Excuse me, can you read what it says on this packet?

This is how it feels for a lot of people when they try to read what is written on much of today’s packaging.

Packaging is becoming smaller but the information requirements are becoming larger. The main purpose of the information on a package is to inform the consumer about whether or not the product is suitable, while providing sufficient information to allow them to make their own, safe choices. It is of the utmost importance that the information is available, but does everything need to be printed on the packaging?

The challenge
Recently, solutions to the information requirements have been everything from large leaflets to smaller fonts – both of which create a smaller space for marketing and make it more difficult for the consumer to read and obtain the necessary information.

How can new technologies such as printed electronics, sensors, apps and QR codes be adapted to solve this problem? What are your ideas?

Why should you contribute?
If you’re interested in changing how we currently interact with packaging and have an interesting idea. As an incentive, we will announce the contribution that we consider to be the most interesting as the winner of the challenge and give you publicity during Skåne Innovation Week. There is also a cash prize of SEK 3000.

Packbridge is delighted to welcome Smurfit Kappa as a new member of the network. Smurfit Kappa is the leading manufacturer of corrugated cardboard in the world and has over 700 employees in Sweden alone. The company is currently undergoing major restructuring as part of its investment for the future in its Swedish operations. Four production plants are being reduced to three, but significant investment is being made in each of these. The group is doing very well and is now taking the opportunity to make major investments, not only in Sweden but also in other parts of the world.

– “Naturally we haven’t failed to note the way Packbridge works and the success that it has had and continues to have with such strong new membership figures. We believe that we will be able to benefit both from the knowledge which Packbridge conveys through various events and the network it offers. We have therefore now become a member and look forward to a fruitful cooperation”, says Claes Bjäreholt, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Sweden. 

Open innovation is about sharing your needs and ideas in order to obtain valuable feedback and find new potential collaboration partners. The term “open innovation” was coined by Dr. Henry Chesbrough in 2003, in the book “Open Innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology”.

“Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology.”

Here are some tips on how to best succeed with open innovation

1. Ask the right question!
Even if you want a huge response to your challenge, be sure to specify your needs and what criteria an idea should fulfil in order for it to be of use to you. What are you looking for and why?

2. Offer the right incentives
Open innovation is about engaging other people, but to do that you must convince contributors to participate! What can make participation worthwhile? It is important to think through what you want, why you are doing it and who you are asking, and to devise incentives accordingly.

Sometimes a prize may be offered to the best idea; sometimes you may want to offer a little something to show your appreciation to all participants. In other cases people may get involved just because it’s fun, or because they will receive recognition for their work, or to expand their own network.

3. Attract and engage the right audience
Try to involve a mixed audience from different backgrounds and with different skill levels. And remember that the larger the audience you reach, the greater the likelihood of a successful outcome. Don’t be surprised if you have to spend a lot of time reaching out to potential contributors to get them to participate.

4. Make it easy for people to participate
Engaging people is one of the hardest things about open innovation, so it must be easy to actually participate. Don’t initially ask for an extremely detailed and comprehensive report. Also, be sure to explain clearly what you want help with and why.

5. Offer guidance and feedback
Once you have received ideas or input, you (like the contributors) will get more value from the ideas if you start a positive dialogue about them in order to improve them. Strive to improve participants’ ideas by asking questions, and share constructive feedback and guidance. This will contribute towards improvements that will be beneficial both for you and for your contributors!

I förra veckan bjöd de tre industriella nätverken Packbridge, Livsmedelsakademin och Mobile Heights in till en tvärindustriell workshop.
Syftet var att kring matsvinns problematiken och projektet ”Dynahmat”, (som handlar om att utveckla ett dynamiskt vis att visa bäst-före-datum för livsmedel) utveckla idéer över alla gränser.

I förra veckan bjöd de tre industriella nätverken Packbridge, Livsmedelsakademin och Mobile Heights in till en tvärindustriell workshop. Syftat var att kring matsvinns problematiken och projektet ”Dynahmat”, (som handlar om att utveckla ett dynamiskt vis att visa bärst-före-datum för livsmedel) utveckla idéer över alla gränser.

Vi samlades i Lund, ett fyrtiotal kreativa representanter från förpacknings- och livsmedelsindustrierna samt från industrierna kring mobil telefoni. Det visade sig vara en dynamisk blandning som formerade sig till fem grupper där diskussionens vågor slog höga.

Det mesta av värdekedjan täcktes in. Vi diskuterade konsumentbeteende och -förväntningar, möjliga tekniska lösningar på problemet och givetvis affärsaspekten av det hela. Det är viktigt att bygga ett business case som involverar hela värdekedjan. Är inte alla inkluderade så kan en lösning bli svår att implementera.

Många intressanta och tänkvärda idéer kom fram. Jag tror att de flesta deltagare gick hem med nya perspektiv och idéer. Och inte minst med några nya visitkort i fickan.