What Is Smart Packaging? The Next Big Thing In The Packaging Industry

Smart packaging or intelligent packaging are the terms that are being used for product packaging that provides extended features in comparison to conventional packaging. Smart packaging would generally include communication of the package with the outside world in some way to provide additional benefits to the product manufacturers and consumers. These sort of packaging solutions leverage some kind of stored information or wireless communication, or both. Most of these packaging solutions depend on affordable solutions such as Barcode, QR code, RFID, or NFC.

Why Invest In Smart Packaging Solutions?

Smart packaging solutions may increase the bill on materials; however, there are certain incredible advantages of intelligent packaging solutions that can improve business productivity, increase profitability, and provide better services to the customer. Smart packaging can offer an edge into information exchange, operation automation, sales, and marketing.

Here’s how the implementation of Smart packaging can offer a better experience to brands, retailers as well as consumers:

• Smart packages can communicate to the user and provide them with more details about the products before their purchase.
• These packages can inform the customer about the products that are running low on quantity. These will motivate the customer to purchase the product right away and increase sales rates.
• Retailers and consumers can connect to smart packages and identify the product expiration date. Similarly, they can also know about product usage environment tips and risks.
• It can allow the customers to authenticate that they are purchasing the right product and avoid falling for duplications; it will also boost the reputation of retailers.

Example Of Brands Leveraging Smart Packaging In The Right Way:

Many brands are racing towards making the most out of Smart packaging with these technologies. Some of the most innovative applications of smart packaging are as follows:

1. Philips used NFC in its personal-care devices allowing users to authenticate accessories, configure settings, and an option to reorder accessories.
2. Diageo developed a product that allows Temper detection using NFC chips to identify when the bottle is unsealed already.
3. Kraft Heinz is another brand that has adopted smart packaging to engage with the customers even after a sale is made. Their packaging NFC tags allow customers to participate in contests, recipes, and coupons.
4. France based anti-aging medicine provider Vivacy is leveraging smart packaging to allow distributors and consumers to verify their product’s authenticity with the help of their smartphone app My Vivacy.

Apart from these, there are many more companies that are quickly adopting smart packages for their growth and modernization. These changes will grow even more with time, and soon many of the products would be able to use these connected packaging technologies for a better user experience. Smart packaging is an umbrella term where various technologies are combined for a brand’s unique applications. However, NFC and RFID being easy to use, secure, and affordable, are excelling at this competition. Most consumers can leverage these packages with their existing smartphones and get the most out of their favorite products.