Food, beverage industry feeds demand for smart packaging

In a 30,000 square metre sprawl inside the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in Cairo, 730 exhibitors representing 32 countries recently showcased their food and beverage solutions.

This was during a three-day expo that kicked off on December 5.

The annual exhibition organised by Food Africa seeks to “create an efficient network between international traders and vendors with their counterparts from Egypt, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regions,” according to the organisers, including B2B (business to business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) exhibition company IFP Group and Egypt’s Exhibition and Event Management Company Konzept.

Others are Trade Fair Ground and Organiser Messe Dusseldorf, which hosts around 40 trade fairs, including 20 international trade fairs at its 613,000 square metre exhibition centre in Germany.

Participants at this year’s event included wholesalers, distributors, retailers and other industry professionals. The event aims at addressing the different needs of both buyers and importers.

Participants showcased innovative solutions, such as top-of-the-range snack processing machines, the latest packaging machines and techniques, barcode scanning technologies and new blends of food and beverage products from some of the most developed industries in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

This year’s event was a precursor to the Interpack’s global showcase slated for May next year in Dusseldorf, Germany. Founded in 1958, Interpack runs an exhibition once every three years, bringing together players in the food,  beverage,  confectionery  and bakery,  pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, non-food consumer goods and industrial goods to help them reach key emerging markets. 

The 2020 showcase in Germany was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This hiatus means that the organisers now expect an even higher number of attendees from the food and beverage processing and packaging industries next year as they showcase innovations created since the last fair.

Richard Clemens, the managing director of VDMA, a Frankfurt-headquartered body that represents about 3,800 German and European companies in the mechanical engineering industry, said that the show brings “the greatest concentrations of innovations that influence the industry.”

Mr Clemens, who spoke during the Food Africa Cairo exhibition, said the potential in packaged food rises by the day, creating a need for more dedicated effort in the sector as people in need of these goods and services increase.  

“Between 2017 and 2021, four billion tonnes of packaged food were sold. Research by (London-based market research company) Euromonitor International predicts an increase of 14 per cent between 2021 and 2026,” he said.

Global sales of packaged food in 2021 was 820 million tonnes, said Mr Clemens, with people more intent on increasing consumption on the move to prevent wastage.

Africa’s pharmaceutical production and consumption keep on rising. The cosmetic industry is also on the rise, with products made on the continent rising against an ever-increasing demand.

A considerable section of those demonstrating their solutions in Cairo was in packaging and branding, with Mr Clemens saying that there were at least 3.9 billion units of retail sales of consumer goods needing packaging in 2021.

This number is expected to rise by 15 per cent before 2026.

Glass is used to package eight per cent of all goods in these industries, with metal used in 11 per cent of all packaging, paper (16 per cent), rigid plastic (27 per cent) and flexible plastic (37 per cent).

Germany and Italy lead in the countries exporting machinery for processing and packaging, with equipment worth Sh213 billion euros (Sh27.5 trillion) exported worldwide.

Amid rising complaints on environmental degradation owing to dumping, especially of non-biodegradable material, Mr Clemens said manufacturers are seeking sustainable ways of solving this menace as they continue to produce and use such packaging material.

The food and beverage processing and packaging industry seek to develop a circular economy, in which there is less material used (lighter packaging), better recycling, higher recyclate content, tenable design for recycling and expansion of collection and recycling structures.

It is also after optimisation of resource management, including savings in raw materials, energy and water, intelligent control and automation tech, energy-efficient components, closed-loop systems and optimised material cycles.

The industry is also focusing on digital technology, including increased efficiency of processes and production, and more sustainability through better resource utilisation. It is also keen on the best possible product design, including fabrication of machines in hygienic design, innovative cleaning concepts, containment solutions and single-use, process-monitoring, and smart packaging.