This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of corrugated cardboard boxes. In 1895, the first corrugated paper box was born in a factory in the United States. As soon as the corrugated paper box was born, it broke the situation of "unified transportation and packaging of wooden materials". But for a long time, the development of the corrugated industry was slow, until this year, with various subjective and objective conditions changing, corrugated cardboard boxes regained the favor of the industry and were considered the main packaging material for the future.
According to the market research results of Pano International, it is expected that the global packaging industry will rapidly increase to 500 billion euros in 2016, with an average annual growth rate of over 3%. This growth is mainly driven by the growing demand for packaging products in BRICS countries. It is estimated that the market share of plastic packaging will remain unchanged at 34%; Corrugated packaging follows closely behind, accounting for about 30%; Although the growth of glass packaging is slow, its market share will increase to 6%; And metal packaging will decrease to 14%.
The advancement of digital printing technology has promoted the personalized development of corrugated packaging. At present, about 10% of corrugated cardboard uses digital printing technology when printing high-resolution graphics, which provides a foundation for achieving personalized corrugated packaging. Moreover, from numerous successful marketing cases, it can be seen that personalized design combined with corrugated paper packaging is indeed favored by consumers. At the same time, companies with mature technologies are combining emerging technologies such as mobile app applications and QR codes to develop new interactive tools to meet market demand.
Corrugated cardboard boxes can also be used for gift packaging. Digby Company has designed luxurious gift boxes for its sparkling wine series, and the market response has been quite good. Unlike wooden packaging, corrugated cardboard is lightweight and convenient for logistics and transportation at the same strength. For heavier products, an additional layer of "cushion" can be added to the corrugated cardboard box for consumers to hold. At the same time, its surface is easier to print and will not be eaten by insects and ants.
In the retail industry, corrugated boxes are widely used, with 90% of special priced products using corrugated packaging, while only 40% of regular priced products. These discounted product packaging features personalization and easy portability as selling points. Among them, supermarket special offer counters in the European retail industry are developing the fastest. According to statistics, by 2025, more than 50% of product labels in supermarkets will be printed and pasted by supermarkets themselves, and 76% of purchasing behavior will change due to product packaging.
The German discount stores Aldi Supermarket and Liddell Supermarket have been leading in this area, with their market share increasing year after year. Aldi Group and Schwartz Group (parent company of Liddell Supermarket) are expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 3.55% and 5% respectively in the next five years, while the annual growth rate of mainstream shopping malls is less than 2%.
At Liddell Supermarket, corrugated packaging is often used in food and home goods collections and is often one of the promotional selling points in the mall. For example, the national flag of the country can be printed on the packaging box or packaging box of fresh agricultural products, and a QR code can also be printed on the cardboard box. Consumers can participate in lottery activities or identify the authenticity of products by scanning the QR code.
According to Angelica, Secretary General of the European Corrugated Box Industry Association, "The combination of corrugated boxes and digital printing technology has the characteristics of strong expressiveness and low cost. Therefore, the corrugated industry will become the first choice for discounted product packaging now and in the future."