Food Industry Rediscovers Packaging

Food Sector Rediscovering Packaging Turkey's food sector is rediscovering packaging. Consumers want quality in food and convenience in packaging. Personalized, nostalgic, smart and informative trends are emerging in packaging. Consumers demand complete information at every stage from product design to purchase experience. They want 'warnings' on labels against potential risks, and user reviews and recommendations from single-source information are becoming more important in products. Consumer experience in food has become entirely focused on 'quality and health'. Smart, sustainable and minimalist trends are emerging in packaging. Consumers want 'warning information' on labels against potential risks. At a seminar titled 'Quality and Product Experience' hosted by Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) Food Engineering and organized by Karma Grup, Euromonitor International Market Analyst Burcu Yiğiter stated in her presentation on 'Consumer Quality Perception and Consumer Trends' that the rising quality trend in food is healthy living. Yiğiter said, "With steadily rising prices, expectations from products are increasing. User experience is becoming increasingly quality-focused. Consumer awareness of quality is rising. With new trends, old quality perception is becoming an industry standard. The rising quality trend in food is healthy living, and this is raising quality expectations."

"Packaging Has Become an Important Medium"

Yiğiter, emphasizing that packaging has become an important medium for quality in food, said, "Packaging/labelling is an important information source. We are seeing information sources shift from multiple to single sources. Recommendations and user reviews are increasing. We can say that global trends have linked quality to health and packaging in food. Trends that have already started globally are engulfing Turkey within 3-5 years." Noting that the brand itself has now become quality communication, Yiğiter said, "Price/label/certification information should be presented to consumers in a single package. Because packaging and labels are now becoming the point where we get closest to users."

Emphasis on Sustainability, Personalization and Smart Solutions

Prof. Dr. Atıf Can Seydim, Faculty Member at Isparta University, who spoke during the first day sessions of the two-day seminar, said that packaging in the food sector is being rediscovered. Prof. Seydim said, "With economic contraction, increased health awareness and sustainability regulations, the sector is rediscovering packaging. The use of materials obtained from sustainable sources, smart packaging designs and interactive, personalized packaging are being developed. Nostalgic packaging reflecting national pride, minimalist design, practical and convenient packaging are coming to the fore. Cellulose-based intelligent packaging that allows monitoring of products during transportation, storage and sales is becoming a trend."

"Warning Labels Against Risks Are Essential"

Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer from the Dairy Technology Department of Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture also gave a presentation titled "Risk Analysis in Product Design Process". Emphasizing the need to establish modern food safety systems, Prof. Özer said, "This approach is a preventive one. It includes shared responsibility, provides continuity from farm to fork and is a science-based approach. It includes structured risk analysis, enables integrated food control. It is based on process control." Prof. Özer said, "Daily intake limits must be set for chemical additives, pesticide residues and veterinary medicines. Determining tolerable levels of chemical contaminants including natural toxins and developing warning labels to alert consumers against potential risks (such as allergens) are also essential."

"Innovation Has Nothing to Do with Money"

In a presentation where Patiswiss Board Chair Elif Aslı Yıldız shared her success story, she said, "I am the head of innovation at my company. When we launched our products on the market, companies producing similar products were spending 100 times more money on R&D than us. Innovation has nothing to do with money. It's about the people you work with, how you guide them and how much you understand the job. I saw that hierarchical structures did not keep productive minds. They want a more horizontal structure. They want this because they need to handle work quickly and have direct access to decision-makers. With this method, which may seem more traditional, I shaped the organizational structure by assigning a maximum of 10 managers to one person. Organization always makes a difference. Organization is something that a competing brand cannot imitate."

"Packaging Gets Lowest Share of Marketing Budget"

Yıldız said, "I have observed that in Turkey's food industry, the vast majority of innovation takes place in the packaging area and this is considered product differentiation. Turkey allocates the lowest budget to packaging design in its marketing budgets. Packaging is one of the most effective and economical marketing tools. Packaging has 70 percent power to sell a product. If packaging has made the consumer pick up the product, it will make the consumer buy that product 70 percent of the time. This ratio can be even higher in children."