Articles by Kristen Kazarian

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other. This quote by Walter Elliot, a Scottish politician, got me thinking.

Optimizing a packaging line is a journey. And there are many variables to consider in the quest. If one machine or component isn’t working, it can wreak havoc on your entire line — with labor costs, downtime and of course finding the root of the issue.

How long has it been since you were on a road trip — a FUN road trip? Not for work or with the family but a solo adventure with no real timeline and no worries? It’s been a long time for me too.

Crown Royal is a Canadian blended whisky created from 50 whiskies, each produced in individual warehouses located on the company’s 360-acre site situated along Lake Winnipeg in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. Crown Royal Distillery has been crafting Canadian whiskies for 80 years.

I recently spoke with Todd Maute, partner at brand strategy and design agency CBX, to get a glimpse into how store brands continue to grow and differentiate themselves from larger national brands.

In the news recently, an article explained that a director of operations at one of these packaging companies had been audited for suspicion of embezzlement. The person expensed more than $170,000 in just three years — and siphoned just over $132,000 of those expenses into a personal account.

In 1978, Bill Huggins and Bill Mann founded Pretzels Inc. Based in Bluffton, Indiana, the company manufactures and distributes traditional, peanut butter-filled, flavored, seasonal and gluten-free pretzels, as well as extruded snack products, to leading grocers as well as private and national brands.

The global e-commerce packaging marketing is projected to see a compound annual growth rate of 11.3% through 2023, cites The Freedonia Group. Apparel and accessories alone took 18% of the market in 2018.

Packaging trends are already coming out for 2020. It makes sense, since they stem from the previous year’s designs, shifts in consumer demand and what the market is working on in the corporate realm.

When brands are considering a new design, one question to answer is: Why? Is it for a more modern look, such as digital printing or other special graphics effects? Is it to revise the text placement? Change colors for an entire product line? Change to sustainable materials or another pack container?