2014 Hot Markets: Packaging, Pharma Head List

Supermarkets and other food retailers will commence the first major redesign of facilities in decades, reducing footprints, but dazzling the consumer with info-tainment rivaling Las Vegas. Near-pack, in-aisle, on-cart, end-aisle, on-shelf, dangle downs, near-field QR codes and augmented reality will engage as never possible before personal communication devices. Best performing segments will be pet foods (soon to be FDA regulated with new labeling), ready-to-eat, reusable-container single-packs and fresh foods minimally wrapped.

No. 6-ranked Beverages ($501B, 0 percent; with $10.5B to print, -3 percent) and No. 13-ranked Food Service ($863B, +4 percent; with $6.2B to print, +5 percent) will extensively re-package and re-brand to revive waning consumer thirst. SAB Miller and Pepsi are changing their graphics and container shapes; Sol's new beer label glows like the sun; Budweiser will be using digital location-based packaging; and a Japanese brewer is peeling-out origami!

Coca-Cola is testing snap-away cans that offer two servings. There are even "topless" beverage containers that double as cups. With all this fizz, POP/POS will "pop," as well as out-of-home print.

Nearly one million eat-in and take-out food service facilities are catering to overworked, time-strapped diners. As the Top 100 chains make up less than 20 percent, there's a big plateful of local print, especially if we combine print with social media engagement at the store level, and Web-based print management at the enterprise level. Food service products are tangible as is our medium. Print-intensive are sanitary packaging, take-home menus, gift/frequent diner cards, table tents/toppers, tray-liners, back-lits, coupons, and all forms of wall, floor, ceiling, parking lot and window graphics.

In economic recovery mode and moving to No. 2 will be Medical/Pharma ($502B, +6 percent; with $15.0B to print, +3 percent). Meanwhile No. 8-ranked Health Providers ($3.4T, + 4 percent; with $9.5B to print, 0 percent) remain on the operating table under the knife of the deceptively-named Affordable Care Act. Big pharma holds all the scrips and will not yield pricing in 37 percent of its global market. Rather, it will increase print-intensive, pull-through, patient-directed ad spending to bring that share up to 50 percent.