Assessing the Growth and Trends of Smart Packaging: A Case of Food Distribution

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D., Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

2 Associate Professor, Ph.D., Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

3 Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia.

4 Yayasan Budi Ihsan Malaysia, L-01-07, Conezion Commercial Lebuhraya IRC 3 IOI Resort City, 62502 Putrajaya, Malaysia.

10.22059/jitm.2025.99930

Abstract

Smart packaging plays a pivotal role in food distribution by integrating innovative technologies to enhance product safety, quality, and efficiency throughout the supply chain. Leveraging smart packaging minimizes waste, reduces spoilage, and enables real-time monitoring. However, producers face a few challenges with smart packaging, including high initial investment costs, compatibility issues with existing infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles concerning data privacy and safety standards. Additionally, ensuring widespread adoption and addressing consumer acceptance pose significant challenges and the need for continuous innovation to keep pace with evolving market demands and technological advancements. Therefore, this study aims to identify the current landscape of smart packaging within food distribution, outline the main themes within this field, highlight potential areas for further study, and provide a roadmap for future research endeavors. To fulfill this aim, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis was undertaken, utilizing data extracted from the Scopus database. A total of 1,094 documents relevant to the chosen keywords were successfully gathered for analysis. Frequency analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel, while citation metrics and further analysis were performed utilizing R package software. The outcomes of this investigation are presented using standard bibliometric metrics, encompassing publication year, authorship, subject area, document type, source title, citation analysis, keyword analysis, active institutional participation, geographic distribution, and language. The analysis revealed a significant increase in publications concerning smart packaging within food distribution since 1990. This upward trend underlines the crucial role of technology in the food industry, potentially impacting the environment, economy, and societal dynamics.

Keywords

References

Ahmi, A. (2022). Bibliometric analysis for beginners. UUM Press.
Batistič, S., & van der Laken, P. (2019). History, evolution, and future of big data and analytics: A bibliometric analysis of its relationship to performance in organizations. British Journal of Management, 30(2), 229–251.
Bhandari, A. (2023). Design thinking: From bibliometric analysis to content analysis, current research trends, and future research directions. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 14(3), 3097–3152.
Bhardwaj, A., Sharma, N., Sharma, V., Alam, T., & Shafia, S. (2022). Smart food packaging systems. In Smart and sustainable food technologies (pp. 235–260). Springer.
de Oliveira, O. J., da Silva, F. F., Juliani, F., Barbosa, L. C. F. M., & Nunhes, T. V. (2019). Bibliometric method for mapping the state-of-the-art and identifying research gaps and trends in literature: An essential instrument to support the development of scientific projects. In Scientometrics recent advances (pp. 25–40). IntechOpen.
Dmytriw, A. A., Hui, N., Singh, T., Nguyen, D., Omid-Fard, N., Phan, K., & Kapadia, A. (2021). Bibliometric evaluation of systematic review and meta-analyses published in the top 5 “high impact” radiology journals. Clinical Imaging, 71, 52–62.
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296.
Drago, E., Campardelli, R., Pettinato, M., & Perego, P. (2020). Innovations in smart packaging concepts for food: An extensive review. Foods, 9(11), 1628.
Ganeson, K., Mouriya, G. K., Bhubalan, K., Razifah, M. R., Jasmine, R., Sowmiya, S., Amirul, A.-A. A., Vigneswari, S., & Ramakrishna, S. (2023). Smart packaging: A pragmatic solution to approach sustainable food waste management. Food Packaging and Shelf Life, 36, 101044.
Hong, J. H., Yoon, D. Y., Lim, K. J., Moon, J. Y., Baek, S., Seo, Y. L., & Yun, E. J. (2020). Characteristics of the most cited, most downloaded, and most mentioned articles in general medical journals: A comparative bibliometric analysis. Healthcare, 8(4), 492.
Kalpana, S., Priyadarshini, S. R., Leena, M. M., Moses, J. A., & Anandharamakrishnan, Cjt. (2019). Intelligent packaging: Trends and applications in food systems. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 93, 145–157.
Ling, E. K., & Wahab, S. N. (2020). Integrity of food supply chain: Going beyond food safety and food quality. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 29(2), 216–232.
Rajendran, S. D., Wahab, S. N., Yeap, S. P., Kamarulzaman, N. H., & Lim, S. A. H. (2023). Nanotechnology in food production: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis using R-package. Journal of Scientometric Research, 12(3), 648–656.
Sadeghi, K., Kim, J., & Seo, J. (2022). Packaging 4.0: The threshold of an intelligent approach. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 21(3), 2615–2638.
Schotten, M., Meester, W. J. N., Steiginga, S., Ross, C. A., & others. (2017). A brief history of Scopus: The world’s largest abstract and citation database of scientific literature. In Research analytics (pp. 31–58). Auerbach Publications.
Vasile, C., & Baican, M. (2021). Progresses in food packaging, food quality, and safety—Controlled-release antioxidant and/or antimicrobial packaging. Molecules, 26(5), 1263.
Yan, L., & Zhiping, W. (2023). Mapping the literature on academic publishing: A bibliometric analysis on WOS. Sage Open, 13(1), 21582440231158560.
Yousefi, H., Su, H.-M., Imani, S. M., Alkhaldi, K., M. Filipe, C. D., & Didar, T. F. (2019). Intelligent food packaging: A review of smart sensing technologies for monitoring food quality. ACS Sensors, 4(4), 808–821.
Journal of Information Technology Management
Volume 17, Issue 1
2025
Pages 159-177

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics