Packbridge’s trend seminar was fully booked 

There was a full house at Orkla’s new office in Malmö when Packbridge held its first event of the year. In fact it was more than fully booked and we had to draw up a waiting list. This was a pleasant problem for us, as it showed that our meetings are highly appreciated, but at the same time it was disappointing because obviously we want to be able to accommodate everyone. In the future it’s always a good idea to book in plenty of time. If you missed the event you can see a summary via the video above.

The theme for the day was consumer trends and after Orkla’s CSR Manager, Agneta Påander, had given a description of Orkla’s sustainability work, the audience were then divided into groups to hear various presentations of around 20 minutes each. We have tested this division into smaller groups a few times now and it is greatly appreciated by both the audience and the speakers. Instead of sitting through a number of presentations, groups move to different stations and keep fresh and alert. The smaller groups also make it possible for participants to ask more questions, and presentations become more of a dialogue. For even better interaction and exchange of knowledge between presenters and participants, we encourage speakers to present without resorting to PowerPoint.

The speakers at the Orkla event included Sofia Erixson, packaging designer at Orkla, who spoke about brand owner trends. Among other things, she highlighted the “Millenials” and “Generation Y” as attractive customer groups worthy of closer attention, together with the sustainability trend, with Carlsberg’s fibre bottles and Ecovative’s fungus-based protective packaging being exciting innovations.

Anders Källman, CEO of Multivac, looked at production trends and talked about the problems of adapting existing production lines for new material solutions and how the choice of materials can facilitate inclusive design and easy-open packaging.

Kristina de Verdier, from Kristina de Verdier Design Studio, talked about five prominent trends, such as ‘Sharing is caring’ where consumers are starting to see circular sustainable products not just as good for the future but also as a paradigm shift. Another trend is ‘The Interruption Economy’, where we are all forced to be constantly available and connected. In these stress-filled days, there are now apps that help us to disconnect and relax. One example is the Bunches flower chain, which offers a selection of the trendiest flowers “on the go” in neat card bags from BillerudKorsnäs.

Packbridge’s own Bo Wallteg gave us a journey through a series of global trends that will in some way affect packaging. These included how bioplastics and printed electronics can create more sustainable and secure consumer packaging.

After lunch a brave woman took the stage. Rowan Drury is the founder of Gram Malmö, a packaging-free shop located in Malmö’s market hall. She admitted that it felt a little strange to be in the “lion’s den”, but said that she had found the lions to be really quite friendly and had thus far come away without a scratch. Generally, she is not against packaging, but she is an advocate of reusing and of using only the basic amount of packaging actually required.

On 28 February we are back with a seminar at Visutech in Mölndal, where we will see how the opportunities presented by digital printing technology will change the packaging industry.

Why not sign up for the next event now?

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *