Category: Uncategorized

This week, I was able to head over to the Packaging Innovation show. 

It’s always great to see the latest innovations in the world of packaging and listen to some great people speak on how packaging is going to change. 

Some things I noted, 

1. Packaging sizes are going to get smaller – we kind of know this and have seen it already happening, but it’ll get smaller and more variations will appear.
2. Sustainability and Recycling – more and more consumers wish to be aware of a) where the packaging came from and b) how can it be recycled.
3. Smart Packaging – packaging that can be tracked, traced and/or understood using data and analytics. 

I was able to see some packaging award winners, like this drinks provider in Japan…

Then, there were example of nutrional foods being made available in different pack shapes… 

There were a few exhibitors showing their skills with cardboard to make everyday items easier to handle…

As mentioned, great to see Innocent talking about Sustainability 

And, one my favourites? Was this…

Cardboard that lets you hold your cold can of beer without your hands freezing, and with further development, areas in the cardboard to store your crisps and nuts. 

So it looks like, Google is finally sharing some information on their equivalent of the Amazon Echo.

Google Home will be releasing in the UK, around June time of this year.

There’ll be more and more of these devices, and by that I mean, Microsoft are bringing out one using their intelligent system named Cortana (for some reason, every time i think of this, I think of Cortina.. the old Ford car which was replaced by the Sierra, then replaced by the Mondeo… that just shows my love of cars!).

With all these coming onto the market, which one should you get?

That’s a great question.

I’m not going to go into that just yet. But what I will share, that you will be looking at products and items that go in your home, and ensuring any new purchases you make, are smart.

Your home will need to have various appliances and products that can connect and work with one of the ‘virtual assistants’.

It could be the heating system, or it could be your washing machine. In my opinion, to take full advantage, you’ll slowly start to need investing in your home items so controlling them, adjusting them and making them work for you will get easier.

For example, your heating system. By installing a ‘smart’ heating system, you can make it learn your behaviors and habits. This means, it’ll perform at an optimum efficiency level. Which means it’ll save you money.

Yes, that’s what it comes down to. Saving money & Being efficient.

Or you could say, Being Smart.

Recently at the ISE in Amsterdam, I came across this…

It’s a Table Football. With a TV screen. And some electrics attached to the handles.

Being the amazing Table Footballer that I am, I decided to have a go.

Oh boy.. it was slow, i turned the handle, and it had no feeling.. there was a slight delay… not impressed.

But this got me thinking… okay, this could be the first one made. It could be a prototype. It could be that they sat down and thought, how can we make Table Football more interactive… Imagine playing Table Football with a friend on the other side of the world!

The question remains, will it be as good as the real thing? – the original? – where you can feel the players… the ball being hit against one of your players… tactically passing the ball around… for the moment, i’m not sure. A bit more development, and you never know….

It’s a bit like the early electric cars. They needed charging every 20 mins and Jeremy Clarkson made a big joke out of them on a Top Gear episode once upon a time. But he did say, hybrid would be more sensible – which they are, and we now have more hybrid options available to us, not just the Toyota Prius.

Then again.. you could argue, and mention Tesla. Everything gets better, with a bit of investment and development.

So, I was recently asked to write an article around how FMCG organisations are handling the latest advancements in technology, and what could the future hold.

My thoughts were broken into 2 categories, first one was Connectivity – everything around IoT (Internet of Things), and second one was Health and Wellbeing.

I thought i’d share the Connectivity one with you…

Connectivity – The Internet of Things is rapidly becoming more ingrained into our day to day lives. Technology enabling appliances to talk to each other, from washing machines to cookers, they’ll all have the ability to communicate to reduce time spent waiting and/or optimise processing time.

We’ll see more of this in the next few years, not only with appliances talking to each other, and our calendars and diaries letting the local supermarket know we’re having a party on the weekend and to add 2 extra bottles of Coca-Cola to the shopping basket and have it all delivered on Saturday at 5.30pm as I’ll be home from the football match at the City Ground, oh for which Coca-Cola sent me a coupon to get a Coke Zero at the stadium.

Business to Businesses are already talking to each other. Using something similar to the Amazon Dash, press a button and the signal is sent – I need more. This reduces and eliminates a number of process steps. Imagine, you’re the owner of a store, you notice an increase in sales and need more Coke Zero. What do you do? You press the button – then (depending who’s it connected to) they are alerted and you receive more Coke Zero. It’s all about staying connected. Staying alert. Staying ahead of the game. Even if at the game you are losing 21-3 at half time, there’s always an opportunity to win.

A few months ago, i was in Atlanta enjoying the heat and have numerous meetings.

It just so happened, i was in conversation with a good friend who suggested I should give a talk at The Garage, in Tech Square.

So i thought, why not…

Want to know what i said? Sure.. have a look and listen, by clicking on the link below.

Bal Bansal in The Garage, in Tech Square, Atlanta.

Today, I learnt something…that got me thinking.

Someone asked, who were the last people that called you?

A little baffled at first, I looked at my phone. My business phone, I had a phone call from a member of my team and a supplier.

Should I have more calls?

Why haven’t more people called me?

Am I too relient on emails and messages?

So I started thinking, it’s true… i don’t call people that often. I do send alot of emails. And emails can get lost. There’s only so much you can write in an email. I try to keep my emails short.. a bit like twitter messages. Maybe I should start calling people more often. Especially those i’m working with, those whom i’m doing business with.. those who I need to stay in touch with, my stakeholders.

It’s a busy world. And emails help us to stay in touch with each other becuase we can pick up emails when we are free, go through them, think about the reply, and then type a message and send back.

But what happens if we pick up the phone and call that person? If they’re busy, call back later… if they’re out the country, learn when they’ll be back and put it in the diary. Call a few times, and they know you want to speak to them. They’ll call you back. And when on the phone, you can not only ask them about the main topic you want to discuss, but also other things that are on your mind. You can get their first reaction. But most importantly, hold that conversation. Ask about the family. Ask about their football team. Ask about their weekend plans.

Which then made me think…  are losing the art of conversation?

Are we becoming more ‘140 character’ type of people?

That’s a great question!

Well, in the description… it’s all about Digital, Customers, Listening, etc.. So, i’ll be talking about Customers and are we listening to them.

I don’t like to use the word ‘digital’ that much. I feel, everything is digital.

We don’t pick up the camera now, and say.. i’m going to use the ‘digital camera’. Because the majority of cameras are digital and not the old 35mm film, we just take it for granted.

And in this day and age we live in, everything is fast becoming digital. I suppose, digital could be broken down. We are now becoming more ‘e’. For example, e-commerce. We’re now more ‘online’, for example online services. We’re now becoming more connected. which then leads onto the Internet of Things – the connected world we live in.

I spoke a few months ago, at the IoT Conference in London.

Yep, that’s me – representing Coca-Cola.

I spoke about how the IoT (Internet of Things) is connecting everyone and what the future holds for IoT. It will only become more advanced and more integrated with our normal day to day lives. We won’t even know we are ‘connected’. Just that things will happen and it’ll be like.. oh, okay… that’s good. For example, your washing machine being connected to your phone, which is connected to your calendar and diary, and knows what time you will be home, so can have the washing all done and ready to take out when you come home.

So, in a few weeks, one will be speaking at the Sales Innovation Expo 2017.

Yep, that’s right, i’ll be a keynote speaker – talking about the customer. And in my blog, in the run up to the event, i’ll share some insights and data i’ll be using in my talk.

The key thing, above all, is the customer is always right. They might not always understand what you are selling, and they might not fully be clear on what benefits it’ll provide them… but remember one thing, as the old saying goes… the customer is always right in what they believe. 

If you haven’t got tickets for the event, i’m sure there’s some available….