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In a COVID-19 Rut? Three Ways to Keep Packaging Development Moving

To say 2020 has been a challenging year is a vast understatement.

Mike Ross Unilever

Every industry globally has had to shift business plans and operations to adjust to the incredible changes in the market. Packaging, as an industry, is no exception and, in fact, is at the forefront of meeting the new demands for products and services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, packaging professionals also have had to adjust both the technologies they work on and the way in which packaging development is done.

As an example, at the start of 2020 trends in food products saw a major emphasis on out-of-home items and convenience or “ready-made” meals. Given the lockdown measures in places like Europe, the entire industry shifted to in-home products for cooking. This required a shift in focus in product types and within packaging portfolios.

The focus on foodservice large packs such as bulk bags, buckets, and totes shifted to smaller, sometimes single-use products, which used different technologies and materials. Other trends would include a large jump in demand for cleaning products and personal hygiene products, some of which may even be new to a company’s portfolio.


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The resulting impact is that packaging professionals had to be ready to move between packaging technologies and systems. For example, a team that had skills in laminations may have had to change their focus to dispensing systems and rigid plastics. Teams with a diversity of talent and experience are best placed to cope with such a potentially radical shift. Even so, much of the development is done virtually, and three key enablers, discussed below, can be leveraged to support packaging development in this new, challenging virtual environment.

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