A majority of brand owners who responded to a recent survey reported that prepress/repro work, creative surface design and creative structural design are currently outsourced. The survey was conducted by EskoArtwork, Adobe and the International Packaging Institute (IPI) in order to gain an understanding of trends in packaging design.
Ingo Büren, director of science and technology and academic director at the IPI says, “This research validated much of our understanding of upcoming trends in the packaging market from the perspective of the brand owners, and provided new insight in several areas that will benefit the market as a whole.”In launching this survey, EskoArtwork’s objective was to ensure that its product portfolio is appropriately structured to meet the emerging needs of brand owners, as well as to provide insight and guidance for its customers as they work to support brand owners in the packaging design process. Respondents from across Europe, of which 62 per cent worked in companies with 500 or more employees globally, participated in the survey.
Outsourcing of design and creative functions is expected to remain the same or increase in the next few years, according to respondents. 40 per cent of respondents reported having no design department in their company.
The survey also reaffirmed the growing popularity of and demand for, private labelling, with 54 per cent of respondents reporting that their private label business accounted for up to 25 per cent of revenues.
Meanwhile, Büren says, “As the packaging supply chain grows increasingly complex and as global competition and regulatory oversight continue to grow, the ability for brand owners to efficiently collaborate with outsourced partners will gain in importance."
He adds, “Yet over half of respondents have never been involved in online design collaboration. This is one area in which we expect to see significant change in the near term. About a third of respondents believe online collaboration will become a widely used industry standard.”
