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Demand for electronic smart packaging will grow rapidly to $1.45b within ten years according to a report by emerging technology researcher IDTechEx.
The report predicts that the electronic packaging (e-packaging) market, focusing on consumer packaged goods, will reach 14.5 billion units with electronic functionality by 2024.
Talking pizza boxes, winking rum bottles, medication packs that remind the user to pop a pill and reprogrammable phone decoration are just the beginning of a revolution of interactive packaging with the aid of printed electronics, says IDTechEx.
Norwegian printed electronics developer ThinFilm is working on a line of intelligent labels, including a temperature monitor
It adds that many leading brand owners are hiring multidisciplinary teams to work on the adoption of paper-thin electronics on their high volume packaging, reporting that more than 3,000 organisations, half of them academic, are currently working on printed and potentially printed electronics.
According to the report, consumers may look forward to interactive features such as winking labels that flick an image on or off, scrolling and page turn for text and graphics and indicators that show how much product is left in an aerosol can.
IDTechEx says factors driving the growth of electronic smart packaging include an aging population, consumer demands, wealthier consumers, changing lifestyles, tough legislation and concerns about crime and terrorism – as well as the need to grab attention in a competitive market.
However the sector also faces limitations, including the sustainability of one-off e-packaging products, their cost and a lack of integrators and complete product designers.
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