Over the last few years, digitalisation has led to a rapid evolution of all sectors, and the packaging industry is no exception. Big data and cloud technologies are changing the world we live in and how we store our goods.
IoT, the Internet of Things – the new frontier of Industry 4.0 endows every object with its own digital identity. Intelligent, smart and interconnected objects are designed to coordinate with each other and simplify our lives. This goes beyond household appliances that can be operated from smartphones or home automation devices but also includes packaging. Yes, you read it right: even the milk carton or the box that Amazon sends us every day can be smart and converse with us.
Imagine a food container that can keep track of its position or even monitor the state of preservation of the fresh fish it contains. It ranges from the simplest QR code to anti-counterfeiting labels based on blockchain technology and even more complex projects involving nanomaterials and microchips embedded in the container itself.
Examples of smart packaging
An example of smart packaging is the Israeli startup Water.io, which uses smart capsules to monitor the amount of water drunk during the day, helping customers hydrate and drink regularly. Tetrapak itself, rather simply, marked every pack with a unique code to speed up the control processes.
In short, the new frontier of packaging lies in the smart features of the containers. Reducing food waste, providing customers with information, and offering them safe and traceable products: is just the tip of the iceberg of a process that is going to revolutionise the entire production and supply chain.
At ProSystem, we are fascinated by this evolution and are here to support it, thanks to our packaging systems that adapt to all business models. Find out more on www.prosystem-packaging.com