PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2016

LABELLING 52 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 10/16 www.petpla.net Growing in both importance and sustainability The labelling of PET bottles today and tomorrow Author: Raffaele Pace, Labelling Product Manager, Sidel Research indicates that consumers take only an average of around three to seven seconds to pick their drink of choice from the shelves of our supermarkets. Admittedly this choice will often be influenced by the consumer’s past experiences and consumption habits. However, in those instances where a shopper is looking to make a spontaneous choice, the packaging plays a significant role - and labelling today is an area of growing importance in the overall bottling of liquids. No longer just a label Years ago, the bottle label was simply a vehicle for carrying the bev- erage or product name, a little corpo- rate branding - usually in the form of a namestyle - and the minimal product information that was required by law. Typically this would be the content’s minimum volume and its ingredients. In today’s sophisticated marketplace however, much greater emphasis is placed upon the label and its market- ing value as an important interface with the consumer. It is now recog- nised as a fundamental marketing element that helps establish and build brand awareness among potential customers. A label design that is strik- ing and memorable will place its brand firmly in the memory of the customer and reinforce its position in a very competitive marketplace. Greater demands are also being made on beverage labelling by legislated standards, as producers are required to give more detailed information on bottles. However, the design aesthetics, the promotional appeal and the necessary consumer data are no longer the only defining criteria for the finished label. Sustainability and lower costs In common with most manufactur- ing industries, the beverage industry is naturally looking to cut its operating costs in order to minimise overheads and maximise profits in a changing and challenging marketplace. The beverage producers are looking to increase the efficiency of their produc- tion lines, focusing these days on the overall TCO (total cost of ownership) of all their equipment. They are also striving to reduce power consump- tion and maintenance costs, and to cut the use of raw materials and all other resources used throughout the production process. As well as simply reducing the corresponding overhead costs, producers are also responding to consumer demand. For some time now, in order to protect the world’s diminishing natural resources, consumers have grown more vocal in their demands for greater sustainability in our manu- facturing processes. This naturally applies to the labelling of our bever- ages as it does to other parts of their production. Reducing power con- sumption and keeping the use of raw materials and all other resources to an absolute minimum is therefore a ‘win/win’ situation for the beverage producer. Rollfed label solutions offer physical and aesthetic benefits As well as being easy and practi- cal to transport, handle and use, bev- erage producers want packaging to Raffaele Pace, Labelling Product Man- ager, Sidel