July 2020 | Packaging Strategies Magazine

The July issue of Packaging Strategies highlights active packaging benefits; the private label boom post-COVID, staying competitive with X-ray machinery, a new OpX column, how factory of the future solutions unlock equipment efficiencies, expanding business with new product development and a household care company who believes it’s humor and sustainability that make the brand.

Spotlight

Active Packaging Functions Gain More Traction

One solution was modified to work for foods as well as pharmaceuticals.

Kristen Kazarian

July 8, 2020

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Active, smart and intelligent packaging solutions are used with food, pharmaceuticals and several other types of products to help extend shelf life, monitor freshness with temperature control, display information on quality, improve safety and improve user convenience.

Market Trends

Household Care Brand Offers an Uncomplicated Clean

A household care brand found that it doesn’t take fancy packaging to package a good product.

Kristen Kazarian

July 9, 2020

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The household packaging space usually is not one to show off fancy designs and neat packaging. However, many brands in the sector have worked on sustainable efforts for their packaging — and the product inside.

Materials

Tethered Caps & Lids Find a Home

The EU recently introduced a directive on marine plastic litter, and tethered caps and closures play an important role.

Kristen Kazarian

July 13, 2020

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In May 2019, the Council of the European Union adopted the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) directive proposed by the Juncker Commission as an essential element of its Circular Economy Action Plan to reduce marine plastic litter.

Eagle EPX100 x-ray system for packaged products

Machinery

Staying Competitive in Challenging Times

Manufacturers look to invest in X-ray inspection equipment to set the stage for brand protection and future growth.

Kristen Kazarian

July 11, 2020

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As COVID-19 reshapes the international manufacturing landscape, food and beverage companies are looking at ways to optimize their production efficiencies.

Brand Packaging: Business Development

Expanding Your Business Through New Product Development

Kristin Joker

July 11, 2020

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Expansion is an essential part of any solid growth strategy. While it’s important to expand into new sales channels and scale your operations, you also need to expand your product lines to truly achieve sustainable growth.

Automation

Factory of the Future Solutions Unlock Equipment Efficiencies

Joaquin Ocampo

July 11, 2020

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Food processing and packaging operations have always needed to respond with agility and efficiency to ever-changing consumer tastes and habits. That means a constant drive to bring new or modified products to market faster while maintaining productivity and profit margins.

Brand Packaging: Private Label Brands

Private Label Brand Boom Post-COVID

The pandemic has shifted consumer shopping and spending behaviors and put private brands in an ideal position to grow.

Kristin Joker

July 8, 2020

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Since the start of the pandemic in the U.S., private-brand sales grew 29%, outpacing regular-branded product sales, which grew by 24%, according to the most recent data from Nielsen.

Editor’s Note

The Year of Zoom and WFH

Kristen Kazarian

July 13, 2020

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Working from home (WFH) does have its perks. Is this the way of working now? Can we exist without seeing our coworkers in one-on-one or team meetings to brainstorm ideas? Some companies think so.

HCPC Column

Moments of Reflection

Walt Berghahn

July 13, 2020

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We all reach moments of reflection. An incident or series of events that makes you take a breath, step back and evaluate what has gone by and what might be to come. As a nation, we’ve had too many of these moments in the last few months.

OpX Column

The OpX Leadership Network Drives Operational Excellence

Dr. Bryan Griffen

July 9, 2020

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The OpX Leadership Network is a community of manufacturing, engineering and operations professionals dedicated to driving operational excellence, which is to understand customer needs, empower the people to deliver those needs, and optimize processes around those needs.