Packaging for tomorrow must be delivered today

In packaging, tomorrow’s challenges have to be considered today. And, with tightening regulations, growing customer and consumer expectations around sustainability, and rising material costs, these challenges are becoming more pressing every day. The direction of travel for packaging, and the many industries that rely on it, is clear.

What comes next is not as simple as adjusting material choices or making incremental improvements to existing processes. Instead, customers are seeking partners who can help them embed regulatory readiness into the design and development of their packaging.

“Increasingly, conversations with our customers are defined by this kind of integrated approach to packaging design,” says Katja Tuomola, head of Sustainability & Marketing Communications at MM Group, a packaging supplier offering cartonboard, folding cartons, kraft papers, uncoated fine papers, leaflets, and labels.

Tuomola adds, “Regulatory frameworks like the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are far more than an extra set of checkboxes to mark. They will influence every element of a pack, from its material to its functionality and end-of-life journey.”

In many cases, these regulations feature phased targets that change over time. For example, PPWR features a mandatory waste reduction target of 5% by 2030, which increases to 10% in 2035 and 15% in 2040.

When combined with the volatility that defines the modern supply chain, it means that navigating this complexity while maintaining the pace of innovation and commercial performance required in day-to-day operations becomes a constant challenge.

“MM confronts this challenge with a model that looks beyond product innovation alone. Instead we treat innovation as a system, spanning interested stakeholders, business structures, operational processes – all the way through to customer service and engagement,” says Roman Billiani, CEO of Food & Premium Packaging. As this systemic approach enables compliance to be built in from the very first stage of design, it avoids the issues that can come when compliance is added later; retrofitting is often much more complex and costly.

One of the most critical enablers is material flexibility. By maintaining a portfolio that spans both virgin and recycled fiber solutions, packaging can be tailored to specific regulatory and performance requirements without bias towards a single substrate. This material-agnostic approach supports better decision-making in a landscape where recyclability criteria, fiber sourcing expectations, and reporting requirements are evolving quickly.

“Material flexibility supports agility in packaging design,” Tuomola explains, “Bringing together ideation, sustainability consulting, prototyping, and end-of-life planning creates a more complete view of packaging performance.” Crucially, it ensures that compliance considerations are part of the foundation of each solution, reducing the risk of redesigns or disruption further down the line.

This engaged approach to innovation comprises one of group’s key differentiators, the company says, noting a successful, wide-ranging approach to design only succeeds through collaboration that aligns all parties.

When converters, brands, and supply chain partners all focus on proactive support, packaging development becomes a shared, mutually successful process of problem-solving.

This reflects a broader truth about the future of packaging. Being the fastest to react to changes is no longer enough. In an ever-more competitive market, those smartest at anticipating change will be the ones who succeed.