Background

With changing consumer demands and social expectations, goods and services need to adapt and evolve to meet the needs of the marketplace.  Packaging is no exception.  Packaging solutions that address supply chain issues such as transportability or shelf life, meet the requirements of a changing retail market, or deliver the consumer an innovative new product, have the potential to impact significantly on South Australia's primary producers.

The retail world is changing too, with self-scanning checkouts a distinct possibility in the major supermarkets in Australia, resulting in significant impact on the suppliers of horticultural products.  Standard, generic box displays of fresh produce are another new development being implemented by Woolworth's, with implications for product packing, delivery, merchandising and branding.

Convenient, healthy, fresh and diverse meal solutions are a rapidly emerging consumer preference.  These days we have less time to spend on shopping, preparing and eating food and as a result, timesaving products have real potential with today's consumers.  Over the last five years ready meals as a sector has registered significant growth globally.  Not only do we demand convenience, we want quality as well.  The consumption of premium, indulgent packaged food has also experienced a significant rise.  There is a challenge for the fresh produce sector to retain consumer loyalty, especially amongst the young where there is a wide range of new health, snack and other product alternatives.

Objectives

In light of these changes, the Packaging Innovations project set about to investigate the drivers of consumer behaviour in relation to packaging, and examine the retail environment into the near future, to determine the opportunities that exist to meet those demands, and the business case required to implement specific packaging solutions.  Finally, the project looked to explore other new product/package applications, and opportunities to extend the findings/learnings to add-value and deliver a competitive advantage to SA horticulture through innovative packaging.

Key Achievements

• A good understanding of consumer trends and purchase behaviour in relation to packaging, through focus group research conducted in Sydney and Adelaide.
• Understanding of the changing retail environment and developments in food packaging innovations and technologies, both internationally and domestically.
• Reference list of key global suppliers of packaging innovation and technology.
• Identification of product challenges within SA's horticulture supply chain.
• Business cases assessed.
• Key opportunities identified with niche businesses that have the potential to differentiate through packaging, and discussions initiated.
• Key findings documented.

Project Leader: Karen Shepherd