**5. Conclusion**

Currently, society focuses on ecological strategies and reducing the society's impact on the environment. That is why packaging is approached more innovatively and creatively. The research results of the presented study point to the fact that the main target group for innovative packaging solutions (intelligent and active packaging) is consumers in the age category of 41–50 years. From the perspective of innovation status and age category, younger consumers are more focused on the smart functions of the packaging. The younger age group appreciates the packaging as an intelligent communicator. In this age category, they have the highest requirements for packaging innovations. As consumers get older, they are more oriented towards the active functions of packaging.

The study points to the fact that the concept of packaging innovations (intelligent and active packaging) is attractive to Slovak consumers, but in several aspects and especially the awareness of Slovak customers about these packaging innovations is at a low level – indifferent requirements, with a weak green strategy.

In general, intelligent and active packaging is easy to use and provides benefits for consumers, companies throughout the food chain and society.

These packaging innovations generally increase product safety and reduce food waste. In addition, with the help of data carriers of intelligent packaging, better management of the entire supply chain is possible. For some types of smart and active packaging, the main negative is the price, because the costs of development and production are still very high – they can represent 50–100% of the total cost of the product. And as several studies have identified, the limit for packaging costs in companies is 10% of the value of the products. From the point of view of retailers, smart packaging has identified potential negative changes in consumer purchasing behavior: Customers are more likely to prefer products with packaging indicating a more honest product. Even the difference in the color of the indicator can lead to a decrease in trust in the given brand. This change in consumer behavior could lead to an increase in the amount of unsold food. But at the same time, with the help of these indicators, it is possible to optimize the classic principle of displaying goods, when the retailer first sells products with a shorter shelf life and then with a longer shelf life, which reduces food waste [58].

Based on the theoretical analysis of the literature and research results, smart packaging presents the following advantages and disadvantages (**Table 4**).

Considering the results of the research and the mentioned facts, it is necessary:


*The Perception of Intelligent Packaging Innovation: The Latest Process and Technological… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107461*


#### **Table 4.**

*The advantages and disadvantages of the intelligent packaging.*


In the future, intelligent and active packaging has the potential to represent a competitive advantage for products to meet customers' needs and to increase their satisfaction. Definitely, innovation diffusing and management cannot exist without customer research because acceptance of innovation is ultimately an important factor of innovation success not only in the domestic but also global market.

In addition to the above and based on these analyses, the paper provides both theoretical and practical benefits in the form of recommendations for innovators in regard to active and intelligent packaging. This can then be reflected in the performance of companies and their investment decisions as stated by Ipate et al. [62] and Borlea et al. [63]. The benefit is the possible application of acquired theoretical knowledge in their implementation in practice, leading to an increase in the performance of companies in their investment decisions in the context of innovation processes. According to intelligent

innovation, the company must understand the customer's needs and attitudes and then subsequently find the right marketing communication tools with customers. Definitely innovation diffusing and management cannot exist without customer research since innovation acceptance is ultimately an important factor of innovation success.

The results of the analysis can be beneficial in designing future packaging innovations as well as in the selection of marketing communication tools with regard to the specifics of the perception of individual groups of customers.
