Within the packaging industry there is turmoil about issues such as sustainability and respect for the environment. The debate around aluminum food packaging is back in the spotlight just a few weeks after the EU Directive 2019/904 of 5th June 2019 came into effect.
If the ban for single-use plastics has finally become a reality for a range of products that offer a sustainable alternative already available on the market, the consideration on the use of innovative and sustainable materials is only at the beginning, and indeed, precisely for the contingency can be a starting point for new ideas.
The aluminum food packaging supply chain can become a virtuous example for the choice of recyclable and sustainable materials, as well as being the spokesperson for a new era for digital marketing connected to it. With undoubted positive implications for companies and consumers.
Because sustainable choices, if well communicated, become a sure lever for purchasing by individual buyers who today more than ever are attentive to the messages coming from companies and are not satisfied with a facade solution (let us just think of the increasingly frequent phenomenon of green washing!).
It is now well known that aluminum is a sustainable material thanks to the social campaigns created for example by the CiAl consortium and in our own small way also by us at Favia who two years ago launched the campaign “The 8 golden rules for conscious packaging“
However, it is necessary that all the actors involved become co-responsible for an innovation and research process in order to promote best practices from the point of view of food packaging that not only responds to the needs of sustainability and awareness but can even bring an added value for the consumer and consequently for the manufacturing companies in terms of higher earnings.
Can packaging be the real strong point of a product?
In our opinion, absolutely yes: indeed, the packaging could be a plus and not just a strong point of a product. When we conceived the 8 rules, we asked ourselves about the value of the packaging and its characteristics. A necessary, sustainable, zero waste, reliable, functional packaging that protects the content, that enhances the brand and that is produced in a responsible way.
To this, however, we now feel we can also add: that it is beautiful, useful and recognizable for the consumer. And that, in fact, helps to sell more! The consumer seems to be increasingly interested in green issues and even willing to pay a little more for a product that respects the rules of sustainability. But it is also flooded every day with information and messages that trigger emotional reactions, often unconscious, of imitation towards people perceived as experts (think of the success of influencer marketing in recent years).
In the network and social media stream, which we could define as modern commercial catalogs, therefore, standing out is fundamental. Nostalgia marketing, for example, reminds us of how much the human mind is capable of being captured by something that reminds it of its childhood or a past period of its life to look back on with love.
The aluminum tube seems to be a perfect packaging in this sense. Aluminum as a material carries within itself a vintage allure of unquestionable charm. The first packaging for the beauty and fine arts industry was in aluminum. Furthermore, a new perception of the concept of perfection is emerging, also in the packaging industry. Haven’t you noticed a return to the iconography of the squeezed tube even in the most glossy advertisements?
Aluminum food packaging: not just cans and tins
On close inspection, aluminum is a material that is already widely used in the food and beverage packaging industry: we see canned drinks or tuna and meat cans or even trays used for cooking and storing food. And the tube? There are many foods for which the tube is the best solution, such as jams, fruit compotes or both sweet or savory sauces (eg mayonnaise or chocolate).
And the aluminum tube can become the benchmark for many of these food products designed for the Ho.Re.Ca. industry also (and above all) in relation to the growing demand for single portions.
The concept of single portions has often a double meaning: on one hand it is seen as a way to avoid waste, on the other it can provoke an exactly opposite reflection. A single portion is by definition designed for a single person use or in a single time, therefore with the zero-waste aim. But what if that portion couldn’t be consumed completely? Does the packaging that contains it guarantee us hygiene, safety and usability for subsequent consumption?
Not always. Let’s think of the jams used in hotels that are often already made of sustainable materials: are they comfortable? Once the glass jar or tray has been opened, can we close them and take them away comfortably? The answer is no, because the glass is fragile and heavier, while the tray is impossible to reseal.
Let’s imagine now that same jam or chocolate cream that we do not completely consume during breakfast in the hotel in an aluminum tube. Once resealed, the tube is light, safe and easily transportable even simply in our bag or pocket!
Brand ambassadors: aluminum tubes, perfect digital marketing vehicles
The next step, therefore, seems to us to use the aluminum tube and its infinite potential to make a food not only attractive, hygienic and safe, but also easy to consume, to transport and to desire. It is in fact a perfect digital marketing vehicle.
The tube can stay on the shelf without the need for any secondary packaging (such as cardboard or plastic boxes) and thanks to technological innovation it can become a megaphone for the food contained. An example? Thanks to the implementation of special digital codes, Favia aluminum tubes, including ToBeUnique or ToBeNaturAl, become true ambassadors of your brand.
The code is invisible to the human eye but can be scanned from a special mobile App: a simple scan is enough to activate exclusive digital content, such as videos, competitions or surveys. This will allow you to create a direct dialogue with your consumers. Better than a Qr Code, the proposed digital solution does not interfere in the slightest with the graphic design of your tube (here are some examples of tubes made with continuous digital printing between tube and closure) and can be used for any content you want to share.
A link to a website, a video recipe, a cooking class, ingredients list, customer reviews. And the possibilities are endless! Also, from the point of view of a fluid corporate storytelling, capable of moving from the packaging of your products to the smartphone of your customers.
Do you have a company in the food industry and are you looking for sustainable packaging? Choose Favia aluminum tubes! Contact us and we will be happy to send you samples of our aluminium tubes.
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