Tastemaker

London – Shaun Jones, futures business director at branding agency Pearlfisher, spoke about innovation and packaging design, at last week's Food and Drink Network Evening.

• Organic, natural and edible packaging is a great tool to win over consumers and get them to trust a brand
• There's a growing space for products and services that engage with both mass and luxury markets

Working closely with clients across both Pearlfisher's London and New York studios, Shaun Jones helps businesses grow by giving them insight into the types of possibilities they might face in the near and far future. 

With 20 years of experience in bringing brand's products to market, from Cawston Press to Lurpack to Seedlip – who also spoke to LS:N Global's Daniela Walker at the Network Evening, he was well placed to comment on the current brandscape.

"One of the areas of food that I'm really interested in at the moment is sustainability," says Jones. 'It's been around for years, but it almost been reinventing itself.' In particular he brought up Wikipearls, which use organic, natural and edible packaging to wrap up foods and other products, as great example of forward-thinking packaging design.

'We're seeing a massive shift at the moment,' says Jones. 'There's the creation of a new brand space between mass and luxury. Everyone wants a bit of luxury, more than once a year.'