In today’s food industry, a product’s package is every bit as important as its contents. Today’s packaging can be smart, embedded with technology that offers a range of functionality. According to research from Smithers Pira in “The Future of Active & Intelligent Packaging,” the smart packaging market is forecasted to grow at an annual average rate of 5.9%, reaching $7.56 billion by 2023.
Jan Schnitker, CEO and co-founder of Is It Fresh, a deep-tech startup that develops and produces supply chain digitalization technology, says that smart packaging is an umbrella term referring to packaging systems that have extended functionalities beyond only containing and protecting the package’s contents, using technology such as embedded sensors.