Sonoco gets hands-on with interactive booth at Interpack 2017

The company’s stand at Interpack 2017 will feature a kitchen, living room and dining-room, displaying packaged products in settings in which they are normally used.

A separate supermarket space will also show how various packaging solutions appear on retail shelves.

The booth design is based on Sonoco’s iPS (Innovative Packaging Solutions) studios where packaging is tested in a real-life environment.

The $4.8bn company has an iPS studio in Hartsville, South Carolina, and will be opening a second one, in Hockenheim, Germany, later this year.

Insights into consumer behavior​

The reasoning behind the iPS concept is to gain insights by simulating how actual costumers interact with packaging.

“This entirely new booth concept brings our packaging even closer to the visitor, just as this year’s motto ‘Packaging Designed for Individuals’ promises,”​ said Séan Cairns, VP and GM, Sonoco Consumer Products Europe.

The company specializes in tailoring packaging solutions across the board, including composite cans, drums and luxury tubes (also called rigid paper containers) with a variety of closures; plastic packaging; packaging services; and graphics management.

Tailored to trends​

Trends like on-the-go consumption call for new features, such as a snap lid to reclose the package to preserve the product’s freshness.

The company will also be showcasing the SquareCan to demonstrates how an unusual shape can attract consumers’ attention.

The Sonoco subdivisions, Sonoco Alcore and Sonoco Plastics, will also be represented at Interpack, showcasing solutions for industrial uses.

Interpack 2017 is being held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from May 4-10.