I’ve seen countless trends come and go over the years, as consumers became more of a force in driving the industry, no longer merely accepting what CPGs dictated to them.
Some of the movements I’ve witnessed in the past 28 years grew into standards, like the explosion of flexible packaging on retail shelves or sustainability as a real market driver. Regardless of the changes, our industry continually adapted and pushed the envelope of innovation and technology. Sustainability in the supply chain grew from recyclable packages to reducing the carbon footprint of machinery and the natural resources necessary to operate packaging facilities. And it drove flexible packaging thanks to its recyclability, affordability, and low weight.
More recently, automation and robotics have become almost commonplace, while new technologies like IoT continue to expand in use as a way to combat counterfeiting and bolster food safety with faster and more efficient recalls. As machine-to-machine communications, user-friendly interfaces, remote monitoring capabilities, and security technology grow in development and use, sophisticated packaging solutions are no longer the exception, but the rule. Beyond food and beverage, the pharmaceutical market also is making inroads with automation. The newest robots can now work alongside human operators, presenting an opportunity to earn improved safety records and more efficient production.
