Packaging. The luxury of eco-sustainability

On 26 September, IPMARK organised a new Packaging Colloquium on the 33rd floor of the Emperador Tower, located in the heart of the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid. The meeting was attended by 13 experts in the field to discuss the challenges that sustainability, the economic and legislative situation and new technologies, such as AI, pose to this sector.

The presentation and experience of products are key factors that determine consumers’ purchasing decisions. Everything matters. From aesthetics to packaging, as well as the packaging that is presented to the potential consumer. It all adds up, but the packaging industry faces certain obstacles along the way, such as inflation and the struggle for sustainability. It is impossible to eliminate plastics 100%, but it is possible to reduce them. It was precisely on this topic that the 13 members who were invited to the IPMARK Colloquium spoke on the morning of 26 September at the Torre Emperador, a venue with panoramic views of the entire epicentre of Madrid.

During the meeting between agencies, which included a good breakfast, Jaime de Haro, editor of IPMARK, asked his guests a question: How are you facing the world of packaging? Mario Vega, member of the board of directors of Aebrand, was the first to break the ice by saying that a lot is being asked in a short time. He was seconded by Josep María Garrofé, founder of Garrofé: “The consumer is demanding, but the industry has not provided the means to provide solutions in terms of packaging. We have years of revolution ahead of us”.

Paco Adín, director of Supperstudio, asked: “Are consumers willing to pay for better packaging? In response Álex Pérez, art director at Morillas, said that there is a demand, but we have to look for real solutions. In response to Carlos Corral, CEO of Baud, who spoke about his work for sustainable nappies, Marisol Sopena, client service director at Batllegroup, clarified: “There is a lot of willingness on the part of marketing departments to follow trends, but at the level of production lines, costs mean that not everything goes ahead. In agreement with Sopena, Carmen Navarro, partner and director in Madrid at Summa commented that “brands are committed to providing solutions to their consumers, but when it comes down to it, there are a lot of sticks in the wheel. I want to give you a biodegradable solution, but I am unable to give it to you at an affordable price”. Based on these words, Gemma Solana Tomás, CEO of Artimaña argued something else: “Without regulation, big companies do not advance”.

Sustainability in times of inflation
In this second part of the Colloquium organised by IPMARK, Carlos de Baud was one of the first to give his point of view. “We work a lot on packaging with distributors. All this seconds before saying openly that the Christmas campaign is 20% less than last year and that August, a month in which it has traditionally been good, has fallen in one of the large distributors by up to 80% and in another by 50%. “Distribution is preparing for a drastic reduction,” he said.

For his part, Álex Pérez from Morillas emphasised that in this time of crisis “changes have to be made and they don’t have to be expensive. We can make adjustments to simpler packaging that requires less cost and can be adjusted to the moment of sustainability”. Paco Adín of Supperstudio added: “Being sustainable is more uncomfortable”. Agreeing with Adín, Fede Reyna, partner at Meteorito, who had travelled from Valencia to be at the meeting, said: “I would like to see the return of reusables. It costs work, but it’s cooler”.

After reflecting on the economic crisis due to inflation, Carmen Navarro, from Summa, explained that reusable packaging is already used by many people. At this point in the talk, Josep María Garrofé spoke about the trend towards refillable packaging. In turn, Carlos Corral, the CEO of Baud, spoke about bottled water, a sector in which the use of reusable packaging has been a success despite initial reluctance. Navarro said: “A brand can maintain a commitment to sustainability, but also generate new product experiences. The opportunity is to see what experience that brand generates for us”.

On the other hand, Óscar Barranco, managing director of Easyfairs Iberia, recalled that there are success stories that save on production processes. “It’s a question of daring,” he said. Based on this, Ricardo Moreno, CEO of TSMGO, commented that there will come a point at which the consumer will end up understanding the quality of the product. On the other hand, Josep María de Garrofé, Josep Sabaté, from Littlestudio and Álex Pérez, from Morillas, explained the need for companies to reduce the weight of packaging, such as 400 grams less glass or not using plastic. Or directly the mono-product. All with the aim of reducing the weight of glass because, in the words of Pérez, “it is a cost saving”.

Recycled plastic, a possible alternative
“The poorer the planet, the richer there are”, commented Josep Sabaté on the subject of the new luxury, a trend towards eco-sustainable products. According to Carlos Corral, in China luxury is the last of the priorities, while in Europe and the United States it is a reality with a great challenge: to be sustainable and at the same time to make the product affordable for consumers.

At this point, where do plastics stand? “Plastic protects the life of the product,” said Fede Reyna of Meteorito. In agreement with this statement, Gemma Solana Tomás of Artimaña commented that there are biodegradable plastics to consider. As plastic is cheaper than cardboard or paper, the members of the round table discussed that the problem is not the industry and the costs, but also the consumer, who does not throw away plastic where it belongs. For his part, Álex Pérez commented that it is necessary to legislate to do things right and to go against products that are made of some materials and claim to be made of others in order to champion sustainability. “To be green, you have to suffer,” said Oscar Barranco of Easyfairs Iberia. All this before his colleagues talked about the inconvenience of the cap not being separate from the bottles, but which is helping in sustainable terms.

AI, “the new Gutenberg printing press”.
In the last ten minutes of the Packaging Colloquium, the 13 members of the table discussed the progress of AI in business and whether it is a fad or here to stay. “It affects us a lot as a creative agency. It affects the visual language part (content and text) and the non-visual. The work simplifies it for concept testing, but the designer’s criteria counts. It can be incorporated into packaging and product creation,” observed Gemma Solana Tomás. The CEO of Artimaña also expressed her concern about the data being wrong and generating erroneous results, but says that instead of needing ten people, it will take two to do the job.

For his part, Josep María Garrofé warned that in a few years the 3D printer would be vital for printing the products that are now present on shopping lists. Next, Álex Pérez (Morillas) commented that AI is seducing young people, so it is necessary to be at the forefront of its novelties. Following this intervention and based on personal experience, Carlos Corral (Baud) made it clear that “AI is the new Gutenberg printing press and is going to change the way human beings think”. In agreement with this, Carmen Navarro (Summa) expressed that AI will help packaging to become one with the physical and digital. But not before qualifying that she has not seen something from AI that has surprised her enough to say that it has not been created first by a human intelligence. Agreeing with her, Álex Pérez confessed: “There has to be a creative person behind it, otherwise things come out amorphous”. Finally, Fede Reyna of Meteorito argued that in a few years’ time the real luxury will be what is made by people and can be obtained in a physical way, not in the digital way that AI offers us.