Neste, Brightlands Venture Partners, 4 Impact VC and Asahi Kasei have announced a combined €11 million investment into Netherlands-based startup Circularise – which develops digital solutions that boost traceability and visibility of material flows along value chains...
The first live AIPIA World Congress since 2019 took place in Amsterdam on the 14th and 15th of November, and the delegates, presenters and exhibitors all agreed that it was great to finally get back to face-to-face business...
L’Oréal has piloted a pop-up shop in its store in Königsallee, Düsseldorf, Germany using Payfree and Avery Dennison’s advanced Self-Checkout Technology to offer customers a convenient, seamless checkout. AIPIA member Avery Dennison has developed special RFID tags to meet the specific requirements of the beauty industry and its products. The store was open until the end of November...
Many perishable food industries rely on polystyrene boxes for transport to keep their products safe. While they are cheap, lightweight, and thermally effective, they are designed for single use only and can represent a threat to the environment...
The USA food & Drug Administration, (FDA) has published its final rule concerning traceability protocols for food products vulnerable to contamination. Companies and organisations who manufacture, process, pack or hold foods including produce, cheeses will be subject to record-keeping requirements during production...
Spain’s top juice brand, Don Simon, has unveiled what it describes as its first-ever 100% environmentally friendly and smart packaging, which, it says will do good for both consumers and the environment...
Since the early days of AIPIA Congresses we have always believed that live demonstrations are an important part of the delegate experience. Live demonstrations of Smart Packaging technologies are a unique feature of the World Congress and the 2022 event is no exception. Around the hall in Amsterdam (14/15 November) several leading Smart Packaging providers will be showing some of the latest ideas and innovations on offer. As well as returning exhibitors such as AIMPLAS, Digimarc, Kezzler, Lux-Ident, ST Microelectronics, Securikett, Systech, Wilot and VTT, we are pleased to welcome ‘newbies’ such as Alma Science, MyCol, Stardust Materials and, one of the biggest names in packaging, Sealed Air to the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.
In just over two weeks AIPIA will open the doors for its first live Congress since 2019 (14/15 November). The event will host around 30 speakers and, on each of the two days, a Brand Challenge will open a window on what two internationally recognised Brands are planning for their next Smart Packaging implementation...
AIPIA member Identiv and TrueGreen, a cannabis technology company specializing in digitizing packaging, have announced the deployment of the world’s first smart tamper seal using RFID technology, designed to deliver, along with the TrueGreen software as a service (SaaS) platform, digital transformation in the cannabis industry, giving products a unique digital identity, they claim...
Having just completed our first AIPIA event in North America since 2019, we think it makes sense to run a story on a smart packaging application on that continent. Harvest Snaps, a plant-based snack brand which is part of Calbee America, has launched a music-driven, TikTok-branded, effect designed to attract and engage college students across the USA during the Autumn...
While holograms are more commonly used as security and anti-counterfeit measures on packaging, holographic effects can also offer enhanced visual impact for the product, particularly if the 3D imagery can be extended to include the entire surface of the pack in question and offers a ‘motion’ effect to make it really come ‘alive’...
Longstanding AIPIA member AIMPLAS is working on developing bioplastics for active packaging for cosmetics and absorbent litter for the pet industry within the European BeonNAT Project. These are just two of the innovative products that will be developed within the framework of the project, says the Technological Institute of Plastics, which is located in Valencia...
American sports beverage brand Gatorade, part of PepsiCo, has launched a new bottle that tracks personalised hydration needs and indicates to athletes when to drink, via a cap that lights up as an alert mechanism...
Every two years Chicago, Illinois becomes Packaging Town as Pack Expo International comes to the Windy City and fills McCormick Place with the latest technologies, machines and ideas for Brand Owners and their suppliers and partners...
To mark World Sight Day on 13th October, Haleon and Microsoft are launching a joint project to make health products more accessible for blind and visually impaired consumers, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that narrates the labels of products...
Could new, novel technologies be key to the role of packaging in the reduction of food waste? Yes, says Andrew Manly, communications director at AIPIA – and smart packaging should lead the way. There are many reasons why people are questioning the desirability and usefulness of some kinds of packaging. This skepticism is often based on mythology around what the packaging actually does or does not do...
A new promotional campaign from Jägermeister called The Secret is Ice Cold is centred around active and intelligent packaging. It encourages consumers to place Jägermeister bottles in the freezer to reveal a hidden code for a chance to win special prizes...
How can our industry empower consumers to play a larger role in recycling and packaging sustainability in general? The answer, according to AIPIA’s communications director Andrew Manly, lies in smart packaging...
With the biggest line up of smart packaging expert speakers since pre-pandemic, the AIPIA Smart Packaging Summit in Chicago, (hosted by Pack Expo International, McCormick Place, 25 October 2022) will offer an important overview of the latest developments in connected and digital packaging...
Last November AIPIA reported on a new Augmented Reality (AR) experience aimed initially at the beer sector called SWIGR, which is a clever way for consumers to discover the story behind their favourite drinks. The company now reports the experience will soon feature on whisky, gin, and vodka, expanding it beyond the beer industry...
Talon International, which invented the first zipper in 1893 and today offers solutions in tags, labelling and printed marketing, has launched a new anti-counterfeit and consumer engagement technology...
Avery Dennison has announced its first partnerships with startups for an accelerator program called ADStretch. The programme aims to solve the ecological harms of the packaging industry by developing materials that generate a positive ecological impact. The first cohort of companies already includes many Smart Packaging solution providers...
UNITED CAPS and Mimica have collaborated on a cap which is reportedly an accessible freshness indicator for all types of perishable products. The project aims to reduce food waste and increase consumer food safety...
The annual meeting and expo of the International Association for Food Protection held earlier this month in Pennsylvania, USA, saw the introduction of the latest innovation in wireless temperature monitoring and data logging from BluLine Solutions...
True Pedigree, a technology company helping brands protect themselves from losing revenue due to counterfeit and grey market products, has launched GenuScan, which it claims is a ‘powerful’ new platform that lets users determine the provenance, destination, and legitimacy of products by scanning them via a smartphone...
AIPIA’s return to live events in October has already attracted a stellar line up of industry speakers for the USA Smart Packaging Summit, which takes place during Pack Expo international in Chicago’s McCormick place on 25th October...
Berlin-based start-up 1Less has created an innovative reuse system that uses RFID-tagged dishware and a smart waste bin, linked to a digital IoT platform, to create a new way to deal with single-use plastic cups, lids, containers and cutlery...
Komposite, a creative products development company, founded by Noam Krasniansky has launched a new blockchain technology that, it claims, will solve the counterfeit problem that challenges brands worldwide...
How connected are sustainability and smart packaging, and what does the future hold for partnerships between these two fields? Andrew Manly, AIPIA’s communications director, looks into this in our latest comment piece...
Turner Labels, a US label converter based in Kentucky, recently announced an innovative label collaboration with Mirror Twin Brewing (MTB). With the help of an HP Indigo 6900 digital press, the companies have developed a craft beer can label utilizing blacklight UV ink...
A number of major beverage and spirit brands continue to adopt QR to connect with customers, while one whisky company is even helping them to disconnect through packaging...
As every government, agency and environmental group keeps telling us, food waste is a monumental problem. Globally, 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year, or 30% of total production by most estimates. But maybe you did not realise that that is an amount equal to the weight of 217 million elephants, as a recent report from India revealed...
M&S has announced that ‘best before’ dates will be removed from the labelling of over 300 fruit and vegetable products, and replaced with a new code that staff can scan to check freshness and quality...
Cherry grower Reid Fruits, based in Tasmania, Australia, has seen a dramatic decline in product counterfeiting over the past three export seasons to Asia, as a result of a Smart Fingerprint solution developed by brand authentication technologist Laava, in collaboration with Peacock Bros, a leading digital label and supply chain solutions provider...
Britvic is launching a packaging-focussed augmented reality (AR) campaign that is designed to get families outdoors and hunting for hidden virtual fruit. To participate, consumers purchase a participating bottle of Robinsons over the summer months, scan the QR code on the label, and enter their details including a unique code printed on the label itself to start their hunt...
In the pharmaceuticals sector, there has recently been a shift away from the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept of drug administration to a more patient-centred one. A possible approach to obtain personalized medicine is with Data-Enriched Edible Pharmaceuticals (DEEPs), which are printed on each individual pill in the pattern of QR codes...
Systech, an AIPIA member providing connected brand protection and part of Markem-Imaje, has partnered with Spherity, a German software provider of secure and decentralized identity management solutions, to offer an innovative solution to facilitate compliance with the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), part of which requires the verification of trading partners...
A number of major beverage and spirit brands continue to adopt QR to connect with customers, while one whisky company is even helping them to disconnect through packaging...
Data is the heartbeat of every thriving modern company. Cars, machines, phones and entertainment devices, for example, generate more data than ever, feeding into the ceaseless stream of bits and bytes that connects consumers and companies.
Molson Coors has launched limited-edition packs featuring labels that change colour according to the temperature of the drink...
Digimarc Corporation, a leading AIPIA member which created Digimarc watermarks, next-generation digital identification and detection-based solutions, recently announced the launch of its Digimarc® Brand Integrity digital solution, which gives brands and their customers more sophisticated and flexible ways to verify the authenticity of products, it says...
In our latest comment piece, Andrew Manly, AIPIA’s communications director, looks into one of the biggest issues for companies that are considering using smart packaging: cost vs value...
Counterfeit or substandard medicines adversely affect the health of millions of people and cost an estimated $200 billion annually. Their burden is greatest in developing countries, where the World Health Organization estimates that one in ten medical products are fake...
The ‘use-by’ and ‘best-by’ dates printed on milk containers may soon become a thing of the past, giving way to more accurate and informative QR codes, says a report published recently by Cornell University in the USA...
In the future, when ordering a shot of whiskey, the customer might ask the bartender to remove an edible fluorescent silk tag that could be found floating inside, even though it is safe to consume. This little silk tag, with a QR code, is a security measure that could reveal if the whiskey is fake or not...
Avery Dennison Corporation has added to its portfolio of dual frequency RFID inlays with the new AD Slim DF EM4425 tag designed for logistical, medical, and industrial applications...
Pernod Ricard is set to roll out a digital label system across its wine and spirits brands with QR codes that consumers can scan with their smartphones to access information on ingredients, nutritional values, and responsible alcohol consumption...
InnovationLab has announced it has acquired Evonik’s TAeTTOOz printable battery technology. The companies have been close partners in this field for many years and have jointly driven the technological development of TAeTTOOz to the present threshold of industrial-scale production...
VerifyMe, which joined AIPIA last year and provides brand owners with time-sensitive logistics, authentication, supply chain monitoring, and data-rich consumer engagement features using smartphone readable codes, has announced that it has successfully developed VerifyInk, a covert ink technology to run on continuous inkjet printers (CIJ)...
SAVRpak, a California-based food technology innovation company, recently announced the launch of SAVRpak Drop-In, the first-ever moisture control technology that extends the shelf-life and freshness of produce up to three times, it claims...
Zappar, an AIPIA member which specialises in Augmented Reality (AR) creation, has launched Zapvision technology, which aims to provide access to relevant product information to everyone as a basic right, regardless of their visual ability...
Mondelèz International is piloting a new, on pack QR code for its UK summer promotion with Merlin Entertainments across a range of Cadbury, Oreo and Barny packs...
Smart Packaging has many proven benefits, such as Brand Protection, Track & Trace and Anti-counterfeiting. But from the very earliest stages of its development Brand Owners focused heavily on the Consumer Engagement attributes of these technologies. In the digital age, being connected to your customer is vital, helping to build a close and mutually beneficial relationship as well as delivering important marketing metrics about consumer behaviour...
NXP Semiconductors, one of the earliest members of AIPIA, has released a new family of Near Field Communication (NFC) integrated circuits (ICs) featuring tamper-detection and condition-monitoring functionality on a single chip, it says...
Australian company Caps & Closures, which designs and manufactures plastic packaging, has launched the ID-Shield holographic labelling and decoration system...
Gerresheimer, a global supplier of drug packaging solutions, offers a traceability concept that it claims will ensure complete transparency throughout the value chain and greater safety for the patient....
Avery Dennison (AD), the major provider of RFID and digital ID solutions, and Wiliot, the Internet of Things (IoT) specialist, have announced a strategic partnership dedicated to scaling the IoT to the next level, creating a new era of IoT. Both are AIPIA members...
Packaging Europe frequently reports on active packaging solutions that prevent food waste. However, it’s fair to say that a large number of these never reach commercial scale. Andrew Manly, AIPIA’s communications director, looks into the roadblocks and gives his thoughts on what more could be done to help these innovations see the light of day....
Cosmetics manufacturer Clinique is using near field communication (NFC) technology to connect its products to the Internet of Things in a campaign running across 35 countries...
Longstanding AIPIA member Sealed Air has launched its digital packaging brand, prismiq, which has a portfolio of solutions for design services, digital printing and smart packaging...
The Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano (CFPR) has formed a partnership with Dutch/French consortium Kaasmerk Matec and USA-based p-Chip Corporation to launch a line of food-safe and secure traceability digital labels for its Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheels...
From a film made of bamboo, to coatings that double the shelf-life of cheese products – here’s an update on the latest and most innovative antibacterial packaging solutions...
As more and more brands and retailers opt to not include ‘use by’ dates on their packaging, the packaging industry is being presented with an exciting opportunity. Andrew Manly, AIPIA’s communications director, tells us more....
In light of pandemic-related trends toward e-commerce shopping, how can retailers re-engage consumers in the bricks-and-mortar experience? The answer, according to AIPIA’s communications director Andrew Manly, lies in the successful and comprehensive usage of smart packaging...
By some estimates, one-third of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted every year. How can our industry help to solve this issue? One of the answers, according to Joshua Young, Circular Economy Manager at PragmatIC Semiconductor, is smart packaging...
Essentra Packaging has announced its collaboration with Advanced Material Development (AMD) in developing a new generation of Time Temperature Indicators (TTIs), a smart packaging technology for the pharmaceutical sector....
Avery Dennison Smartrac, a longstanding AIPIA member, has announced new features to its atma.io connected product cloud, first launched in 2021. The new features will help transform how brands meet net-zero targets and reduce waste across the supply chain, it says...
A team of scientists from the University of Alicante in Spain claims to have developed a food packaging material from pineapple waste that can increase shelf life. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop an edible film, and researchers are also investigating the material’s aroma-enhancing properties....
Nextech AR Solutions Corp., a Metaverse Company and provider of augmented reality (AR) experiences, has teamed up with Bothwell Cheese to place a QR code triggered and floor anchored hologram on its cheese labels...
Wiliot, the Internet of Things (IoT) innovator which combines self-powered, stamp-sized computers and cloud-based sensing to enable ‘things’ to communicate with brands, has announced an enhanced Works with Wiliot (WwW) partner program and a series of new partners, including Tactical Edge, Sensize, 2Plus, Digipal, Xsights, VisionID, MLINK, Codegate, Blyott, and SATO....
Schreiner MediPharm has launched its upgraded Smart Blister Wallet – a digitally-enabled tool that allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to track compliance in their clinical trial participants automatically and with greater flexibility....
Wouldn’t it be great if consumers could make product touchpoints, such as the packaging they come in, their ‘go-to’ resource for product information? New AIPIA member Tapps, believes they will if the pack is presented as a channel for routine engagement, rather than one-off promotions.
Polysecure GmbH and plastics processor Röchling Industrial are launching SmartMarker, an innovative marker technology for plastic products that offers new opportunities for counterfeit protection, the development of digital material passports, and recycling....
AIPIA is pleased to announce the launch of two live events during the autumn of 2022. They will be organised under the Associations new partnership arrangements with Packaging Europe bringing the resources and expertise of both organisations together for the first time...
AIPIA member Avery Dennison Smartrac has acquired TexTrace, an integrated RFID products company, with a strategy to provide textile RFID labels that remain on garments for their entire lifetime, either in a sewn-on label or built into a product's seam.
Geek Bar, a Chinese supplier of vaping products, has launched a range of new packaging to help combat counterfeit and non-compliant items. The new packaging places greater emphasis on an ‘on-pack’ security code. Retailers can check the authenticity of products by verifying the security code online.
A US based hologram developer, Holographyx has been granted USA and European patents for its Holo-Blister® product, for the development of an innovative and cost-effective method to apply holograms to the back of pharmaceutical blister packs. Holo-Blister holograms have been designed so they will only be visible behind each pill/capsule cavity on the back of each blister pack, while continuing to allow the printing of dosage and marketing information on the area surrounding the cavity.
Australian winemaker Accolade Wines has unveiled “Banrock Station”, an Augmented Reality (AR) experience that takes users around the world to check out some of the company’s 130+ environmental projects. Also they can plant their own virtual tree in support of Banrock’s commitment to plan 100,000 native trees and shrubs every year.
In its continuing efforts to discover and develop innovative technologies for the packaging industry, global packaging supplier Amcor, a longstanding member, has announced a USD$5m strategic investment in another AIPIA member, PragmatIC Semiconductor, a leading developer and manufacturer of ultra, low-cost printed flexible electronics (PE).
Longstanding AIPIA member Digimarc has partnered with fellow member Printpack, a major US packaging converter and Israeli compostable packaging specialist, TIPA on a successful proof-of-principal of new sortation technology for compostable packaging.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, published in the PLOS One open access channel, found older adults are open to the use of smart packaging to improve medication adherence. The ability to learn the product easily was important for consistent use, while downsides were device size, lack of portability and if the device acted inconsistently.
Avery Dennison Smartrac (ADS) has announced the introduction of ultra-small form factor versions of two of its NFC products: AD Circus Mini NTAG213 and AD Microblock ICODE SLIX. The company says this is anticipating demand for ever-smaller tagging options in the retail, packaging , pharmaceutical and beauty sectors.
As fake medications and pharmaceutical products proliferate across online pharmacies, which can be easily accessed via smartphone a new anticounterfeiting technology can turn the phone into a potentially lifesaving security device by simply taking a picture of a cyber-physical watermark to confirm if the medication is real or not.
Superplum, an Indian-based startup, has developed a cold chain solution for fresh fruit called the Fresherator, which reportedly keeps produce fresh for up to four weeks.
AIPIA member Wiliot, the Internet of Things (IoT) specialist, providing self-powered, stamp-sized computers and cloud-based privacy and sensing which enables “things” to communicate with manufacturers, has announced the launch of the Wiliot Starter Kit. The kit contains everything retailers need to experience the IoT transformation that Wiliot represents, it says. It includes postage stamp sized computers, IoT Pixels from fellow member Identiv, pre-mounted on both cardboard and a coffee cup.
Schreiner MediPharm’s Freeze-Lock cryo label features an interlocking layer solution offering adhesive strength and readability for the processing, storage, and transport of deep-frozen medicine containers.
Mars Wrigley has launched limited-edition Skittles Pride Packs in Australia, donating its rainbow to support LGBTQIA+ communities. It features a QR code taking consumers to a special Augmented Reality (AR) experience.
A large amount of R&D is happening in the active/antimicrobial food packaging film space. Here is a quick overview of some of the many projects showing promise.
A team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA, has developed a ‘smart’ food packaging material that is biodegradable, sustainable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans, they claim. It could also extend the shelf-life of fresh fruit by two to three days.
High tech RPCs lead investigators to the illegal recycling location: In 2021, a major plastic container theft sting was executed in Cook County, Illinois. It resulted in the discovery of an illegal plastic regrind operation which was grinding reusable containers (RPCs) and trays stolen by a network of more than 30 vehicles and dozens of individuals. The regrind and intact containers discovered at the operation are valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despite the fact that it is vilified today in many quarters plastic packaging is generally understood to protect fruits and vegetables from spoilage in grocery stores. However it also creates significant amounts of waste. Together with the retailer Lidl Switzerland, Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology have now developed a protective cover for fruit and vegetables based on renewable raw materials. For this project, Lidl chose Empa for its research experience with cellulose products.
Idvac Ltd, a specialist in advanced vacuum and thin film technology, has been investigating the properties of some Liquid Crystals (LCs) for packaging and security applications. LCs are molecules which have properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. They can be aligned by an applied electric field or other methods which changes their optical properties.
In a new feature of the AIPIA newsletter for 2022, members are asked to tell their product story, using real examples of their technology in action. To kick off, Peter James of EVRYTHNG, now a Digimarc company, explains how connected packaging can be theatre: it can create a story.
AIPIA (the Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association) and Packaging Europe have entered into a strategic partnership aiming to accelerate uptake of smart packaging innovation across FMCG at every stage of supply chains and retail.
SAP, a German headquartered market leader in enterprise application software, has announced a smart app to track, trace and authenticate prescription medicines in the United States. Developed in partnership with leading global pharmaceutical research company Boehringer Ingelheim,
The CurvCode digital watermark sorting system for plastic waste, which featured at the recent AIPIA Congress, is set to make its first appearance on supermarket shelves in the Netherlands with Bond Seafood’s recyclable packaging for fish designed by MULTIVAC, says a report in Packaging Europe.
Identiv, an AIPIA member specializing in digital security and identification in the Internet of Things (IoT), recently announced a strategic partnership with TrueGreen to digitize cannabis products and smart packaging with radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field communication (NFC) technology. The collaboration supports asset tracking throughout the supply chain, authenticates products and protects against package tampering.
A recent research report published in Molecules magazineinvestigatesthe antioxidant properties of a biofilm produced from onion pulp and how it could be an attractive primary material for the storage and preservation of processed meat products such as beef patties. Using these biofilms would increase the shelf-life of perishable products, as well as provide protection against microbial contamination, it claims. The research was undertaken in Brazil by several Universities and research organisations.
AIPIA is collaborating with global consultancy group Accenture in a groundbreaking project which will focus on the misconceptions many Brand Owners and other companies hold around smart connected packaging ...
