What’s eating Easter packaging in 2019? Plastic-free drives NPD

19 Apr 2019 --- Besides strengthening brand identity, seasonal packaging can help to boost sales and outshine competitors. With Easter just around the corner, several confectionery brands launched limited edition offerings with Easter-themed designs. However, prevalent consumer concerns affect novelty or seasonal packaging as much as they do regular packaging options. PackagingInsights takes a closer look at what is driving Easter packaging this year.

The Easter egg market has grown exponentially in recent times but has come under heat for using excessive packaging, as well as a host of different material types, in presenting the round chocolate treat. In this way, the Easter egg has not been without controversy.  

Click to EnlargeMontezumas Eco-Egg, made from post-consumer industrial waste.Last year, consumer group Which? reported that the packaging alone for many high street Easter eggs could account for up to a quarter of the total weight of Easter-themed products. They asserted that once the volume of cardboard, plastic and foil in each egg was measured, packaging accounted for 25 percent to 28 percent of product weight, on average. 

“Over-packaging and non-recyclability are the biggest issues you see in Easter egg packaging. Especially premium packaging coming from brands such as Hotel Chocolat and Harrods. They put effort into premiumization but often use a lot of packaging material as a result. Brands need to be creative to create the luxury feeling without using too much material,” Ariane Van Mancius, Packaging Innovation Expert and Owner of Now New Next, tells PackagingInsights.

Paper planes
A key driver in 2019 will be material choice, and brands can innovate around this to still achieve a novel and luxury feel. According to a Censuswide survey, 6 out of 10 people said they were prepared to pay extra for Easter eggs that had more environmentally-friendly packaging, with nearly three quarters (76 percent) of Millennials prepared to pay a premium for such a product.

Significantly, 91 percent of UK adults would prefer to purchase an Easter egg predominantly packaged in carton/cardboard rather than plastic.Click to Enlarge

Responding to consumer desires in this sense is British chocolate company Montezumas. Following the 2018 launch success of its Eco Egg – a product which uses post-consumer industrial waste for its packaging – the company has taken the plastic windows out of its Nutty Hen Egg packaging and Cheeky Bunnies. The trays inside are also made from recycled plastics, in addition to being fully recyclable. The company has also incorporated plastic-free packaging in its Giant Bunnies product.

The appeal of Easter eggs in fiber-based packaging aptly reflects wider trends in the industry. Innova Market Insights has pegged “Nature’s Appeal” as one of its top ten trends for the packaging industry this year. The trend denotes how anti-plastic sentiment and rising demand for designed-in recyclability have fueled a resurgence in paper and paperboard packaging. Paper is not only by nature renewable, recyclable and compostable – but can also add value via its “natural” appearance, attractive to the increasingly eco-conscious consumer. 

Click to EnlargeQuirky, seasonal artwork on paper-based packaging from Fine & Raw.Last year, Nestlé said that around half of its Easter eggs contained no plastic at all, with some of its eggs carrying logos saying “No plastic – Easier to recycle.” Mondelez, parent company of Green & Black’s and Cadbury didn’t reveal how many of their eggs were plastic-free, but responds: “The foil wrapper and carton board used for our Easter eggs are plastic free, but to be fully transparent our Easter eggs typically contain other products in their original packaging, that may include plastic flow-wrap.”

The Censuswide survey noted that among participants, more than half (55 percent) said that the plastic packaging debate had influenced their choice of Easter eggs, with consumers under the age of 40 being the most likely demographic to be affected (62 percent). 

A novel approach
The modern day consumer is increasingly attracted to packaging that is environmentally friendly, as well as reusable. This being said, a solid approach to catching the eco-conscious consumers’ eye this Easter can include reusable packaging options, such as tins.

Click to EnlargeNeuhaus' tin Easter egg pack.Van Mancius pegs the tin Easter egg from Neuhaus as an innovative way to project a luxurious feel without using a vast amount of packaging, and it also lends itself to being reused, touting the egg tin as “a keepsake that is sure to be treasured.”

Meanwhile, Ikea has abandoned the round Easter egg concept – which of course requires more packaging simply due to its dimensions – and has launched a flat-pack chocolate bunny, saving on packaging and winning on novelty.

Our sister website, FoodIngredientsFirst, has also taken a look at the innovative Easter offerings on the market, from dairy-free to ruby chocolate NPD. 

By Laxmi Haigh

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