around direct engagement with consumers – for example, to provide more targeted communication of marketing messages, or to facilitate real-time interaction with the consumer at the point-of-sale or point-of-use,” White said. “However, we are seeing at least as many opportunities for brand owners to use smart packaging within their own supply chain, in order to improve inventory accuracy, provide visibility into distribution logistics, and protect against counterfeit or grey market products.
“In addition, brands selling appliances are very interested in the ability to connect the appliance with its consumables, to make life easier for the consumer and to provide an improved overall product experience,” White added.
“As materials and manufacturing technologies are developing, more of the features and functionalities can be best achieved through printed electronics,” Strömberg noted. “We anticipate strong growth in smart labels and for increased uses in higher-priced, premium products.”
“Smart packaging is no longer desirable, it’s inevitable,” said Hannafin. “Data acquisition of buying habits is a necessity at the store level to compete with the digital shopper. Innovative ways to attract and enhance the consumer buying experience within the retail store environment is increasingly essential. Sun Chemical is confident that opportunities within the material technology industry will continue to drive the development of new applications, particularly in the flexible printing space. Consumer interest in wearables, smart packaging and new cost-effective displays will create a more interactive environment in the retail store.”
Harman Vorenkamp, head of product development BU Tobacco, managing director, MMP Premium Printing Center GmbH, said that his company is in development for different needed parts for smart packaging . “We are working with partners who are under NDA and we are not able to share something for the moment,” he added. “The biggest challenge is good barrier layers to print. It will be more and more important for IoT and marketing reasons.”
“Most projects are still driven by marketing campaigns, e.g. with flexible el or OLED lighting included in the package or for customer interaction via NFC tags,” said Klaus Hecker, OE-A’s managing director. “For scales in the packaging industry, these are rather small numbers. There are now pharma packages with integrated ink displays. The integration of printed sensors, for example for temperature tracking to improve cool-chain logistics, is still more in trials and development projects. The printing and packaging industry is being transformed as packaging becomes more than just an object to hold and printing becomes increasingly functional.”
Stan Farnsworth, VP of marketing for NovaCentrix, said that while there have been a few exciting high-profile applications of smart packaging, that is still not the norm.
“Costs are still generally perceived as too high for broader implementation of smart packaging in a notoriously cost-sensitive space,” Farnsworth added. “Better quantification of consumer-oriented value and continued reductions in materials and production costs are needed for smart packaging to see significant wide-spread adoption. Nonetheless, we still see interest from the brand owners as technologies and application concepts continue to evolve.”
IDTechEx CEO Raghu Das said that there is “definitely more interest” in smart packaging.
“There is interest but actual volume usage is still low,” Das reported. “There are more brands however beginning trials and pilots to prove the business case first. IDTechEx forecasts that the market for electronic smart packaging will be worth $206 million in 2025, based on research on this sector.”
“The trends I see are growing demand for interaction, identification, authentication (NFC being one solution, very often standard tags, but printed antenna being an alternative, which is always checked),” said Wolfgang Mildner of MSWtech. “The applications and demands are obviously well known, but it got a lot of refreshment due to the new support of Apple for NFC (even enhanced in IOS 13). Extended functionalities with temperature or humidity sensing are coming.”
John Hannafin, global product manager, Sun Chemical Advanced Materials, said that Sun Chemical is seeing more inquiries for smart packaging, especially regarding a variety of sensors, printed batteries and the T+Sun and Touchcode technology.
“This demonstrates that the consumer brands need some form of interaction,” said Hannafin. “There is hope that newer innovations, including smart surfaces, will create intimacy and engagement at the consumer level to improve the buying experience. Other innovations are on the drawing board. It is clear that this space will drive more and more personal connections.”
Samuli Strömberg, head of business development for Ynvisble Interactive, Inc., said that Ynvisible is seeing a steady flow of requests for our interactive printed graphics solutions for smart labels and smart packaging.
“In labels, the request is most often for visual indicators combined with sensor labels,” Strömberg added. “The demand is for increasing volumes of production. This is why we acquired Consensum Production, to grow more rapidly into roll-to-roll printed functionalities. Interactive printed graphics based on electrochromics can be printed directly onto RFID labels and powered wirelessly over RFID reading. Therefore, we see additional potential in enabling RFID and NFC labels with additional features and capabilities. As for other packaging integrated applications, the use cases for flexible and printed electronics are still more skewed to one-time promotional uses, but brand authentication is certainly another driver.”
PragmatIC CEO Scott White said he sees a consistent stream of inquiries for smart packaging.
“Most don’t necessarily assume flexible or printed electronics, but they are looking for a solution to a real-world problem, and our flexible integrated circuits have the right characteristics to provide that solution,” added White. “The most public examples involve the use of NFC for consumer engagement (e.g. Pernod Ricard’s Malibu) or RFID for improving supply chain operations (most prevalent in the apparel sector, e.g. M&S).”
“Every week we get new inquiries for use models we would never have imagined for FHE smart packaging,” Richard Ellinger, VP sales and marketing for American Semiconductor, said. “I believe 2020 will see the first products hit the shelves of FHE smart packaging and the market will begin to soar in 2021 and beyond.”
“The cases we are involved in are not yet in public use,” Strömberg noted. “Product and brand integrated functions take a longer time to reach the market than promotional uses.”
Industry leaders say they are seeing a role for flexible and/or printed electronics in smart packaging.
“Perhaps the most tangible evidence of this is PragmatIC’s announcement that within two months of launching our first RFID flexible integrated circuits, we received orders for over 20 million units. And this is a global trend – the orders were from three continents: Europe, Asia and North America,” said White.
“In smart sensor labels, there are increasing uses at pallet level and developing toward case level,” Strömberg noted. “Outside of that field, today many applications are still in concept demonstrator and prototyping stage.”
“In the future, we expect to see more and more functionality integrated into packaging for customer communication, anti-theft protection and brand protection as well as quality monitoring,” Hecker said.
“We are seeing an increase in the use of smart packaging featuring flexible and/or printed electronics,” said Hannafin. “The pre-packaged meal industry is driving a lot of sensor development to assure the meals arrive fresh. Tracking temperature, looking for spoilage and enhancing the consumer experience are all driving the incorporation of printed electronics in the smart packaging arena.”
Benefits of Smart Packaging
Brand owners are looking for a variety of benefits from smart packaging, ranging from authentication, supply chain logistics to interacting with consumers. For example, Hecker said that brand owners are looking for interaction with the customer, anti-theft protection and brand protection as well as quality monitoring, differentiation and attention at the point of sale.
“From discussions we have had and are having with brand owners, the top priority is still the customer experience and competitive differentiation,” Farnsworth noted. “Operational benefits such as cold-chain tracking and logistical accuracy are secondary to customer/consumer value. This is generally consistent with recent examples of smart packaging, such as with wine labels which link to vineyard backstories and recipe suggestions.”
White noted that there is a wide range of use cases.
“The highest-profile examples typically revolve around direct engagement with consumers – for example, to provide more targeted communication of marketing messages, or to facilitate real-time interaction with the consumer at the point-of-sale or point-of-use,” White said. “However, we are seeing at least as many opportunities for brand owners to use smart packaging within their own supply chain, in order to improve inventory accuracy, provide visibility into distribution logistics, and protect against counterfeit or grey market products.
“In addition, brands selling appliances are very interested in the ability to connect the appliance with its consumables, to make life easier for the consumer and to provide an improved overall product experience,” White added.
“As materials and manufacturing technologies are developing, more of the features and functionalities can be best achieved through printed electronics,” Strömberg noted. “We anticipate strong growth in smart labels and for increased uses in higher-priced, premium products.”
“Smart packaging is no longer desirable, it’s inevitable,” said Hannafin. “Data acquisition of buying habits is a necessity at the store level to compete with the digital shopper. Innovative ways to attract and enhance the consumer buying experience within the retail store environment is increasingly essential. Sun Chemical is confident that opportunities within the material technology industry will continue to drive the development of new applications, particularly in the flexible printing space. Consumer interest in wearables, smart packaging and new cost-effective displays will create a more interactive environment in the retail store.”
