Communicating with consumers: How can packaging signpost sustainability?

According to the World Economic forum, 90% of executives agree that sustainability does not only play an integral role in engaging consumers and investors, but also achieving business goals through strengthening ESG credentials.

Deloitte’s 2023 ‘The Sustainable Consumer’ report found that consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their personal impact as well. One in three have stopped supporting specific businesses due to ethical and environmental worries.

While businesses are trying to boost their sustainability agenda, they must also think about how to communicate their pro-environmental commitments to consumer too. As consumers usually make their purchasing decisions in just a few seconds per product, businesses must think about how they can stand out in showcasing their sustainability efforts in this short window.

Packaging can be used as a key tool to communicate with consumers. As it’s the first contact consumers have with a brand it can influence initial impressions and is key to developing brand identity. Through product packaging, businesses can relay their sustainability credentials for consumers to understand brand values from the very beginning.

What does ‘sustainable’ mean to consumers?

More than two thirds of consumers consider sustainable packaging to be important, research by Boston Consulting Group shows. Another survey by Deloitte shows more than half of the respondents said they prefer products that come in sustainable packaging.

Consumers are now making extremely quick purchasing decisions as well. The average Brit spends only 37 minutes in a supermarket per visit. Given this short amount of time, the appearance of product packaging is a major influence when choosing what to buy.

Research from Pro Carton, the European Association of Carton, and Cartonboard manufacturers, shows that over 80% of Brits feel most confident about recycling paper and corrugated cardboard packaging. Therefore, businesses that choose these materials to package their products are easily signposting the sustainability and recyclability to consumers.

Packaging that looks rustic and is easily identifiable as being made of paper materials work best to showcase a brand’s sustainable agenda. Although alternative materials made of other plant-based sources are also sustainable, they may create a disconnect as consumers are unlikely to be familiar with these.

It has been promising to see that some of the biggest brands have recently adopted paper materials for their packaging. For example, in January, Pringles changed its long-standing packaging to make it easier to recycle. The metal at the bottom of the tube has been replaced with recycled paper, and the plastic cap is now also recyclable.

One of the biggest benefits of brands like Pringles moving away from plastic – apart from the sustainability benefits – is the widespread awareness it creates around the use of paper or moulded fibre packaging. A recent moulded fibre innovation is Cullen’s first-of-its-kind, scalable patented Fibre Bottle, a paper bottle that is removing over 80 million plastic bottles from shelves annually.

There is a misconception that paper packaging can’t be used for packing perishable food items. In reality, for many fresh food items, paper is an even better option, as it absorbs moisture keeping the food fresh for longer than plastic packaging can.

Choosing a sustainable packaging partner

While many brands want to do the right thing when it comes to sustainability, making changes to product packaging can seem daunting at first, but it does have great benefits in the long run. These benefits can be unlocked by partnering with a trusted packaging supplier that understands the business’ ambitions.

Cullen is Europe’s only combined manufacturer of moulded fibre and corrugated packaging, and as a leader in sustainable packaging, we support businesses of all sizes, across a variety of sectors in converting their current packaging into a more sustainable paper-based alternative in just six weeks.

In the last two years we have produced over 1 billion units of plastic-free packaging for customers in 35 countries. Alongside that that we’ve simultaneously been educating businesses, including supermarkets and major retailers on how simple replacing single-use plastic with moulded fibre can be, and the scale of the opportunity to adopt recyclable, compostable and biodegradable alternatives to plastic for a more sustainable future.

Moreover, in the long run, sustainable packaging can not only reduce transport and inventory costs, but also increase customer loyalty, remove the Plastic Packaging Tax, and help businesses gain support from the Government in the form of subsidies/tax credits.

Final thoughts

Whilst adopting sustainable packaging has environmental and ethical motivations, there is also a significant business case for it. There is a breadth of data that shows that consumers want to support brands that are sustainable – packaging can play a huge role in signposting this. Using rustic, paper material packaging is a great way for easing the recycling process for consumers, attracting greater investment, and bolstering towards a greener future.

David MacDonald, CEO and owner of  Cullen, the leader in sustainable packaging solutions.