Africa will be the ‘next Asia’ of the confectionery packaging industry

Leitze made the comments during The Future of Confectionery Packaging panel session at ISM & ProSweets 2016, in Cologne, Germany, alongside Andrew Streeter, director, CPS International and Innovatus, last month.

South America & the Middle East

ConfectioneryNews hosted the live session, chaired by Jenny Eagle, senior editor, processing and packaging, WRBM (William Reed Business Media), in partnership with trade fair organisers Koelnmesse.

The pair talked about the logistical side of packaging and how more companies are opening factories in emerging markets such as South America and the Middle East.

“We see globalisation as a big trend. Looking at the geographics, Africa will be the Asia of the next century, we see a lot of investment in that area. It is a very interesting growth driver​,” said Leitze.

He went on to discuss the differences in snacking in each geographic region from South America to the Middle East and the US.

“It is very cost driven, for example in poorer regions you see more sugar confectionery and cheaper products being consumed because that is what they can afford, but in mature countries you see more chocolate​,” he said.

E-commerce will have a greater part to play

“For that, you need the cooling chain; from production to the end consumer, but in many parts of the world you don’t have an intact cooling chain, which is a challenge for shelf life because you have to have a tight package to protect it from heat and moisture in the environment​.”

Streeter believes E-commerce will have a greater part to play in the future

“What you see as a thumbnail print on a computer screen isn’t the same experience as when you see a three-dimensional pack in a supermarket​,” he said.

“Sometimes I wonder whether supermarkets are lazy. It needs to move on otherwise the range of brands available in the time you spend in front of your laptop doing your weekly shop is reduced​.

“There is pressure (on manufacturers) to create a shape that is unique to a particular brand​.

“There is a need for video or movement of the pack on a screen so a consumer can see the features of a product, otherwise the value of the brand will be lost, and you are picking one brand off against another and it’s your memory base that tells you what you want to buy and there is no value-add through the packaging itself​.”