Consumer Packaging Durability Testing

Smithers provides packaging durability testing as part of its Consumer Product Packaging Performance Testing services, helping manufacturers, packaging suppliers and brand owners assess how consumer product packaging performs under the physical, environmental and use conditions it is expected to encounter throughout its intended lifecycle.

Our experts can develop testing programmes around these conditions, helping clients identify potential weaknesses, validate packaging performance and generate data to support packaging development, quality assurance, supplier qualification and product launch decisions.

Packaging durability performance we assess

Packaging can experience a range of physical, environmental and consumer-use stresses throughout its lifecycle. Smithers can help assess and investigate performance issues such as:

• Damage or loss of integrity following handling and impact
• Deformation or failure under compression
• Performance changes following temperature cycling or freeze-thaw conditions
• Instability during storage or retail display
• Product loss or reduced packaging performance over time
• Loss of functionality during repeated consumer use

Smithers can assess these aspects of packaging performance through testing designed around the physical, storage, retail and consumer-use conditions the packaging is expected to encounter.

Packaging durability testing capabilities

Impact and handling performance
Assess how packaging withstands physical handling and impact conditions. Testing can evaluate drop impact resistance and cosmetic damage to help identify potential weaknesses in containers and packaging components.

Compression and storage performance
Evaluate packaging resistance to compression and changes in performance during storage. Testing can include compression resistance of blown thermoplastic containers, thermal cycling and freeze-thaw conditions, product weight loss, and storage stability assessments for packaging components such as mechanical pump dispensers.

Retail and shelf stability
Assess whether packaging maintains its stability and functionality during retail display and storage. Testing can evaluate package shelf stability, including tilt testing, and the durability of packaging features such as hang holes under representative conditions.

Consumer-use durability and functionality
Simulate representative consumer-use conditions to assess whether packaging remains functional throughout its intended life. Testing can include simulated consumer-use, product evacuation efficiency, dispensing closure clogging and flip-top closure opening force.

Standards and customised testing

Smithers performs packaging durability testing using recognised ASTM methods alongside customised test protocols designed around specific packaging formats, products and performance requirements.

Relevant methods include ASTM D2463, ASTM D2659 and ASTM D6654. Where a standard method does not fully reflect the intended application, Smithers can develop customised evaluations to simulate specific handling, storage, retail or consumer-use conditions. 

Supporting packaging development and performance decisions

Packaging durability testing can provide performance daat to support new packaging development, packaging redesign, material or component changes, supplier qualification and product launch validation. It can also help investigate packaging failures and assess whether a proposed change can withstand the conditions it is expected to encounter.

For consumer product packaging, this can help manufacturers understand how a pack is likely to perform beyond individual strength characteristics, taking account of the conditions it will experience during storage, retail display and consumer-use.

Expert support from test design to interpretation

Smithers works with clients to develop packaging durability testing programmes that reflect the physical, storage, retail and consumer-use conditions their packaging is expected to encounter. Our experts can help select appropriate test methods based on the intended application, develop customised evaluations where required, investigate potential failures and interpret results, providing meaningful data to support confident packaging decisions. 

Talk to our packaging experts about your consumer packaging durability testing requirements.