3 Packaging Trends That Will Define 2023

December 2022

As we wrap up another year at Plastipak, we’re excited to kick off the new year delivering great products and services to our customers. Looking ahead to 2023, it’s clear that innovation in sustainability and recyclability will drive not only our growth but our customers’ too.

In this blog, we uncover the top three packaging trends that will define 2023 and how we’re executing them to drive success for our customers.

Recyclable and Recycled Packaging

As their preferences continue to change over time, consumers’ requirements for eco-friendly products have too. Today, consumers not only want their products’ packaging to be recyclable but also want it to be made up of recycled materials. 

Recognizing the shift in consumer demands, Plastipak is constantly working toward maximizing resource efficiency by implementing circular solutions across our value chain to reduce our impact on the environment. 

In 2022, we made incredible progress in enhancing and developing our recycling technologies and capacity. This year, we officially opened our fifth global recycling center in Toledo, Spain—increasing our recycling capacity to more than 425 million pounds of post-consumer pellets. In addition, we made significant expansions at our Dundee, Michigan, and Bascharage, Luxembourg, facilities, allowing us to convert more post-consumer resin (PCR) washed flakes into food-grade plastic pellets.

With these additions, we have been able to further refine our bottle-to-bottle recycling efforts. This approach helps us keep common plastics, like HDPE and PET, out of landfills—giving them a second life in new packaging products. Other benefits of bottle-to-bottle recycling include:

  • Increased percentages of PCR content 
  • Reduced use of virgin resin in packaging
  • Significantly lower overall carbon footprint

Soluzioni sostenibili

In recent years, lightweight packaging solutions have become increasingly popular with food and beverage manufacturers because of their ability to decrease overall material consumption, minimize products’ environmental impact and lower costs throughout the supply chain. 

Through a combination of expertise and design engineering, Plastipak has developed patented neck finish technology. This technology has allowed us to produce some of the lightest products in the market for over two decades.

Our lightweight neck finishes are cost-effective solutions and are perfect for carbonated soft drinks and bottled water. 

Innovation for Good

With many many brands making commitments to implement sustainable and recyclable packaging in the years ahead, innovation in design will be a key driver in helping customers achieve these goals.

Plastipak’s Creative Packaging (CP) Studios bring our design and engineering experts and customers together to create a solution that meets the needs of the market and gives them a competitive advantage. 

Through a series of brainstorming and design sessions, our studio team engages with our customers to understand their goals and their audiences. Together we analyze features from squeezability to opening ease, to transform functionality and design optimal packaging for the customer.

When it’s time to test the design, we invite customers back to the studio to see the proposed product designs in a virtual shelf environment—giving them the opportunity to compare the design to current market offerings. Additionally, we offer early-stage consumer feedback and eye-tracking data to give customers the crucial insights they need to ensure a successful market launch.

Ready to give your products’ packaging an innovative new look? From brainstorm to prototype, we’re here guide you. Get in touch with us by reaching out to contactus@plastipak.com.

Plastipak Packaging, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Plastipak Holdings, Inc., is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality, rigid plastic containers for the food, beverage, and consumer products industries. Plastipak  is also a leading innovator in the packaging industry, having been awarded over 500 United States patents for its state-of-the-art package designs and manufacturing processes. Plastipak operates more than 40 sites in the United States, South America and Europe, with a total of over 6,500 employees. Its customers include some of the world’s most respected and recognized consumer brands. Plastipak is also a leading innovator in the packaging industry, holding more than 420 United States patents for its state-of-the-art package designs and manufacturing processes. In addition, Plastipak licenses various packaging technologies around the world.  Plastipak was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. Additional information about Plastipak can be found at its website www.plastipak.com 

Statements in this press release concerning Plastipak’s intentions, expectations or predictions about future results or events are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements reflect management’s current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to vary from stated expectations, which variations could be material and adverse.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the time made, and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any such statements.