According to the new Tetra Pak Index 2020, released by Tetra Pak South Africa at the end of June, consumers from around the world have ranked food safety as their top concern after Covid-19.
This global study, run by Tetra Pak in partnership with Ipsos (a global leader in market research), revealed that more than two-thirds of respondents in the study listed food safety as their second biggest concern for the year. In just over a year, the global concern about food safety and future food supplies has catapulted from 30% in 2019 to 40% in 2020. The research also revealed that more than 50% of consumers believe that food safety is the biggest responsibility of the manufacturers in this industry, and that it should be at the top of their priority list. Reassuring the public that the food they are consuming is safe and hygienic has become a must for companies in the global F&B industry .
Food packaging is also a key component of food safety according to respondents in this research. In particular, the study found that consumers are looking to manufacturers to create packaging solutions that extend shelf-life and reduce food wastage.
The environment is still a global concern
Despite dropping down from number 1 in 2019 to number 3, the environment still remains at the top of the list of global concerns. According to this study, consumers believe that manufacturers need to find more sustainable and environmentally friendly processes and packaging options for food products. More and more, food manufacturing companies like Tetra Pak are making inroads into finding sustainable packaging solutions like creating carton packaging for their products made from responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials and that is fully recyclable as well as carbon neutral. In the current situation, these are the innovations are necessary to ease consumer anxiety.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the status quo, accelerated trends, and created a new landscape of consumer needs and opportunities for companies to build on. In particular, the industry needs to address the growing dilemma around food safety and the environment, by stepping up towards the twin goals of meeting the human need for food while protecting our planet’s ecosystem. This is where food packaging can play a strong role in bringing about synergy between these two goals. There is a great opportunity within the F&B industry to find sustainable solutions to these major consumer concerns by creating food packaging that increases food safety and shelf-life, while reducing food waste and the impact on the environment.
