Trends come and go when it comes to music, fashion and movies, but some things last for generations. The longer something lasts as an everyday part of culture, the more seriously people take it. Today's kids, for example, might not be interested in recreational trends from fifty years ago, but they recognize that buildings and bridges of the same age made of steel still look modern. Here's why metal will continue to serve the packaging industry for decades to come.
Out of all the packaging materials used by food producers, metal has the most timeless look. Two-year-old tinplate looks as new as brand new tinplate. When it comes to fancy tins, even containers that are several decades old can look shiny and new. Everyone knows that steel and other metals have long-lasting value while doing a great job protecting contents against environmental hazards.
Consumers know from their own experiences that almost any type of metal container can be saved and used for some other purpose. Fancy tins make great treasure chests for storing valuable items, because they stand out in a room, which makes them easy to find. Tin and aluminum cans have a multitude of post-consumption purposes such as crafting art displays that become unique collectibles.
The most important reason why metal is perceived as timeless in today's society is because consumers have interacted with it all their lives as a packaging material. Aluminum beverage cans have been associated with preserving freshness and flavor since the eighties. Prior to the sixties there were only a handful of choices for soft drinks, but these days it takes a few minutes to walk down long aisles of beverages in supermarkets.
Consumers have seen the choices for drinks grow year after year. While many of these drinks are bottled in glass or plastic, aluminum is a dominant packaging choice for cold refrigerated drinks, especially beer. So people have an intimate relationship with beverage cans that serve their needs well. Another reason metal has timeless appeal is because of its reflective qualities, similar to how a river reflects sunlight and inspires clear memories.
Nobody likes buying products that turn out to have holes in the packaging, especially regarding food. Consumers have become more aware of brands and competitors in the internet age, since alternative choices are just clicks away. Faulty packaging can amount to a big strike against the brand for consumers, who might assume the problem is a result of careless management. With metal packaging, the manufacturer, retailer and consumer can all feel more confident that product protection will not be compromised.
Different manufacturers choose certain packaging materials that are most appropriate for specific products. Food, cosmetics and drugs are best protected from tampering and shipping damage with the use of metal containers. Not all food producers, though, prioritize metal to have the best assurance of trouble-free delivery. Those that prioritize cost-cutting of packaging over product protection will likely incur more losses in the shipping process than those that trust metal packaging.
While costs vary for different metals, aluminum makes the most sense for both cost efficiency and product protection. No other material offers the level of sustainability that metal provides in terms of overall waste reduction. Aluminum can be shaped and stacked in ways so that there's minimal waste, plus it's the most recycled packaging material on earth.
Manufacturers that want to emphasize their sustainability practices should consider aluminum, since it is lightweight, eco-friendly and highly protective against leaks. Furthermore, any type of metal packaging will inevitably have a longer potential shelf life in retail stores than for containers made of paper or plastic.
In the next decade, governments around the world will be discussing bans on packaging that contains toxic chemicals. Plastics will likely either become more eco-friendly or be replaced by other materials. Metal, however, will not face this degree of scrutiny, as it has already proven to be advantageous for meeting sustainability objectives.
Metal packaging has been around longer than the railroad industry, which became a long-term cultural mainstay built on steel. There are endless stories of how metal became the most important material in the shipping process from metal ships to metal planes and trains. So much infrastructure relies on metal that there are omnipresent reminders of it everywhere one turns. So while various other solutions come and go for packaging, everyone can expect metal to last for generations into the future. Its resilience cannot be overstated.