Domino digital printing solutions featured in Soft Drinks International
Soft Drinks International –
CONTENTS
January 2012
1
news
Americas
4 8 10 15 16 20
Ingredients
24
Juices & Juice Drinks
26 27 30 32 34 35
Europe Africa Middle East India Asia Pacific
Energy & Sports Drinks Waters & Water Plus Drinks Carbonates Functional Adult Packaging Environment People Events
49 54 57 58
The leading English language magazine published in Europe, devoted exclusively to the manufacture, distribution and marketing of soft drinks, fruit juices and bottled water.
features Global Review
36
After another year of uncertain economic time, the soft drinks market has continued to expand, reports Richard Corbett.
38
Product Placement
Whilst the US is dominant in the global product placement market, there are strong indications that Europe’s share will continue to grow, according to Mike Stevens and Emma Wright.
Built On A Firm Foundation 40 Tetra Pak discusses the importance of hygiene and product safety.
A Question Of Taste
regulars Comment BSDA From The Past Buyers’ Guide Classified
2 29 60 62 63
42
A holistic perspective to taste is required if manufacturers are to avoid a possible ‘taste backlash’, following salt, fat and sugar reductions, writes Adam Anderson.
Front Cover: Courtesy Domino Printing Sciences
Innovation
44
Doug Thompson explains why specifying the right coding and marking solution involves satisfying the expectations of multiple stakeholders.
Brau Beviale Review
46
In its 50th year, Brau Beviale established itself as one of the most important annual trade events for the international beverage industry.
Gulfood Preview
48
With some 3,800 exhibitors and more than 1 million square feet of exhibition space, the combined Ingredients Middle East and Gulfood is the food and beverage event for the region.
www.softdrinksinternational.com
The Soft Drinks International
International Soft Drinks Conference Celebrating 125 years of publication
London 2012 The Tower • 17th - 18th May Registration now open www.softdrinksinternational.com/conference
44
CODING AND MARKING
Soft Drinks International –
January 2012
Innovation driven by multiple stakeholders
I Specifying the right coding and marking solution involves satisfying the expectations of multiple stakeholders. Doug Thompson explains who they are, what they want, and how the coding and marking specialists are responding.
n today’s soft drinks packaging market, the decision about which coding and marking solution to employ will be determined as much by factors outside the factory as on the production line. Whether you’re using ink jet printers or scribing lasers to code bottles, cans or pouches with trackand-trace data, product information or marketing promotion, the right choice depends on understanding how the expectations of four distinct stakeholders – brand owners, manufacturers, retailers and consumers – combine to challenge the ingenuity of the coding and marking industry. Consider just a few of these expectations. Brand owners need the ability to respond quickly to changing market conditions. Manufacturers want to maximise productivity from existing production equipment. Retailers want innovative and shelf-ready packaging and efficient warehousing and supply chains. Consumers demand increasing choice. In a difficult economic climate, everyone is looking to control costs. All of these factors combine with increasing pressures for environmental responsibility. To understand how decisions by one group can influence throughout the value chain to the coding at the production line, examine these two examples. A brand owner who wants to use packaging as a brand differentiator might opt for a different substrate, or change the unit size. The former tactic may require different inks, the latter for coding adjustments to maintain precise placement and the highest quality of legible codes. Or consider consumers’ wishes for healthier options, or wider choice of flavours. As a result, brand owners’ portfolios expand, which in turn creates more SKUs: the number of SKUs managed by a European subsidiary of one leading soft drinks
manufacturer has more than doubled in the last 10 years. In the bottling plant, this leads to more changeovers on production lines and an increased risk of coding errors. Throughout the value chain, decisions like these – big and small – have a knock-on impact on the configuration of the coding and marking solution.
Brand owners seek more control Let’s start with the brand owners, whose considerable expectations are often driven by both production and marketing requirements. Productionwise, a major factor is brand owners’ strategy of controlling the bottling operation, a key downstream stage in the value chain. The chief justification for PepsiCo’s 2009 acquisition (for US$7.8 billion) of its two largest bottlers was the ability to leverage scale and operating experience across the bottling business, delivering operating efficiencies and a faster speed-to-market for products. At the time media coverage of the acquisition noted how greater integration of operating systems in Europe and Mexico enabled PepsiCo to execute marketplace programmes more quickly. Such acquisitions of downstream bottlers also give the brand owner control of the product traceability infrastructure. These large-scale operations require integrated coding solutions in which different technologies used for primary, secondary and tertiary coding are networked and managed centrally. For example, via a single coding user interface, Domino’s Coding Automation integrates with our inkjet, laser, thermal transfer and print-and-apply technologies, to provide centralised management and control of coding and marking operations. In the marketing department, as noted above, packaging is a vital vehicle for brand differentiation. Short-run digital printing enables packaging to be personalised, so that marketers can run competition- and gaming-based campaigns or target specific demographic ‘splits’ of consumers – with different sizes or formats, for example. Domino’s innovative N-600 and K-600 digital printing solutions enable high-quality, rapid label printing for
Soft Drinks International –
INNOVATION
January 2012
45
short runs as well as regional and gaming applications. Furthermore, variable data capabilities enable brand managers to gain greater understanding of their end customers whilst improving product traceability. Equally important, coding and marking solutions have to be capable of responding to marketers’ demands without compromising speed or quality – for example, smaller packages tend to employ more innovative designs or formats, as well as demanding faster production speeds. Domino’s A-Series plus Duo continuous ink jet printer employs an innovative twin-head printhead for very high-speed multi-line printing, and can match the fastest filling lines without the need to split the line for coding. Our D-Series scribing laser uses vector fonts to apply high-readability codes at very high production speeds – it can code up to 55,000 bph on PET or glass.
More uptime, fewer errors For manufacturers, the top priorities are maximising uptime and reducing errors, especially if they subscribe to continuous improvement practices such as Lean Sigma or Six Sigma. They want coding and marking solutions that minimise – or, better still, eliminate – planned downtime, and feature the simple user interfaces that make employees more productive through multi-skilling. It was in response to these trends that in 2011 Domino rolled out new versions of the A-Series continuous ink jet (CIJ), V-Series thermal transfer overprint (TTO) and D-Series laser coders, featuring our i-Tech, intelligent Technology – an array of technologies that minimise or even eliminate the need for engineering intervention and make routine operator maintenance functions as fast, simple and intuitive as possible. At the same time, across all product lines, we introduced a new, intuitive interface – QuickStep – that minimises operator errors and speeds printer set-up. Even the most complex coding tasks can be initiated by an operator in a few simple steps.
Standing out from the competition High-quality, 100% machine-readable codes are key to retailers’ automated warehousing operations, and the supply chain in general, so retailers need coding and marking solutions that are GS1compliant. But while the retailers want everything as consistent as possible in the warehouse, out on the aisles they increasingly demand something unique to them. Hence retailers’ growing exploitation of secondary packaging to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Shelf-ready trays aren’t just a way of getting products onto the shelves faster; they often differ from one retailer to another, either in size, format or even substrate. To meet this demand, the brand owners and manufacturers need flexible coding and marking systems that can handle different packaging types of secondary packaging while maintaining the allimportant brand identity. For a company like Domino, this means offering the printing technology for every substrate – in our case, continuous inkjet (the A-Series), piezo drop-on-demand inkjet (C-Series), thermal inkjet (G-Series) and printand-apply labelling (M-Series). Our ink R&D experts have developed specialist inks to provide excellent adhesion and contrast on paper, cardboard, plastics, films and foils.
Consuming passion for choice The consumer may be the final stop in the journey along the value chain, but if ‘the customer is always right’ their habits have a big influence on the stakeholders upstream. I have already noted how consumers’ appetite for choice increases brand owners’ SKUs and leads to shorter runs, more changeovers and more chance of coding errors in the bottling plant. In the current challenging economic climate, choices of a different kind are also impacting on brand owners, retailers and manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, cash-strapped consumers have increasingly opted for private label brands, a trend that the premium brand owners have countered with the promotional campaigns and/or size or format changes described previously. The environmental credentials of a product’s packaging remain a key influencer of purchasing decisions, and brand owners continue to improve the ‘green’ performance of their products, adopting recyclable substrates or more environmentally-friendly plastics. For example, having responded to consumers’ preference for lighterto-transport PET, they are increasingly downgauging the PET to further reduce its weight. To reduce the risk of PET ‘burn-through’, manufacturers have developed laser technology: Domino’s D-Series blue tube laser technology produces a frosted effect which reduces the likelihood of burn-through.
Coding and marking suppliers, and their customers, have to take a ‘holistic’ view of the value chain...
Take a holistic view So what do these trends mean for soft drinks packaging in general, and the coding and marking function specifically? We at Domino believe they will become more pronounced, and more interrelated. This is certainly the message we have taken from in-depth consultations with OEMs and end-users of our products. As I said at the start, what happens just as much outside the bottling plant is just as important. Coding and marking suppliers, and their customers, have to take a ‘holistic’ view of the value chain – ‘holistic’, after all, means concentrating on the whole, and the interdependence of its n parts, not just one or two particular aspects.
Doug Thompson is Marketing Director at Domino Printing Sciences. www.domino-printing.com
CONTENTS
January 2012
1
news
Americas
4 8 10 15 16 20
Ingredients
24
Juices & Juice Drinks
26 27 30 32 34 35
Europe Africa Middle East India Asia Pacific
Energy & Sports Drinks Waters & Water Plus Drinks Carbonates Functional Adult Packaging Environment People Events
49 54 57 58
The leading English language magazine published in Europe, devoted exclusively to the manufacture, distribution and marketing of soft drinks, fruit juices and bottled water.
features Global Review
36
After another year of uncertain economic time, the soft drinks market has continued to expand, reports Richard Corbett.
38
Product Placement
Whilst the US is dominant in the global product placement market, there are strong indications that Europe’s share will continue to grow, according to Mike Stevens and Emma Wright.
Built On A Firm Foundation 40 Tetra Pak discusses the importance of hygiene and product safety.
A Question Of Taste
regulars Comment BSDA From The Past Buyers’ Guide Classified
2 29 60 62 63
42
A holistic perspective to taste is required if manufacturers are to avoid a possible ‘taste backlash’, following salt, fat and sugar reductions, writes Adam Anderson.
Front Cover: Courtesy Domino Printing Sciences
Innovation
44
Doug Thompson explains why specifying the right coding and marking solution involves satisfying the expectations of multiple stakeholders.
Brau Beviale Review
46
In its 50th year, Brau Beviale established itself as one of the most important annual trade events for the international beverage industry.
Gulfood Preview
48
With some 3,800 exhibitors and more than 1 million square feet of exhibition space, the combined Ingredients Middle East and Gulfood is the food and beverage event for the region.
www.softdrinksinternational.com
The Soft Drinks International
International Soft Drinks Conference Celebrating 125 years of publication
London 2012 The Tower • 17th - 18th May Registration now open www.softdrinksinternational.com/conference
44
CODING AND MARKING
Soft Drinks International –
January 2012
Innovation driven by multiple stakeholders
I Specifying the right coding and marking solution involves satisfying the expectations of multiple stakeholders. Doug Thompson explains who they are, what they want, and how the coding and marking specialists are responding.
n today’s soft drinks packaging market, the decision about which coding and marking solution to employ will be determined as much by factors outside the factory as on the production line. Whether you’re using ink jet printers or scribing lasers to code bottles, cans or pouches with trackand-trace data, product information or marketing promotion, the right choice depends on understanding how the expectations of four distinct stakeholders – brand owners, manufacturers, retailers and consumers – combine to challenge the ingenuity of the coding and marking industry. Consider just a few of these expectations. Brand owners need the ability to respond quickly to changing market conditions. Manufacturers want to maximise productivity from existing production equipment. Retailers want innovative and shelf-ready packaging and efficient warehousing and supply chains. Consumers demand increasing choice. In a difficult economic climate, everyone is looking to control costs. All of these factors combine with increasing pressures for environmental responsibility. To understand how decisions by one group can influence throughout the value chain to the coding at the production line, examine these two examples. A brand owner who wants to use packaging as a brand differentiator might opt for a different substrate, or change the unit size. The former tactic may require different inks, the latter for coding adjustments to maintain precise placement and the highest quality of legible codes. Or consider consumers’ wishes for healthier options, or wider choice of flavours. As a result, brand owners’ portfolios expand, which in turn creates more SKUs: the number of SKUs managed by a European subsidiary of one leading soft drinks
manufacturer has more than doubled in the last 10 years. In the bottling plant, this leads to more changeovers on production lines and an increased risk of coding errors. Throughout the value chain, decisions like these – big and small – have a knock-on impact on the configuration of the coding and marking solution.
Brand owners seek more control Let’s start with the brand owners, whose considerable expectations are often driven by both production and marketing requirements. Productionwise, a major factor is brand owners’ strategy of controlling the bottling operation, a key downstream stage in the value chain. The chief justification for PepsiCo’s 2009 acquisition (for US$7.8 billion) of its two largest bottlers was the ability to leverage scale and operating experience across the bottling business, delivering operating efficiencies and a faster speed-to-market for products. At the time media coverage of the acquisition noted how greater integration of operating systems in Europe and Mexico enabled PepsiCo to execute marketplace programmes more quickly. Such acquisitions of downstream bottlers also give the brand owner control of the product traceability infrastructure. These large-scale operations require integrated coding solutions in which different technologies used for primary, secondary and tertiary coding are networked and managed centrally. For example, via a single coding user interface, Domino’s Coding Automation integrates with our inkjet, laser, thermal transfer and print-and-apply technologies, to provide centralised management and control of coding and marking operations. In the marketing department, as noted above, packaging is a vital vehicle for brand differentiation. Short-run digital printing enables packaging to be personalised, so that marketers can run competition- and gaming-based campaigns or target specific demographic ‘splits’ of consumers – with different sizes or formats, for example. Domino’s innovative N-600 and K-600 digital printing solutions enable high-quality, rapid label printing for
Soft Drinks International –
INNOVATION
January 2012
45
short runs as well as regional and gaming applications. Furthermore, variable data capabilities enable brand managers to gain greater understanding of their end customers whilst improving product traceability. Equally important, coding and marking solutions have to be capable of responding to marketers’ demands without compromising speed or quality – for example, smaller packages tend to employ more innovative designs or formats, as well as demanding faster production speeds. Domino’s A-Series plus Duo continuous ink jet printer employs an innovative twin-head printhead for very high-speed multi-line printing, and can match the fastest filling lines without the need to split the line for coding. Our D-Series scribing laser uses vector fonts to apply high-readability codes at very high production speeds – it can code up to 55,000 bph on PET or glass.
More uptime, fewer errors For manufacturers, the top priorities are maximising uptime and reducing errors, especially if they subscribe to continuous improvement practices such as Lean Sigma or Six Sigma. They want coding and marking solutions that minimise – or, better still, eliminate – planned downtime, and feature the simple user interfaces that make employees more productive through multi-skilling. It was in response to these trends that in 2011 Domino rolled out new versions of the A-Series continuous ink jet (CIJ), V-Series thermal transfer overprint (TTO) and D-Series laser coders, featuring our i-Tech, intelligent Technology – an array of technologies that minimise or even eliminate the need for engineering intervention and make routine operator maintenance functions as fast, simple and intuitive as possible. At the same time, across all product lines, we introduced a new, intuitive interface – QuickStep – that minimises operator errors and speeds printer set-up. Even the most complex coding tasks can be initiated by an operator in a few simple steps.
Standing out from the competition High-quality, 100% machine-readable codes are key to retailers’ automated warehousing operations, and the supply chain in general, so retailers need coding and marking solutions that are GS1compliant. But while the retailers want everything as consistent as possible in the warehouse, out on the aisles they increasingly demand something unique to them. Hence retailers’ growing exploitation of secondary packaging to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Shelf-ready trays aren’t just a way of getting products onto the shelves faster; they often differ from one retailer to another, either in size, format or even substrate. To meet this demand, the brand owners and manufacturers need flexible coding and marking systems that can handle different packaging types of secondary packaging while maintaining the allimportant brand identity. For a company like Domino, this means offering the printing technology for every substrate – in our case, continuous inkjet (the A-Series), piezo drop-on-demand inkjet (C-Series), thermal inkjet (G-Series) and printand-apply labelling (M-Series). Our ink R&D experts have developed specialist inks to provide excellent adhesion and contrast on paper, cardboard, plastics, films and foils.
Consuming passion for choice The consumer may be the final stop in the journey along the value chain, but if ‘the customer is always right’ their habits have a big influence on the stakeholders upstream. I have already noted how consumers’ appetite for choice increases brand owners’ SKUs and leads to shorter runs, more changeovers and more chance of coding errors in the bottling plant. In the current challenging economic climate, choices of a different kind are also impacting on brand owners, retailers and manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, cash-strapped consumers have increasingly opted for private label brands, a trend that the premium brand owners have countered with the promotional campaigns and/or size or format changes described previously. The environmental credentials of a product’s packaging remain a key influencer of purchasing decisions, and brand owners continue to improve the ‘green’ performance of their products, adopting recyclable substrates or more environmentally-friendly plastics. For example, having responded to consumers’ preference for lighterto-transport PET, they are increasingly downgauging the PET to further reduce its weight. To reduce the risk of PET ‘burn-through’, manufacturers have developed laser technology: Domino’s D-Series blue tube laser technology produces a frosted effect which reduces the likelihood of burn-through.
Coding and marking suppliers, and their customers, have to take a ‘holistic’ view of the value chain...
Take a holistic view So what do these trends mean for soft drinks packaging in general, and the coding and marking function specifically? We at Domino believe they will become more pronounced, and more interrelated. This is certainly the message we have taken from in-depth consultations with OEMs and end-users of our products. As I said at the start, what happens just as much outside the bottling plant is just as important. Coding and marking suppliers, and their customers, have to take a ‘holistic’ view of the value chain – ‘holistic’, after all, means concentrating on the whole, and the interdependence of its n parts, not just one or two particular aspects.
Doug Thompson is Marketing Director at Domino Printing Sciences. www.domino-printing.com
