Less packaging please!

Less is more—more appealing, anyway, to consumers concerned about the vast amount of waste we continue to generate from both our food and the materials it is packed in, suggests new research from Mintel.

In fact, 80% of U.S. food shoppers agreed, in the recent survey, that reducing food waste is just as important as reducing packaging waste with more than half (52%) of respondents saying the prefer to purchase foods that have minimal packaging or no packaging at all.

A little more than half (54%) of shoppers surveyed also said they would be willing to dig deeper into their wallets and pay extra for packaging with features that would extend the shelf life of their foods—re-sealable packages, for instance. And the bulk of shoppers surveyed (81%) said that given the choice, they would pick re-sealable over non-resealable packages.

Mintel says reducing food waste is top-of-mind for consumers and that this serves up opportunities for both manufacturers and retailers to address concerns through innovative packaging and product messaging. According to John Owen, Mintel’s senior food and drink analyst: “The prevention of food waste can be positioned not only as a good way for consumers to save money, but also as a way to work toward reversing the growing food waste trend through conscious consumption.”

Read more about the Mintel survey