The crowning glory

Packaging is a defining factor in not only the marketing of a brand, but also in the usability of a product, and few elements have as much impact on how a product is used as caps and closures. Packaging Today speaks with leading brands such as Coca Cola, Pernod Ricard, Lucozade and Procter & Gamble to learn more.

When you think of packaging in terms of marketability - shelf standout, attractive design, brand recognition - your mind will usually jump to effective labelling, unique bottle shapes and high-quality printing. But caps and closures mustn't be left out of this equation: their job doesn't end at keeping the product secure.

"Colour in closures plays a huge role in the identification of a brand or product for the consumer, and will continue to do so," affirms April Crow, packaging sustainability director at the Coca-Cola Company. Closures play a key role in product identification and, subsequently, product appeal. "The size of a closure is also a key indicator for the consumer to identify the product type," she continues. "Smaller-diameter closures are predominantly used on carbonated beverages, while wider closures are more often used for still drinks. Research in this area suggests that the proportions of the closure are as significant as the actual size when consumers are identifying a beverage type.

"For new brands wishing to deliver a key, unique selling point, the use of more technical closures, such as Flex or dosing closures, can offer a clear on-shelf performance differentiator," Cros continues. "A custom closure design is certainly also a competitive advantage and is used, for example, for our main products, mimicking as much as possible the original closure for bottled beverages: the metal crown."

Customer expectations are a key factor in determining the direction innovation takes, and closures are no exception to this. They are, however, married to the needs of producers to improve product safety and preserve the integrity of products.
"Consumers are asking for greater performance from their closures while, at the same time, demanding packaging with a lower environmental impact," Crow adds. "Consumer demand has pushed brands, and therefore suppliers, to find new solutions to deliver closures that better fit their drinking habits. It is important to understand the technical role that closures play and the high levels of engineering that go into a closure development. The performance and consumer-safety aspects of closure design are critical to any new development, and cannot be compromised on to achieve lightweighting or cost savings."

Safety and sports caps

Consumer needs are changing in many ways, and analyses of population statistics in Europe show that in five of the seven largest countries, at least 16% of the population is over 65 years old. This suggests that the demand for products and packaging tailored to the needs of older consumers, such as convenient closures that can be easily opened and resealed, will grow.

According to the latest research from Canadean, demand for greater convenience in closures has grown significantly over the last five years. Demands for dispenser, flip/snap top and sports cap closures increased dramatically in 2010-2015, and are expected to remain strong, with a 5% growth anticipated in 2016. Furthermore, as the lightweighting trend continues, demands will rise for the thinner plastics to be able to perform the same functions as previous, heavier caps and closures - meaning the growth of convenient caps may well be even higher than expectations.

"The most significant developments are still in the lightweighting of water and soft drinks closures, although many of these go unnoticed by consumers," Crow says. "Some significant highlights with regards to innovation aimed at consumer needs, however, are in sports closures. For instance, our own custom sports closure, used on Powerade, provides coherent brand design and consumer drinking benefits. I believe that the Smartseal Flex spill proof closure, with its related consumer benefits, has a role to play if this closure can be delivered to the consumer in a 100% safe condition. An external innovation can be found in the Picasso closure, which is currently used by Nestlé: the internal TE band for the dust cover is potentially an innovative solution to a problem faced by all consumer-safety focused brands," says Crow.

Innovation in leaps and bounds

Another company that is responsible for great steps in innovation in caps and closures is Lucozade Ribena Suntory.
"Innovation has to match consumer needs; ultimately we take our lead from consumer requirements, and look to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Peter McConville, chief technology officer at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, in an interview on beverage caps and closures. "One example of this would be the Lucozade Sport bottle, with flip-top sports closure. The bottle is lightweight (the lightest in the product category of all the sports/isotonic drinks), and the cap was designed to provide the consumer with control over how much liquid they drink - the harder they squeeze, the higher the product flow - but with an inbuilt seal to prevent spillage. The bottle has contoured shaping so that it can be held, opened, closed and replaced one-handed, whether you are running a marathon, cycling or doing other physical activities. Despite being lightweight, the bottle still holds its physical strength through the supply chain and is fit for purpose, no matter how a consumer may decide to use the bottle."

Satvinder Dhillon, head of packaging development, added: "From our research, we have numerous examples of how consumers use our drinks, and what is clear is how personal the experience is to each consumer. We have to be able to provide the right format, size and functionality so that each of these individual occasions can be met by the pack - wherever, whenever and however a consumer chooses to use the product. And all of this arrives at a moment of truth with the closure or cap. If, when they come to use the product, it spills in a car, leaks onto their clothes or otherwise fails to function in some way, we lose a customer, and we have not fulfilled the quality and value that we aim to bring to our brand and packaging."

For Pernod Ricard, packaging innovation is directly linked to an environmentally-friendly approach. The trend towards packaging 'premiumisation' in the wine and spirits sector goes hand in hand with the sustainable development approach. However, packaging must also become more functional and more interactive. The development of new technologies is also involved in fighting counterfeiting and enhancing consumer experience - two topics that are particularly dear to Pernod Ricard.

"Further functions and services have to be included in [packaging] so that it becomes part of the consumer experience," says Bruno Guillemat, head of the Pernod Ricard Research Center, which is working to identify technological opportunities and innovative packaging solutions. "Facilitating handling and pouring may lead to changing the cap or customising the product depending on the consumer's tastes."

Keep it functioning fresh

While the majority of innovation is taking place in the beverage sector for caps and closures, it is by no means the extent of the growth. In the laundry and home care markets, for example, it is just as important for a cap or closure to be easy to open and close, to pour without spilling, and to keep the product fresh and ready for use throughout its time in our homes.

"We have seen a number of incremental changes with closures in our laundry platform," says Martin Riant, advisor to the CEO and executive sponsor of global sustainability for Procter & Gamble. "Starting with overcaps that we could pour the liquid into or from, the move has generally been towards lighter products without loss of function, so that we can continue to deliver the best possible product without such impact on the environment. But beyond materials reduction, what we are ultimately seeing from our research and consumer response is the need for products that are easy to pour, store and use - something that caps and closures contribute to directly."

Members of SC Johnson, Henkel, Reckitt Benckisser and Unilever's packaging and product development departments are all seeing and addressing similar consumer needs. Understandably, we want our cleaning or laundry products to pour the right amount, not to leak and to be easy to store and use so that we do not end up having to buy more cleaning products to correct a mess made through faulty caps and closures.

In 2016, we are expecting to see more developments in lightweight caps and closures, with colour and materials driving choice in the soft drinks sector, premium materials being more used in the spirits and wine markets, and convenience driving all caps and closures developments.