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Edible, communicative and diagnostic packaging - it all sounds more fiction than fact. Not so, predict the industry's leading designers, who have been devising their visions for packaging in 2020 as part of the Packaging Innovation Show 2005 at Birmingham's NEC later this month.

According to these specialists, packaging is changing fast, and its traditional role as protector and branding vehicle is about to be transformed. Instead of passive receptacles, we will soon be using interactive, intelligent and sustainable packs that play an active role in how the consumer uses the product.

'All packaging will have to be sustainable. There will be no debate,' says Steve Kelsey of packaging specialist PI3, who predicts a combination of smart technology accompanying a resurgence in tried-and-tested materials.

'The future is very often about rediscovery, not about invention,' he adds.

Packaging will be able to enhance consumer experience by actively assisting the product user, predict the designers - if, as they expect, areas such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and diagnostic technology have sufficiently developed to be economically viable for use in FMCG products.

This is a recurring expectation among the 32 entries of the 2020 design challenge featured at the show. Some entrants have come up with cleaning products that tell the user where and how to clean with the aid of built-in diagnostic intelligence. PDD's concept is for Sensia, a smart sponge which senses where bacteria are using electromagnetic waves when it is wiped over a surface . Having diagnosed, it can guide the user to the affected area using a map at its base station, before releasing the appropriate cleaning fluid. Similarly, Matter NPD's Probac (see case study) analyses whether a kitchen surface needs a simple or anti-bacterial cleaner and dispenses accordingly.

Personalisation is a key trend, not only for specific conditions such as a kitchen surface, but more significantly for the user. 'Packaging will become much more enabling beyond the functional and have a deeper relationship with consumers,' says Tim Corvin, director of structural design at SiebertHead.

Assisted treatment

One of SiebertHead's 2020 concepts, Pharmassist, uses biometric fingerprint scanning to ensure that only the patient can access the pack. It beeps when it is time to take the medicine, dispensing the correct dose into a receptacle at the base of the pack. Webb Scarlett deVlam's (WSdV) Empathy goes one step further and takes on a bedside manner on an LED, encouraging and assisting the patient in their treatment (see case study).

'This could have value in pharmaceutical packaging,' says WSdV partner Felix Scarlett, who sees the concept as a plausible 'stretch' from Tamagochi technology. 'The challenge will be persuading people the technology is benign.'

The incorporation of diagnostic software is likely to allow a more active relationship with the consumer through packaging that assesses an aspect of their physical condition. Alcohol monitoring is a likely application, suggests Matter NPD, which came up with a pack device that monitors how many units a person has consumed and gives health advice. This could be either via a label that can take a skin reading or through a breathalyser device in the product itself. 'There is a fine line between choice and information,' says Sue Wilson, managing director of Matter NPD. 'Consumers can binge drink, but they'll know if they're doing themselves harm.'

PI3's drinking glove for consumers on the go (see case study) monitors dehydration and salt content in the wearer and dispenses accordingly when refilled. Kinneir Dufort's idea for a personal-grooming assistant for men is another lifestyle application, assisting with breath-odour detection via a sensor and LED, and advising on skin protection and dehydration.

It uses a 'technowipe' to analyse skin condition on one side and dispense the treatment on the other. Similarly, DCA's Prepare tailors a diagnostic skincare product for women aged 50 and over.

Renewable materials

Technological innovation will not be the only change. There is also the question of materials and sustainability, and designers were challenged to come up with various alternative materials to current packaging. One such idea came from specialist concept designer JCID, which suggests using bio-resins - corn, soy, starch and cellulose-based - to produce a container.

This is combined with an LCD display that advises when the product should be used and shows recipe or recycling information.

Design Bridge is promoting the use of liquid ceramics, currently an embryonic technology, to develop reshapeable, reuseable packaging that effectively reduces waste. The agency envisages this as perfect for food-vending machines that have a reverse-vend function to reclaim the packs when empty.

The development of alternative, renewable packaging materials is more than mere speculation. Rising oil prices is already making manufacturers look at alternatives to plastic-based products. Procter & Gamble, which annually invests £1bn in research and development, has been actively exploring options including starch-based plastics.

'We have done a lot of research into plastics based on renewable resources although this hasn't yet made it to market,' says Neil MacGilp, director for corporate research and development for P&G Europe. He fully expects such products to come to fruition in time. Meanwhile, he says, there has already been a return to recyclable paper-based packaging.'A lot of the industry is looking at paper-based packaging because it is renewable.

Ten years ago a lot of laundry products were in plastic bags, but now most are back in cardboard boxes.'

Darren Foley, realisation director at designers Pearlfisher, predicts that consumers will want authenticity and ethical thinking to be part of tomorrow's brands, which will mean a return to traditional methods of packaging such as paper.

Adam White, creative director of designer Factory, agrees that old-fashioned cardboard packs are coming back. He also expects changes in materials to be accompanied by changes in the methods of product delivery, such as returnable bottles for cash, and consumers taking their own containers to shops. 'These models will come back with a vengeance,' he says.

Ultimately, whatever else changes, packaging will have to be reduced in terms of volume, says Mark Shickle, managing director of The Brewery and an adviser to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) initiative.

'Packaging will be less - lighter in weight and less to put into landfill,' he says.

Consumer perception

Legislation may well be in place by 2020 to speed uptake. There will also need to be a considerable adjustment on the part of consumers and manufacturers to change perceptions of less ostentatious packaging which, as yet, does not equate less with lower quality. When The Brewery came up with concepts for ready-made meal packaging that had drastically reduced amounts of packaging, consumer research suggested that people expected it to cost far less. Instead, designers added more functionality, such as handles and easy-tear lids, to counter the idea that more packaging equals higher-value goods.

'Consumer perceptions can and will be changed by time, fashion and technology,' says Factory's White, who adds that the packaging industry, designers and manufacturers have the opportunity now to tackle these issues.

For reduction in packaging to work, it is these technologies that will sugar the pill to give consumer benefits beyond the greater environmental good. Rather than more is more, perhaps by 2020 it will be a case of less, yet smarter, is more.

THE BREWERY - SUNPAK SKINCARE PRODUCTS THAT GROW ORGANICALLY

The Brewery's concept builds on growing interest in UV-sensitive products. SunPak lets consumers nurture their own cosmetic products by allowing sunlight to develop the active bacteria in its pots until it is ready to use. The foil wrap helps capture the light and focus it on the contents. The Brewery managing partner Mark Shickle says the idea is not that far off being feasible and picks up on the trend of consumers becoming more closely involved in creating products.

MATTER NPD - PROBAC INTELLIGENT CLEANING PRODUCT

When does a kitchen surface need a simple wipe down and when does it need a germ killer? Probac is a cleaner that does the thinking for the user by incorporating a bacteria identification test strip that decides what action needs to be taken. It then delivers either an antibacterial product or a general cleaning agent via a sponge, selecting the appropriate option from a choice of two chambers. Similar diagnostic technology is already used in laboratories, according to designer Matter NPD, which expects it to become fast and cheap enough to be appropriate for FMCG use by 2020.

WEBB SCARLETT DEVLAM - EMPATHY PHARMACEUTICAL PACKAGING WITH BEDSIDE MANNERS

Pharmaceutical packaging that provides some of the reassurance and communication previously given by GPs has been devised by WSdV, which sees it as part of a trend for packaging to engage more empathetically and actively with the consumer. The pack uses fingerprint recognition technology so only the prescription holder can access the medicine. An LED display communicates with the patient throughout the treatment, prompting the taking of a dose and giving encouragement.

ALLOY - USE IT AND LOSE IT DISSOLVABLE BAGS

Alloy tackled the problem of disposing of shopping bags with Use it and Lose it, a concept for bags capable of performing a washing function and then dissolving. The bags contain active detergent and can be collapsed for one-off use either in washing machines or dishwashers. The Use it and Lose it concept could be realised by 2020, Alloy believes.

PI3 - THE GLOVE WEARABLE DRINKS PACKAGING

By 2020, PI3 believes teenagers and young adults will wear customised, flexible drinks packaging around their wrists. Made of an intelligent polymorph polymer, the refillable Glove will incorporate diagnostic systems to detect dehydration and provide the necessary concentrates and salts in addition to the drink. Filling stations will have a hand-shaped cavity so consumers can plug their hand into a filling nozzle. This activates colouring and branding, while at the same time disinfecting the packaging.

SIEBERTHEAD - SODAPOD FLEX BOTTLED DRINK

SodaPod is a new approach to bottled drinks. Containing only a capsule, it is compact for easy transportation. When the contents of the capsule are mixed with water, SodaPod's flexible membrane allows it to expand to a larger bottle with the help of a built-in shape memory while remaining pressurised. As it is drunk, it shrinks back to its original tiny format. The flexible size has space benefits for distributor, retailer and user.

PIS 2005 September 27-29, NEC Hall 8, Birmingham. As well as the exhibitors, the show includes the 2020 Vision design challenge featuring 32 futuristic packaging concepts plus seminars and workshops. Opening hours 27 Sept 10am - 5pm; 28 Sept 9.30am - 5pm, 29 Sept 9.30am - 4pm Tickets 01923 690 664. Details www.packaginginnovationshow.co.uk