Future of food packaging:
Four scenarios for 2030
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Future of food packaging:
Four scenarios for 2030
How will food consumption and food packaging look like in 2030? Our future scenario research provides four possible alternatives for the future and paints pictures of consumer attitudes and behavior, packaging trends, recycling, and regulation in ten years’ time.
Several megatrends are impacting the ways we consume and package food. The packaging industry has an important role to play in shaping the future of food, and as part of the fiber-based packaging value chain, we wanted to investigate what food and its packaging could look like in ten years’ time. We reached out to the industry experts, researchers, and key stakeholders: paper and board manufacturers, packaging converters, brand owners, and regulatory experts.
The four future scenarios that resulted explore the plausible outcomes of developments that are already impacting the market. They provide food for thought for the entire value chain and give glimpses of how we purchase, package, transport, and consume food in 2030.
Scenario 1:
Individualism to the max
“You are what you eat”. Food choices are an important part of the consumer identity and the food industry is focused on serving a diverse variety of customer interests and tastes. Food packaging is king: highly customizable, essential to brand differentiation, and using high volumes of materials. What is the role of regulation and recycling?
Scenario 2:
A totally green experience
Packaging-free shops and edible food packaging – consumers want to be able to say they are doing their part to fight climate change. Instead of being loyal to food brands, consumers seek out experiences for climate friendliness through their purchasing choices. How does this impact food brands and the packaging manufactures? What features are important for food packaging?
Scenario 3:
Practicality on-the-go
Convenience is the most important for consumers, with everything else – including sustainability –being secondary. For the busy consumers, food needs to be easy and functional. Packages fit the lifestyle: they are portable to enable food consumption on-the-go and lightweight to suit different delivery solutions. What kind of an impact does digitalization have on food purchasing, logistics, and consumption?
Scenario 4:
The effortless closed-loop
It’s all about fighting the climate change. Both the food industry and food packaging materials are highly regulated, and food brands innovate together with their packaging suppliers and work closely across the whole value chain to achieve common sustainability goals. Recycling rates are very high and closed-loop thinking prevails within the industry too. In this environment, what drives consumers in their choices?
