FDBusiness.com

Key industry firms such as the Co-op and MMR Research Worldwide will be participating in this year’s ‘Big Packaging Debate’ at this year’s Packaging Innovations show

The topic discussed will be ‘Consumers do not buy sustainable packaging’ on 27 February at the Birmingham’s NEC.

The panel for the BBC Question Time-inspired session, which last year attracted a 100-strong audience, will include Co-operative Group environment manager Iain Ferguson.

He said: “There was a lot of debate and coverage in the packaging press and the wider media on sustainable packaging last year, and I’m really keen to hear what the other panellists have to say.  I’m sure that there will be many interesting questions and a lively debate.  We believe that the most important impact that packaging can have is to reduce food waste.”

‘Turned on’

Fellow panellist Stergios Bititsios, associate director of Packaging and Design at MMR Research Worldwide, said he thinks shoppers may be tuned in to the environment, but they are not necessarily ‘turned on’ by it enough to switch their buying behaviour:

He explained: “From our vast experience in speaking directly with consumers on a regular basis, and as a result of our own independent research, we have found that consumers’ choices and purchase decisions are not primarily influenced by packs’ ‘green’ credentials. Although environmental factors are on consumers’ radars nowadays, they remain midfield drivers as shoppers are not yet prepared to trade other values (such as convenience) off for eco-friendliness.”

The Big Packaging Debate panel, which also features Josh Brooks, brand director of Packaging News, will pick their way through the statistics and share their experiences as they explore what it all means for brand owners, retailers and the many companies that make up the packaging supply chain.