The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

**As consumers lead busier lives and are ‘on the move’ more and more, the dairy industry has developed new products that tap into this change of lifestyle. A key part of that change has come from packaging companies.

Sun Branding Solutions Packaging Development Consultant Gillian Wight sets the scene.

**The 21st century consumer is more demanding than ever before. As society has evolved so too have preferences, and products must now tick a larger number of boxes to meet expectations. In the dairy industry the challenge for manufacturers is to create on the go products that satisfy the need for health, convenience and the environment in one fell swoop.

Health and well-being have been at the top of the consumer agenda for a number of years. Phrases such as ‘you are what you eat’ are being taken seriously and the public is turning its back on foods that are considered to be unhealthy. This is great news for the dairy sector and has resulted in an upsurge of products promising to improve health and wellbeing.

Convenience is another key factor in the consumer purchase decision. Nowadays, purchases must support lifestyles and these new active trends have given rise to on the go consumption and an emergence of packaging shapes and styles that are easier for consumers to handle. Dairy products that meet the need for on the go convenience, such as Actimel, have been around for some time.

One-a-day shot formats took the dairy industry by storm a number of years ago and have been popular ever since. However, subsequent product and packaging innovations have been few and far between and this is an area that offers a wealth of opportunity for dairy manufacturers.

In the children’s market, however, there has been interesting progress. Both Yoplait and Nestlé have jumped on this convenience bandwagon with their Frubes and Squashums respectively. Frubes - fromage frais in a tube - are ideal convenience products for children. The unique, fun packaging format grabs children’s attention and keeps them entertained. On the more practical side, they are easy to handle, are mess free and by the nature of their consumption, remove the need to use a spoon as they can be ‘sucked’.

But it isn't just consumer convenience that counts. Ease and profitability for the retailer are also important. Shelf space is just one area where dairy manufacturers can increase their product’s appeal. Historically, products used to be circular but more recently, the trend is for square shaped containers that make the best use of space, enable increased product availability and ultimately facilitate an upturn in sales.

In recent years, consumers are placing more importance on goods that help rather than harm the world. By using responsible packaging, companies can really enhance their products’ environmental claims and a wealth of untapped opportunity exists in this area for dairy manufacturers to explore. * Expert opinions* Experts from leading packaging companies share their views about this particular sector, beginning with recent trends and developments.

Tetra Pak Category Management Director Susan Frame says we are seeing the emergence of a new ‘golden triangle’ in consumer demands, built around health, pleasure and convenience and these global trends in consumer preferences are shaping product development.

“According to research in 30 countries, health and fitness is a top consumer value in almost all countries. Product development will increasingly leverage this opportunity. New health positioned concepts will accelerate demands on packaging attributes such as appearance, protection of fragile ingredients and the need for new features such as portion control.”

The growth of on the go eating and drinking was highlighted in a 2006 report that found that 27% of respondents sip a drink while walking or driving, and the figure is far higher in individual countries; in the US, 58% of people do this. Mobile eating and drinking puts demands on availability, visibility and appeal, since buying on impulse is more and more frequent. “Extreme convenience will be the name of the game,” claims Frame.

“Key consumer trends such as the demand for healthy added value products, the rise in concern over childhood obesity, the move towards smaller and single households and the erosion of traditional mealtimes due to busy lifestyles has lead to the demand for on the go dairy beverages in smaller portion pack sizes from 25cl to 50cl,” says Elopak Group Senior Manager Marketing Communications Werner Basler.

“We see the emerging and development of new moments of consumption,” he remarks. “Consumers are consuming while travelling, at work and during social and sporting activities, giving rise to new distribution networks for portion sized products including vending machines, forecourts and leisure outlets.”

Changing habits At SIG Combibloc, Product Manager for the combibloc and combifit ranges Luc Viardot also comments on the global change in eating habits: “The number of people eating the traditional three meals a day is constantly dwindling. Eating habits are more and more dictated by the individual’s daily routine. For many people ‘snacking’ has become a way of life. Meals are becoming more liquid - soups are making a comeback, and even a breakfast meal is now a breakfast drink rather than toast or a bun.

“As consumers become more mobile, the food industry is keeping pace. New product concepts are bringing fresh impetus to the international food industry catering for consumers’ expectations that food and drinks should be available at any time and able to be conveniently consumed anywhere. Appropriate packaging plays a significant role in this,” says Viardot.

A glance at the shelves in any supermarket shows what international market research studies also confirm: more and more foods in single serve packages are hitting the market.

“We reckon that by 2010 worldwide more than 30% of all aseptic carton packs will be small size packages up to 33cl. Compare this with the situation in 2002, when single serve carton packs made up a scant 20% of the total,” predicts Viardot.

“We are seeing an increasing number of consumers willing to experiment and to discover new product benefits, which is also driving innovation in the industry,” says Frame from Tetra Pak. “This is translating into rising demand by consumers for a variety of package shapes and sizes and increasing functionality. But it must be balanced with the demand by our customers for increasingly cost effective, flexible solutions with higher performance. This means we will see further changes in aseptic packaging technology and the products we develop.”

So what is the industry looking for in the on the go sector? Susan Frame: “The industry is looking for the highest performance levels from hygienic and aseptic technologies to ensure the most demanding standards of food safety and quality are achieved.

“This is even more challenging in flexible or high speed applications and here low acid dairy applications are at the leading edge of technology performance compared to high acid categories such as juices, nectars and still drinks.

“Pressure to improve performance levels come from all sides of the value chain - from consumers, from competition in the dairy industry, from retailers and from legislators,” she points out.

Meanwhile Viardot warns: “In saturated markets standard products will just not make the grade. Competitive pressure in the dairy industry is growing and with it the need to develop fresh, innovative ideas that allow food manufacturers to differentiate their products from those of the competition, while at the same time using more cost effective methods of production. These ‘multi sport disciplines’ are the main drivers for decision making in the beverage industry, and they demand a real all rounder - with regard to products, processing technology and packaging.”

Any food manufacturer who wants to do more than just get by on the international market needs solutions that meet the demands of consumers and retailers, while simultaneously increasing profit margins.

“Food manufacturers find themselves in a difficult position, because in order to be successful they are expected to lower costs and at the same time offer products with added value. Product developments that do not add up to profits are no innovation at all,” claims SIG’s Viardot.

Ticking all the boxes Meanwhile, Basler from Elopak observes: “Consumers demand specific functional, emotional and environmental benefits from portion packs - easier to hold, drink from, open and re-close with no leaks and easy to dispose of and recycle. Our customers are looking for a portion packaging solution that ticks all these convenience boxes but which brings product differentiation and on-shelf visibility.”

“Many customers across all beverage sectors have seen great success with the Diamond Pure-Pak Curve and the Mini Diamond carton. The Curve has been seen by many consumers as providing an easy grip for grab and go. For older consumers and kids these benefits have proved very important, but also the unique shape of the cartons has provided the marketing tool for the right product or brand image.”

As childhood obesity has doubled worldwide in the last 20 years, this ‘epidemic’ has fuelled campaigns and crusades over healthy eating for kids. School milk has been a central focus with many countries seeing many changes including the banning of sugar based drinks in favour of milk, juice and water. For Elopak customer Reids in Canada, the Mini Diamond Curve cartons in both 25cl and 50cl sizes was the perfect portion pack to capture the right image for their school beverages as ‘cool’ products designed to fit with kids’ busy on the go lifestyles.

At the other end of the age range, the over 55s or seniors market continues to grow as a key beverage market. Here the portion pack is seen to have an important role to play.

“As seniors have very specific health requirements and as more seniors find their appetite wanes with age, the industry can assist by providing products with recommended portions on one serving. As European pioneers in this market, Austria’s Alpenmilch Salzburg found the 33cl Mini Diamond Curve the ideal solution for its Tut Gut ‘Does Good’ product range designed to meet the needs of the ‘fifty plus’ generation.”

The creamy drink made from buttermilk and yogurt, contains Lecithin which helps to improve memory and concentration - key health concerns of older people.

“To make it easy for consumers to obtain a daily dose of this nutrient - together with the health benefits of milk - the customer looked for a portion pack that provided a simple, easy to use pack, that provided on shelf differentiation and is recyclable in Austria.”

“Consumer surveys confirm the trend towards greater public awareness of health and diet issues,” says Viardot, “and this is opening the way for foods with added value to have a stronger market appeal. Food manufacturers see this as an opportunity and a response to the question of what products they can use to create an added value product to justify charging a higher price and increase their profit margins. This means that investments in added value products must also be economically profitable.” * Other considerations* Products with unusual textures, such as velvety smoothies, provide an opportunity to combine new drinking and taste experiences with healthy ingredients such as fruit. In China, for instance, UHT milk containing pieces of real fruit in aseptic carton packs are proving a hit with consumers. Here too, Mengniu is setting the trend working together with SIG Combibloc to develop the new product concept.

SIG Combibloc Market Segment Manager Liquid Dairy Diana Bechtold says: “We are convinced that this new product concept will bring fresh impetus to the international UHT dairy market.” And in fact UHT milk containing rice and wheat grains has now also been launched in single serve carton packs in China.

Frame says: “In many markets cost is a major consideration. In emerging markets in particular, we’ve seen a trend towards smaller volume packages such as the 12.5cl and 20cl sizes that the Tetra Wedge Aseptic can offer. This meets consumer demand for key price points and at the same time, accommodates shops with limited shelf space.

“In addition, some segments of the market, particularly younger consumers, like to express their personality through what they drink. For this group of consumers, funky, modern, and trendy packaging is a must. The attractive, eye catching forms of the Tetra Wedge Aseptic and Tetra Prisma Aseptic are perfect for this group. Tetra Top packaging solutions are also interesting because producers can combine different bottom formats, volumes, tops, carton materials, print qualities and cap colours to create a unique package that appeals to a certain market segment.”

“As well as design and functionality, environmental concerns are playing a more significant role than ever in the packaging strategy,” observes Frame. “With both dairy producers’ customers and the end consumer becoming more aware of green issues, producers need to more carefully consider the environmental profile of their products. The less plastic, the better!”

SIG confirms that environmental issues also impact on the go, as they do in all other dairy sectors and points to a recent study by the Nielsen Company (Global Food Packaging Survey) that confirms that half of all consumers already choose environmentally friendly packaging over convenience and want food manufacturers and retailers to react to that demand. Deliberately offering and consciously choosing ecologically friendly packaging solutions is a start.

Future outlook Looking to the future, Tetra Pak recently announced the Tetra Top packaging solution for high acid ambient distribution (HAAD). Available in a variety of shapes and sizes from 20cl, this packaging solution presents another strong option for on the go packaging. Tetra Pak plans to develop this range for dairy drinks too because the original Tetra Top range is doing particularly well for white milk, yogurt drinks and other liquid dairy products.

“The key factor in deciding on the development of new technologies and innovation is their cost effectiveness, performance and market impact,” says Frame. “Developing products that will help our customers be competitive and provide consumers with safe, new, functional packages that meet their changing needs is what drives innovation at Tetra Pak.”**

**