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PACKAGING & DESIGN CURING WRAPACIOUS CONSUMPTION In packaging, with plastic perceived as public enemy number one, consumer behaviour is bringing about change. But with no clear alternatives, how should the industry respond? BWy Peter Howard. hen Jim Steinman penned the now famous lyric ‘two out of three ain’t bad’ for Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell album, he knew what he was on about. Since the beginning of time, choosing from a range of options has always forced compromise, and today whether we like it or not, we still can’t have it all. Consider the process of buying a car and the three characteristics we must base our decisions on: cost, reliability and performance. If you want a reliable, cheap car, you can forget high performance. If you want a cheap, high performance car, it won’t be reliable, and if you want a reliable, high performance car, it won’t be cheap. In every case, the best that can be achieved is two out of three. Today, consumers face a similar conundrum with groceries. They want convenience, low cost and sustainability, even though each element impacts on the others. Yet grocery manufacturers are somehow now expected to find the magical combination that ticks every box. In this feature, Retail World looks at how the packaging industry is responding to the rapidly evolving demands of today’s consumers, some of whose buying behaviours are beginning to bite back. More than a war on the straw Global packaging giant Tetra Pak, with 2019 global sales of more than €11bn ($19.7bn), is reading the overall mood of the global consumer with regard to current packaging methodologies, according to Marketing Director Oceania Jaymie Pagdato. “Our 2019 Tetra Pak Index tells us that consumers believe we’re reaching a tipping point and they see themselves as being directly responsible for the world around them,” she told Retail World. “This is the biggest motivator for consumers looking to make more informed choices around packaging.” The 2019 Tetra Pak Index, the 12th that the company has published, focuses on consumer attitudes to health and the environment. In his introduction to the document, Tetra Pak Group President and CEO Adolfo Orive says that while health and the environment historically have been considered two separate areas, the company is now seeing them converge within food and beverage. He suggests this could be the first industry to be part of such a trend. “Environment and health, the top two consumer concerns, are now seeing an increasing overlap, with a direct correlation perceived between the two,” he said. “Our research shows that consumers believe they carry the responsibility for both their own health and the health of the planet. “Changing food and drink habits is seen as vital to this – it’s tangible, 54 RETAIL WORLD APR, 2020