In 2015, the world saw Coca-Cola launch yet another massively successful marketing campaign that relied entirely on custom food packaging.
The “Share a Coke” campaign utilized a combination of online advertising, TV commercials, and social media marketing to get the word out to consumers. However, the true moneymaker of the campaign was the physical presentation of the product itself: on each can and bottle of Coke, the custom plastic bottles and soda cans were printed with a specific name or or moniker, such as “Susan,” “Friend,” or “Lover.”
Because of its massive success, Food and Poultry, an industry publication, highlighted Coke’s “Share a Coke” campaign in a new report, titles, “The Future of Custom Food Packaging.
So what does this say about the future of custom food packaging? What can we expect for 2016?
Based on its continued success, Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign is a marker of food packaging campaigns to come. According to the report, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to maintain brand loyalty in such an over-saturated marketplace. Direct and personal marketing through custom packaging is a good way to entice customers and maintain brand loyalty.
?There?s a parallel path between brands striving to engage consumers on a more personal level and consumers? expectations for packaging to deliver that experience,? David Luttenberger, global packaging director at Mintel, told the publication. ?Brands and manufacturers are innovating packaging to keep global consumers not only engaged, but to develop brand loyalty, which is becoming more and more intangible in this modern age where consumers have more choices than ever before across all packaged goods.?
And with this nod toward personalization comes an increase in mobile-friendly packaging that includes QR codes and smart barcodes. Custom QR codes don’t only give brand more marketing options, they also allow customers to access crucial additional information.
So what will happen in the custom food packaging world in 2016? With changing technologies making vast differences with 3D printing, advanced printing capabilities, and the use of mobile optimization, who knows? Time will only tell.
