Konica Minolta’s Label and Packaging Industry predictions for 2022

Driving a valuable marketing vehicle with digital production

Continuing innovations in technology will enable packaging to expand a traditional functional role of transporting something in a container or a label identifying the contents, into a valuable marketing vehicle. Trends for 2022 will include enhanced finishing such as embellishment, increased automation, online print purchasing and webshops, plus, of course, the unstoppable analogue to digital transition.
 
Demands will continue to increase for the complete start-to-finish manufacturing process with more all-in-one solutions, as well as a need for production devices that require fewer and less-skilled operators.
 

Vital tools to convey information and enhance branding

We know that labels and packaging will continue to form the supply chains of basic necessities and provide vital tools to convey information and enhance branding. Healthcare, pharmaceutical, and food and drink sectors are among those that will continue to be growth areas for digital label and package printing in the future.
 
Brands will also use digital to provide more engagement and greater interest in their products – all in a more sustainable environment. Responding quickly with highly automated systems producing small quantities is a way of succeeding, helping brands to satisfy the rapidly changing demands of their own customers.
 

Simplifying production to meet rapid response demands

Aligning strategies and tactics with the forces influencing competition and customer expectations are essential, while at the same time simplifying production to meet rapid response demands from an ever-more discerning client base. Software is also a crucial component in the desire for increased profitability.

Rethink possibilities with engaging label and packaging solutions

We see at close quarters how brand owners are looking for innovative and engaging print solutions for commercial and industrial applications. With dedicated global support delivered locally across the world, we work closely with our customers and brands in a partnership approach and continue to help them rethink print possibilities.
 
The growth of e-commerce is definitely a defining trend of the continued development of digital packaging and label production for the future, and this will have a major impact for converters. In particular they need to be able to react fast and develop e-commerce-specific packaging designs that solve the inherent challenges of postal distribution, rather than those of retail. Versioning and personalisation are also on the rise.

As a global technology provider with a local service structure, we still see significant opportunities in the years ahead for digital printing in both label and packaging production.
 

Making products stand out in an increasingly crowded market

This also seems to be the view or research analyststs. The Smithers Future of Packaging Long-term Strategic Forecasts to 2030 [1] makes the point that technological improvements are opening doors to increasing numbers of packaging applications. “More and more brands are looking for their packaging to tell a story to the consumer in the hope that it makes their product stand out in an increasingly crowded market,” says the report. “Personalisation allows brands to develop a personal connection with the consumer with the hope that a positive interaction will mean more sales in the future.”
 
In 2019, Smithers valued the digital print for packaging market at $18.9 billion with a total of 2.54 million tonnes produced. The growth estimated to be at 10.9% compound annual growth to 2024, and then at the same rate afterwards [2].