Although the Consumer Goods market includes a broad range of products, from appliances, to sporting goods, to food and beverage packaging, they all share some common characteristics. First, they all have direct contact with the end consumer. Consumers touch/see/feel/smell/hear these products at a personal level, so the impressions they make are very important to develop brand loyalty. The second common attribute of this market segment is they simultaneously face both global commodity price volatility as well the need to differentiate and create premium product perceptions. Add to this, the typical requirements of any product for functional features, product quality and durability, safety, and the ever increasing focus on sustainability, and it becomes obvious why this industry needs a broad and robust solutions provider. The solutions Altair provides helps in every aspect of this industry’s needs.

Designs for the Consumer
Consumer products are all about the user experience. Whether it is the initial impression of the packaging and shelf appeal, to the user interaction and interface, Altair can help. From an initial sketch to exploration of styling alternatives, and realistic renderings, Altair’s solidThinking Evolve allows industrial designers to develop products faster. With organic surface modeling and parametric control, and a unique ConstructionTree history feature, Evolve lets designers focus on their ideas instead of struggling with the design technology. Additionally, Altair’s ThinkLabs services can help customers with everything from user research, to branding, to design and prototyping.

Product Performance
Of course a “must have” for this industry is meeting the customers’ complete expectations for the product performance. Not only do consumers expect products to perform functionally as promised, they expect products to be safe, durable, and economically competitive. The Altair complete solutions allows the engineer to innovate and verify every aspect of product performance. Whether it is predicting the airflow through an air conditioning blower, improving the accuracy and distance from a golf club head, or optimizing the structures within any product for minimal material usage, or so many other examples on an endless list, Altair has the solutions covered. Additionally, the broad engineering expertise within Altair Product Design can be leveraged to lead, teach, or complement our customers’ existing organization when applying our solutions to their products.

Processing and Packaging
Many economical gains can be made also by improving the processing and packaging needed for consumer products. From simulating and tuning manufacturing processes for optimal performance and cost to optimize product packaging for protection against shipping and abuse conditions, Altair technologies and services has the solutions.