Expert analysis

Anne Marie MohanSenior Editor

Jun 5th, 2010

End-of-life design for reusables In recent years, consumer consciousness about the need for and economic value of making use of reusable packaging, containers, and the like has risen a great deal. But what happens when these things break? It’s time to go beyond designing products for reusability to thinking about the end of life/next use for them. greenerpackage.com/node/2596

Tom Szaky CEO, TerraCycle Recycler

Greener Corp.

Milk-Bone Rebrand Affirms That ‘Life’s More Fun with a Dog’

Leading dog treats brand Milk-Bone refreshes its look, wrangling 80 dogs in a photo shoot to capture the most tail-wagging, smile-inducing images for its iconic red packaging.

(l. to r.) Danielle Jezienicki, Senior Director of Sustainability for Grove Collaborative, and Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director of the U.S. Plastics Pact

Live from Circularity 22: Grove Collaborative Continues to Push ‘Beyond Plastic’

Danielle Jezienicki, Senior Director of Sustainability for Grove, shares how the company’s ambition to be plastic-free is the first step toward a circular economy.

A two-side printed paperboard carton cake box delights Taartenwinkel customers upon opening.

Dutch Bakery’s E-Comm Pack Keeps Cakes Cool

E-commerce is hard enough for durable, shelf-stable products. It's even trickier for cakes, etc., that need to maintain a temperature of less than 7°C (45°F) while out for delivery. Here's how a popular Dutch bakery and e-tailer sustainably made it work.

Screen Shot 2022 05 17 At 4 56 53 Pm

Innovation Not Keeping Pace With Sustainability Demands

OEMs and CPGs agree that right now, packaging and processing technology hinders any significant sustainable solutions. Consumers and brands want it yesterday, but how?

Coresight Online Grocery Shopping Us Consumer Survey

New Survey Reveals 54.3% of U.S. Consumers Bought Groceries Online in Past Year

The Coresight Research survey dives into changes in online grocery shopping habits and demographic drivers.

Wrap It. Strap It. Secure It.

Wrap It. Strap It. Secure It.

While there has been an increased focus on automation investments across the supply chain – with an estimated $244 billion forecast in 2022 – an often-overlooked area is the importance of consumables of all types.

Bi Gartner Getty Images 157423931 W Text

Three Tips for Chief Procurement Officers Navigating Packaging Shortages

Gartner, Inc. provides tactics for chief procurement officers attempting to deal with packaging material shortages amidst supply instability and rising costs.

CPGs to OEMs: HELP | Economist: Demand and Unfulfilled Machinery Orders to Abate

At PMMI’s Executive Leadership Conference in April, a panel of CPGs told OEMs about the challenges they face and how machine builders can help. Meanwhile, an economist says one challenge—long lead times—should work itself out.

Heinz and Pulpex are developing a prototype to test how the patented packaging technology could be used for the Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle and other packaging formats .

Kraft Heinz Explores Potential of Paper-Based Ketchup Bottle

The company aims to become the first brand to use Pulpex’s patented recyclable, paper-based bottle technology for a sauce product.

Sustainability – No Longer Just a “Nice to Have”, Speakers from Left: Lindsay Smaron, Samantha Smith, and Kevin Kane with Moderator Jamie Pero-Parker, PhD at thePACKout.

Medical Device eIFUs: Hurdles to Overcome

Live from the[PACK]out: Regulations, regional acceptance, and validated packaging configurations all play a role. The challenges aren’t insurmountable but will require efforts from the packaging community.

Steel Toes and Stilettos

unPACKed with OEM Podcast: Femininity in Manufacturing

Listen as Stephanie Neil outlines the challenges for women in manufacturing with “Steel Toes and Stilettos” authors Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels.

Error Detection Automation Simplified: Introducing the In-Sight 2800

Error Detection Automation Simplified: Introducing the In-Sight 2800

See how easily the Cognex In-Sight 2800 can automate error detection. Powered by deep learning, it can solve a wide range of inspection applications quickly and easily — no programming experience required.

Mergers and acquisitions are hampering collaboration.

Consolidation Threatening CPG-OEM Relationships

The shift in the CPG-OEM relationship from transactional to strategic collaboration has hit a snag.

At the[PACK]out, presenting 'Wicked Stability: Predicting the Aging Degradation of Materials' were speakers (from left): Dan Burgess, Henk Blom, and Rod Patch w/ Moderator Seema Momin.

KiiP Tackles Wicked Problems in Package Material Stability

What began as a chat over coffee has led to work on a hypothesis and a white paper with far-reaching potential in saving time and resources in medical device packaging stability testing. Efforts were presented at the[PACK]out's inaugural event in Austin.

5. PulseNmore ES is an ultrasound device for home use. Credit: Good Design Awards and The Chicago Athenaeum.

Good Design Awards Highlight Connected Devices

The Chicago Athenaeum 2021 GOOD DESIGN Awards Program featured designs for insulin injectors, portable ultrasound and ECGs, allergy detection, and more. The closing date for the 2022 Good Design Award applications is June 1, 2022.

Bill Nye the Science Guy and Coca-Cola Teach Recycling in Fun, Accessible Video Short

Coca-Cola and Bill Nye (the Science Guy) team up to create a stop-motion video that aims to demystify recycling. In a unique twist, the actual materials used to model Nye and the set in the stop-motion animation are recycled or recyclable.

Neither gas prices nor inflation, rising interest rates nor global conflict, will deter financially well-situated Americans from spending their way through the new Roaring 20s.

Economist: Improving Supply Chain, Easing Demand, Let Packaging Machine OEMs Catch Up

ITR economists forecast a soft landing—not a recession—in coming months as consumers ease out of the pandemic and the revved-up stimulus-era economy fades. This will allow the supply chain to recalibrate and packaging machine OEMs to catch up on orders.

Over the past two years, at least 20 bills in 10 states plus two federal bills related to recycled content have been introduced.

AMERIPEN: ‘New Recycled Content Mandates Doomed To Fail’

An examination of legislation meant to boost demand for PCR reveals lawmakers are not considering the full implications of these requirements and the other industries that compete for demand.

Craft Brew Conference Report: New Products for an Industry at a Crossroads

In an industry that’s quickly maturing, craft breweries are forced to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. We’ll talk about the trends, equipment, & materials shown at the 2022 Craft Brew Conference designed to help brewers take on the next chapter.

The syringes and needles that Sharp packs are manually inserted into preformed, automatically fed blisters on the KDT medplus.

Turntable Machine Packages Prefilled Syringes

Implementing new equipment for a customer packaging prefilled syringes, Sharp implemented a machine offering energy efficiency, flexibility, and easy handling.

More in Home

The Brewing Association's Economist Bart Watson delivers the good news and the bad news in Minneapolis.

Live at the Craft Brew Conference: Is the Pint Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Pandemic-related channel shifts subsided in 2021, and on-premise sales bounced back, but there are both encouraging and concerning signs for the craft brew industry. Brewers Association's Bart Watson captures the landscape in his State of the Industry.

Allison Lin, Global VP of Packaging Sustainability Mars, Inc.

Mars’s Allison Lin Champions Women in Packaging

Mars, Inc. Global VP of Packaging Sustainability Allison Lin shares her journey in the packaging industry, providing advice to other women seeking a career in the field, and shares Mars’s efforts to enhance inclusiveness in the workforce.

Digital Workflow Tools for Knowledge Transfer Across Operations

J.M. Smucker, Covestro, Pretium use digital workflows for factory, field workers.

unPACKed with PMMI: Next Stop PACK EXPO International 2022

unPACKed with PMMI: Next Stop PACK EXPO International 2022

Hear about automation and software options from PACK EXPO which directly address continuing workforce issues and materials to meet consumer demand for sustainable packages.

Bubbletree Bottles 4 (2)

Refillable Aluminum Bubble Container Goes Against the Norm

Bubble Tree launched with an aluminum bottle designed to reflect the brand’s goals of sustainability and environmental safety.

Sarah Rosenblum Hires

In-process Package Testing for the Manufacturing Process

For many medical device manufacturers (MDMs), it is an accomplishment to bring their packaging and sealing operations in-house.

Pat Reynolds 2016 Official

Ardagh Invests in Digital Can Printing

Commercially viable since 2019 and operating more or less under the radar at first, Canada’s Hart Print is now ready for what Co-CEO and Co-Founder JP Paradis calls “our coming out party.”

One example of the vivid printing Hart is able to produce is shown here.

Digital Continues to Transform Printing and Finishing

With digital’s share of the printed label and packaging market showing impressive gains, a number of new players are entering the game—especially in the direct-to-shape space.

Inflationary pressure on packaging materials will continue to rise in 2022 leading to double-digit price increases, with food packaging being a major contributor.

How Will Inflation Affect Packaging Material Costs in 2022?

In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, new report provides the 12-month inflation outlook in North America for packaging materials, including plastic, paper, glass, and aluminum.

Lanjarón Natural Mineral Water 'Naked' Bottle

Recycling Drives Packaging Innovations

See a few examples of recyclable packaging innovations from ThePackHub’s April Packaging Innovation Briefing Report.

Women Drive Innovations in Sustainable Packaging, Digital Printing

A recent issue of Packaging World magazine covers sustainable packaging innovations from Mars, Aveda, and Brita Water and new direct-to-shape digital can printing—all led by women.

Solucan Snack Resampled

Snacks in Digitally Printed Cans

This Canadian startup discovered that the best way to get its tasty snacks to market in ring-pull aluminum cans was to rely on direct-to-shape digital printing.