Innovation Management right through to the P.O.S.

The beverage industry develops new products with extreme care while at the same time cautiously manoeuvring their brands through the jungle of fluctuating trends and changing consumer habits. It has become increasingly necessary to extend the boundaries of innovation management beyond the product itself to developments in packaging and P.O.S. concepts which can be implemented quickly, even at short notice. For sales success in an intensely competitive market, the factors of time, customer orientation and optimized coordination with suppliers are playing an ever greater role. For the latter factor, longer-term partnerships are recommended, as can be seen in the business relationships of the Panther Group, which produces packaging and displays.

Secondary packaging such as corrugated transportation boxes, shelf packaging or different types of presentation packaging and individually designed displays for various P.O.S. situations, are the core products of the Panther Group. Customers from many sectors of the beverage industry, from producers of refreshment drinks to wineries and importers of wine, through to countless manufacturers of brand products from the brewing industry, are among the companies which have for many years been supplied by Panther. The technical possibilities which are bundled in the Group’s facilities for the printing and finishing of corrugated board and cardboard packaging are brought together by Panther on a customized basis using constantly new design developments. In this way, not only does a continuous stream of new solutions serve the convenience of the consumer (such as the incorporation of carrying handles, opening aids and reinforcement strips for high loading capacities), but also Panther’s activities are shaped by the ideas of marketing and product-management departments of their beverage-producing customers: Innovation management by the Panther Group aims at making a significant contribution to the fast market launch of new products as a result of timely and partner-like cooperation with its customers.

First in creative competition – packaging and displays from under one roof

Display business at the Panther Group has recently delivered the proof of how interplay between various disciplines (from technical-design planning and development through to print finishing and services in all matters related to the P.O.S.) accelerates successful market presentations. In close cooperation with the customer, new secondary-placement elements which precisely meet requirements in terms of the time-to-market factor are created within just a few weeks. Thanks to this mode of procedure, the Panther Group won a recent competition held by one of the largest brand manufacturers in the food industry – the concept for packaging and display presented by the manufacturer was realized in the shortest possible time. Precisely the beverage industry puts its faith in a wide diversification of products in its portfolio: today, a brand product is frequently offered in different packaging forms simultaneously in order to meet the demands of both consumer requirements and multiple distribution paths. The result is a variety of primary packaging types which in turn are offered in multi-unit packagings or trays designed for shelf use at the P.O.S. Here, secondary packaging, which is mostly made of corrugated board, performs important marketing functions. This packaging features complicated print motifs for the promotion of the brand. The Panther Group produces such packaging using preprint and direct-print flexoprinting processes or litho-laminating and digital printing, and on customer request also with a lacquer finish. In this way, the core message of the brand is rigorously communicated on all types of packaging, right through to P.O.S. materials such as ceiling hangers or counter notices, pillars and complete display landscapes. The know-how for all of these various packaging and presentation products is brought together in the Panther Group. Creativity and the implementation of detailed planning in all stages of development and manufacture round off the basis on which the Panther Group successfully works as a partner to the beverage industry.