COVID-19: Global packaging industry demonstrates resilience and resolve amid uncertainty

30 Mar 2020 --- Unprecedented times have forced the packaging industry into unparalleled action. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing major disruption to the global economy as human health takes priority, yet the essential role that packaging plays in society means that the industry must adapt to ensure supply meets demand. PackagingInsights investigates the contingency plans put in place by leading packaging suppliers, including strategies to overcome trade show cancellations like interpack, and explores how perceptions of packaging are changing in these desperate times.

The pressures placed on packaging companies by the coronavirus outbreak differ according to the sector being supplied. In the health, disinfection and sanitization sector, demand for products like hand sanitizer is naturally through the roof. Likewise, sales in household cleaning products are on the rise, opening up avenues of opportunity for suppliers that are in a position to increase production while ensuring safe working conditions for employees.

Berry Global, for example, is running its packaging and nonwoven manufacturing lines “around the clock” to meet peaking demand for hand sanitizer packaging, disinfectant wipes and fabrics for face masks. Also, INEOS announced plans to build a hand sanitizer plant in the UK by early March to produce one million bottles per month. In Australia, Pact Group commenced local production of hand sanitizer, with the supplier aiming to manufacture two million units per month from mid-April.Berry Global is producing plastic healthcare products “around the clock” to meet increased demand.

In food and beverage, long shelf-life and essential products such as pasta have experienced growth as global consumers engage in stockpiling. China is experiencing new consumer behavior such as increased family pack sales, according to Shushu Li, Awards Director at FBIF, one of the many international trade shows forced to postpone. However, this increased demand has been offset by the demand slump in catering, hospitality and foodservice. 

Meanwhile, the supply chain for perishable foodstuffs, notably fruit and vegetables, is under intense pressure to facilitate usual operations. Functional packaging specialist StePac has reported cases of unloaded vessels and spoiled fresh produce as the need for shelf-life-extending solutions becomes more urgent.

To minimize supply chain disruption on the roads, the European Commission has approved the use of “green lanes” for packaging delivery and called for the removal of internal border restrictions.

Global presence overcomes local production shortfalls
Packaging suppliers boasting a global footprint are more able to compensate for local production issues and site closures in the regions most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Global plastic packaging supplier Amcor, for example, is maintaining its production output of protective healthcare and food solutions without jeopardizing employee health. “With Amcor’s global footprint, we’re well-positioned to adapt our production rate to serve near-term increased demand or to increase our customers’ inventories,” Melinda de Boer, Director of External Communications at Amcor, tells PackagingInsights. “We continue to prioritize the safety of our employees and focus on delivering the packaging products and services our customers need.”INEOS plans to build a hand sanitizer plant in the space of ten days so that it can produce one million bottles per month.

Similarly, Berry M&H is “pooling its collective resources to target the production of important frontline packaging products such as inhalers, hand sanitization and disinfection products for home, businesses and hospitals,” notes Simon Chidgey, Sales and Marketing Director at Berry M&H. “We are supporting this from a global basis and underpinning local shortfalls.” Berry M&H also offers several off-the-shelf packaging solutions to underpin its supply options.

Digital tools stand in for trade shows
One by one, industry trade shows have been forced to cancel or postpone due to heightened COVID-19 concerns. This includes interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany, which has been rearranged for 25 February to 3 March 2021. The loss of the promotion and networking platform that trade shows provide is a big blow for companies, but many are turning to digital tools to maintain customer engagement and generate new business.

“Coveris had a busy schedule of events planned for 2020 … [and] meeting face to face with people at events and sharing our new products is important,” Jakob A. Mosser, Coveris CEO, tells PackagingInsights. “However, this is an unprecedented situation and we are well equipped to maintain communications online with video and conference call facilities. With a number of exciting new brand changes set to launch at interpack, we will continue to develop these for Q2 this year.”

Tapping into the power of virtual reality, Bühler has invited its network to a “virtual interpack” between 11-15 May, 2020. Under the motto “Creating food sensations,” this online experience will use digital showrooms, chats and webinars to present Bühler’s latest technologies and solutions. Likewise, Syntegon Technology will present its latest processing and packaging technology on a virtual exhibition booth from 7-13 May, 2020. The online presence will cover digital product presentations and individual contact opportunities with Syntegon Technology experts.

Bühler is hosting a “virtual interpack” called "Creating food sensations" between 11-15 May, 2020.Equally, in China, packaging suppliers and F&B companies are finding solutions to trade show cancellations with stronger online marketing, says Li. “Through live streaming, Chinese FMCG brands can sell their products efficiently on Taobao, TikTok, Weibo and other social platforms. For brands that already have massive ‘private traffic,’ product sales keep increasing during this period as more consumers are staying at home and consuming content online.”

“Event organizers like us are also working with business leaders to host online sharing, case studies and seminars for the industry, including the opportunity to participate in 60-minute online presentations to an audience of around 5,000 professionals,” Li explains.

However, Li does concede that the coronavirus disruption has not been so easy to resolve for event organizers. The postponement of the China Food & Drinks Fair (CFDF), FIC and FBIF has created huge rescheduling demand for the months following the anticipated coronavirus downturn and lifting of social distancing measures. FBIF 2020 has, however, been successfully rescheduled to 8-10 July in the original location of the Hangzhou International Expo Center, China.

Packaging perceptions shift in face of adversity
The coronavirus pandemic has brought renewed public recognition of the essential functions of packaging in protecting the quality and safety of consumer packaged goods. This is especially true of plastics packaging, whose convenience, high barrier protection and shelf-life-extending capabilities are sometimes forgotten amid well-publicized waste management issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has improved public perceptions of plastics packaging and the vital role they play in protecting foodstuffs.“While we would rather not be facing this [COVID-19] dilemma, I think this outbreak allows the market and consumers to understand the vital role we can play as responsible packaging suppliers,” Chidgey argues. “We can help minimize the impact of this outbreak, mainly in terms of health, sanitization, product, people protection and food security whilst extending the shelf-life of certain products.”

“Packaging is no doubt of huge significance in the food supply chain, playing an important role in the protection, safety and shelf-life of food: a message that isn’t always reaching or being understood by consumers,” Mosser agrees.

After the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, EUROPEN called on the European Commission to reclassify packaging as an essential component in maintaining the uninterrupted flow of product groups that the Commission has identified as critical, such as “health-related and perishable goods, notably foodstuffs.”

In the UK, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) surveyed its members to learn exactly how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the UK plastics industry. Almost 80 percent of the companies surveyed expected a drop in turnover over the next six months and 90 percent anticipated supply chain issues in the next three months. Moreover, BPF Director General Philip Law indicates that the survey demonstrates that “the plastics industry is a crucial, strategic industry playing a pivotal role in national security and in ensuring we as a country can effectively fight the coronavirus.”

“We urge the government to provide the essential support to keep manufacturers and their supply chains in operation so that the nation can be safely fed, professionally cared for and vital infrastructure, such as drainage and waste management, supported,” Law adds.

In the US, International Paper warned that disruptions in the availability of its products would create “significant hardships” for health care facilities, first responders, grocery stores and homes around the world. Accordingly, The US Department of Homeland Security considers forest products as an “essential industry” that should remain operational during this pandemic.The introduction of Scotland's DRS has been pushed back to July 2022 due to coronavirus concerns.

Is packaging a COVID-19 concern?
On the flip side, there have been some concerns that packaging may facilitate the spread of the coronavirus. A study led by researchers from Princeton University and the National Institutes of Health in Montana, US, found that coronavirus can be detected on plastic for up to three days and cardboard for up to 24 hours. However, many experts refute claims that packaging may aid the spread of coronavirus and governments are yet to ban the home delivery of consumer packaged goods.

The implementation of Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has, however, been pushed back from April 2021 to July 2022 due to coronavirus concerns. “This will give businesses more time to prepare their premises for the scheme and crucially, provides flexibility in the immediate term as the whole country prepares to deal with COVID-19,” states Roseanna Cunningham, Environment Secretary.

By Joshua Poole