CORRUGATED PACKAGING STUDY – SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Research methodology
1. 100 telephone interviews (80 CATI quantitative and 20 in-depth qualitative
interviews) were conducted with corrugated packaging (fmcg) customers.
Research findings – packaging generally
2. The average spend on corrugated packaging accounts for around 20% of the
total spend on all packaging, about 50% is RRP and 50% is brown box transit.
3. 94% of respondents consider general packaging to be very important / critical
when developing new products. 55% of perceptions of packaging generally are
positive - main likes are product protection and essential to bring products to
market, main dislikes are cost and over packaging / environmental issues.
4. The three main future trends for corrugated packaging are a) using essential
packaging only; b) using sustainable / environmentally friendly packaging and c)
using more retail ready packaging.
Corrugated retail ready packaging
5. Key selection criteria for retail ready packaging were functionality / adequate
protection (75% of the qualitative sample) and cost effective prices (75%),
followed by meeting retailers’ needs (40%), sustainability / recyclability (35%),
attractive visual appearance (35%) and printability (30%).
6. 91% of respondents consider supplier expertise to be very important / critical
when selecting retail ready packaging.
7. 80% of respondents said the strategic importance of corrugated RRP is either
very important or critical to the future of their business.
8. 79% of respondents rated corrugated RRP as their 1st choice packaging material.
43% of respondents consider solid carton board and 34% consider plastic
packaging to be competitive alternatives to corrugated RRP.
9. Perceptions of different packaging materials (most frequent mentions in brackets)
a. Corrugated RRP – 69% strengths (cost effective – 41 mentions, recyclable – 23,
strong / robust / study – 19, adequate / good protection – 17) and 31% weaknesses
(reacts to moisture – 16, inconsistent print quality – 16).
b. Solid carton board – 49.7% strengths (print quality / printability – 29, visually more
attractive - 22) and 50.3% weaknesses (cost – 33, not as strong - 26).
c. Plastic packaging – 46% strengths (sometimes cost effective – 11, potentially can
be returned / re-used – 9, can look attractive on shelf - 8) and 54% weaknesses
(More expensive – 19, environmental concerns – 10, non-recyclable - 9).
10. 83% of respondents agree (47% strongly) with the statement “Corrugated RRP
helps promote product or brand in store”.
11. 84% of respondents believe the sustainability of corrugated RRP is better than
plastic packaging, and 56% that it is better than solid carton board.
12. 83% of respondents believe corrugated RRP is helpful (53% very / extremely) in
meeting corporate or government expectations on environmental issues.
Corrugated brown box transit packaging
13. Key selection criteria for brown box transit packaging were cost (100% of the
qualitative sample) and functionality / adequate protection (90%), followed by
sustainability / recyclability (50%).
14. 82% of respondents consider supplier expertise to be very important / critical
when selecting transit packaging.
15. 72% of respondents said the strategic importance of corrugated brown box
transit packaging is very important or critical to the future of their business.
16. 23% of respondents consider rigid plastic crates to be competitive alternatives to
corrugated brown box transit packaging. 95% of respondents rated brown box
corrugated as their 1st choice transit packaging material.
17. Perceptions of different transit packaging materials.
a. Corrugated brown box packaging – 75% strengths (cost effective – 46 mentions,
effective product protection – 26, recyclable – 26, fit for purpose – 14, strong / sturdy
- 12,) and 25% weaknesses (moisture absorption problems – 18, cost – 6, quality
issues some suppliers - 5).
b. Rigid plastic crates – 43% strengths (returnability / re-usability – 30, physically
strong / less damage - 16) and 57% weaknesses (expensive – 29, logistics problems
returning crates - 10).
18. 84% of respondents agree (56% strongly) with the statement “Brown box
corrugated transit packaging is more versatile than crates because it is available
in any size or shape” and 77% of respondents agree (35% strongly) “Brown box
corrugated transit packaging provides optimum protection of goods in transit”.
19. 79% of respondents believe the sustainability of corrugated brown box transit
packaging is better than plastic crates.
20. 86% believe brown box transit packaging is helpful (58% very / extremely) in
meeting corporate / government expectations on environmental issues.
The corrugated industry
21. 92% of respondents find it easy working with corrugated transit packaging
suppliers compared to 86% for carton board packaging suppliers. 90% find it
easy working with corrugated RRP suppliers, compared to 73% for plastic
packaging suppliers and 60% for rigid plastic crate suppliers.
22. 92% of respondents said the corrugated packaging industry is very important or
critical to the future of their business.
23. Views on prompted statements about the corrugated packaging industry are
summarised below, there being a general view it has improved in recent years,
mainly due to consolidation within the sector.
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99% believe the corrugated packaging industry is sensitive to customers’ needs
98% believe it is forward looking
98% believe it is well invested
93% believe it is innovative
94% believe it is high tech