Future of Plastic Packaging

Klöckner Pentaplast (kp) is a is a global leader and expert in creating innovative rigid and plastic packaging and speciality film solutions, serving the pharmaceutical, medical and protein markets, amongst others.

kp’s Food Packaging division recognised that a changing market and consumer landscape is creating a myriad of challenges to its business.  These include rising raw material costs, rising energy costs, inflation, changing food tastes, increased expectation for digital engagement and most importantly, the growing importance of sustainability.

kp recognised a need to strengthen its innovation portfolio with the potential to deliver disruptive innovations to meet its customers’ future needs and to continue to sustainably grow its business. It approached Ignite Exponential – Plextek’s innovation unit – to help it identify unmet consumer needs and develop a pipeline of innovation concepts that will help kp continue to lead the market.

We started by understanding how consumers currently perceive and experience the fresh food category from purchase, through storage and use to disposal. We interviewed 25 consumers across 5 European countries to discover key pain-points with fresh food packaging, and what would have to be true for kp to better address these for its consumers, and customers.

We reviewed the output of this foundational innovation research with the kp team and prioritised a subset of problems on which to focus our exploration for solutions. For each consumer challenge our team creatively explored potential enablers e.g. new technologies, future shopping experiences, new business models and analogies from adjacent product categories. We investigated these opportunities and developed a portfolio of specific innovation directions, illustrated with ideas and examples.

In parallel we considered how kp’s innovation process might need to adapt to manage even more disruptive ideas in the future.

Our journal-style report capturing a fresh understanding of consumers’ unmet needs was presented and shared broadly at kp.

kp prioritised two specific opportunities from our strategic pipeline of disruptive innovation opportunities, and these have helped to direct the focus of kp’s internal packaging innovation team in the fresh food category.

And the business now has a clearer understanding of its challenges, consumers’ relationship with its plastic packaging and an updated strategy and innovation directions for its continued growth.