Product brand smart protection packaging

What does the sounding pizza box, the self-heated coffee bag, and the electrostatically treated cosmetics have in common? They are actually smart wrappers. According to Peter Harrop, an industry expert, so-called smart packaging is "not only the function of traditional packaging products, but also can guide customers to buy products and protect products."



As chairman of IDTechEx, Harrop has been closely watching the development of smart packaging for the past six years and helped to organize the first seminar on smart packaging two years ago. Last month he was in Orlando, Florida. Another seminar was organized in this regard. He said that the concept of "smart packaging" has only gradually become known to the general public in the past two years.

Harrop says packaging is smart enough to use mechanical, chemical or electronic means to interact with humans. He called it a "human interface," and he believed there was a great deal of motivation to promote the interface between packaging and people through innovative technologies. The demand may be greatest in the pharmaceutical industry, but it can be extended to all other consumer packaging products.

The largest demand in the pharmaceutical industry is due to the increasing number of elderly consumers in the society. Due to physical limitations, they sometimes need help when they follow the medical instructions. “Smart packaging can be delivered automatically at the right time, or it will use increasingly louder sounds to alert people to take the correct dose,” Harrop said. “In other words, it will do what people can do before. Many things."

MediVoxRx's talking bottle is a good example. Another example is Cerepak, an electronically enhanced smart blister pack that helps patients comply with clinical use requirements.

Bottles are not the only packaging that can interact with people. Pizza box is also available. Last fall, MangiaMedia’s pizza box spoke for the first time. Eric Cohen, president of MangiaMedia, said that when the corrugated carton is opened, a small, light-sensitive sound-sensitive sound chip emits 12 to 15 seconds of sound. This chip is affixed to the lid close to the hinge, each costing $2, and these costs are borne by the Turner Broadcast Service (TBS) in order to promote the company's rugby programming. Thousands of talking pizza boxes have been sold to 18 targeted markets nationwide.

"Although this may seem like a somewhat insignificant smart package, it is a sign of the times," Harrop said. "Also, some new things start with a little bit of entertainment before they can find more serious applications." ."



A sound chip can sound as a TBS football program promotion when the pizza box is opened

Brand strengthening

Harrop sees the great potential of smart packaging in strengthening the brand. What is the better way to distinguish a product from other similar products? A good example is "some gadgets," such as the one used in beer cans, which can release nitrogen when the jar is opened, creating small bubbles. These small bubbles can create a lot of foam, similar to fresh draft beer just poured out. “This technology is highly patentable, so it is very difficult for supermarkets to remove it,” Harrop explained. “Diageo’s Guinness Irish Dark Beer has increased sales because of it compared to other beer brands. Gadgets have previously been used on children's soda packages."

Another brand-enhancing package is a self-heating or self-cooling container. The latest product example is OnTechDelaware's new self-heating single serving coffee pot.

Harrop said that several types of self-heating containers have long been successful, mainly because its basic technology is relatively simple. He added that the challenge of self-cooling containers is even greater, and the container is somewhat similar to a miniature, pressurized refrigerator. But if several technical hurdles can be overcome, self-cooling containers will be a huge market.

Although there were few specific product examples, we did find a self-cooled 5 litre bucket that was tested by the Japanese Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. in mid-2003 and was originally planned for the market in 2004. This self-cooling bucket uses a double low pressure design. When opened, the water in the lower pressure outer chamber begins to evaporate, which produces a cooling effect. This barrel can be used to cool the beer in the cavity to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (about 7 degrees Celsius) in 90 minutes, and can maintain this temperature for 12 hours.

"For self-heating and self-cooling containers, the technical challenge is that they cannot be heated or cooled to the right temperature when the weather is very hot or very cold," Harrop said.



OnTech's plastic self-heating vessel, which uses a simple technique that reacts calcium oxide and water in the cavity, can heat coffee to 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62.7 degrees Celsius) in 6 minutes.