Active packaging

Active or intelligent packaging?

Smart packaging is a growing industry that refers to any type of packaging that offers some kind of functionality beyond passive containment of the product. Smart packaging can help extend shelf life, monitor shipping environment, measure and extend product freshness, or improve safety and convenience. Active and intelligent packaging are subsets of that, with more advanced purpose and technologies. Simply put, active packaging protects products so they retain their quality throughout the delivery chain - from processing to packaging, shipping, and storage until they reach the consumer. Intelligent packaging actually communicates with manufacturer, retailer and consumer, providing data and other information.

Types of Active Packaging

Many people confuse the terms, although they do have distinct purposes, and as the market grows and matures these differences will become sharper. Active packaging interacts with the product and functions beyond a basic protection of the product. Chemical or biological agents are commonly used to achieve this goal. Moisture and microbial control in meat packaging in one example of effective active packaging. Other uses include oxygen scavengers, corrosion inhibitors, atmospheric monitoring, temperature monitoring, and shock and vibration monitoring.

The future of Active Packaging

Since active packaging for food and beverage is in contact with perishable items, it is strictly regulated and legislated by global Food Safety Authorities to ensure safety. Recent reports such as Research and Markets "Active And Intelligent Packaging Market - By Type, Applications, Geography, Vendors And The Challengers - Forecasts, Trends And Shares (2015- 2020)" show that the smart packaging market is booming. The global active and intelligent packaging market is estimated to increase from USD 13.75 billion in 2016 to USD 23.38 billion by the end of 2021 at a CAGR of 9.25%. North America is the leading market for packaging automation with the United States occupying the lion’s share in the region. Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions are the fastest growing regions for active and intelligent packaging market.

The next step ini Active packaging

Active or intelligent packaging?

Types of Active Packaging

The future of Active Packaging

Want to learn more? Request our full white paper.