Soon, the package of your favorite chocolate bar will trigger augmented reality experiences on your phone. This is what Wikitude and Constantia Flexibles plan to achieve by joining forces.
The AR technology provider and the packaging manufacturer want to change the way people read flexible packaging. Constantia Interactive, the AR platform they developed, will recognize many shapes and packages. All that the consumers have to do, in order to see the useful information about the product, is own a smartphone.
“As soon as the smartphone camera detects the innovative product packaging, additional information about ingredients, instructions for use or interactive marketing campaigns appear,” explained Alexander Baumgartner, the CEO of Constantia Flexibles.
Constantia Flexibles is the 4th largest flexible packaging manufacturer in the world. Their client portfolio includes food, pet food, personal care, and pharmaceutical brands.
Consumers Demand Better Product Information
This partnership is the result of the customers’ demand for more product information. The product packaging itself does not have enough space to offer detailed data on the item.
A survey conducted by Constantia Flexibles found that consumers want more from product packages. Specifically:
- 49% of respondents said that interactive packages make products more attractive;
- 69% of them would prefer a product with interactive packaging offering supplementary information.
Baumgartner explained:
“Besides protection, the role of packaging is also to attract the attention and interest of consumers. With Constantia Interactive, we provide a packaging feature that is an important marketing tool, one that meets the needs of the end customer and supplies additional information in a simple way.”
Wikitude – Ready to Meet the Challenge of Adding Augmented Reality Experiences to Packages
Constantia Flexibles chose to work with Wikitude on this project based on their past experience. The platform for augmented reality experiences has over 100,000 developers, as well as over 25,000 published AR apps.
The CEO of Wikitude, Martin Herdina, is a strong supporter of augmented reality as a force for change. He said:
“Google search revolutionized the web 20 years ago. Likewise, augmented reality will fundamentally change the way we consume information. When customers unite product discovery with such apps in their everyday shopping, augmented reality will soon be the norm for every consumer.”
Interactive Packaging: A Hot Topic in the Industry
Bringing augmented reality experiences to packages is currently one of the hot topics in the packaging industry. As a matter of fact, the key topic of Constantia Flexibles’ stand at the Pack Expo trade show this year was interactive packaging.
Constantia Flexibles and Wikitude believe that their partnership will change how consumers interact with products. With more information at hand, in a simple and interactive manner, they will be able to make better informed choices.
“Augmented reality will fundamentally change the way we consume information.”
– Martin Herdina, CEO of Wikitude
At the same time, companies will be able to learn more about the consumers’ behavior, by analyzing the data on the Constantia Interactive platform.
“The company itself controls what features are shown. Constantia Interactive is an efficient, personalized marketing tool to ‘wow’ the customer,” said Baumgartner.
