A “virtual” marketer prefers to concentrate solely on what it does best—marketing its brand—and to farm out all packaging production.
These are just two scenarios that could signal the need for the services of a third-party operation—a contract packager. Evolving from a cottage industry into —by one estimate—an $800 billion heavyweight, contract packaging is growing at 15-20% per year.
But consider, too, that the range of contract packaging services is all over the board. As are the standards that guide these services. This has created a lot of confusion about who’s who and what’s what in a very loosely organized and often misunderstood industry.
Within this landscape, we unveil our inaugural issue of Contract Packaging magazine, with the objective of helping you make sense of this very active yet complex industry. We begin with two issues of the publication in 2005—the other will publish in September—and expect to increase the frequency of the magazine in subsequent years.
In each issue, we will engage both the providers and buyers of contract packaging services, as well as companies that sell and lease equipment into the business. Until now, there has been no publication written exclusively for this market.
In each issue, you will find solid reporting and analysis on the news and trends shaping where contract packaging is heading. Contract Packaging is the official publication for the Contract Packaging Association, so within these pages you can expect updates on the critical information you need to know from the industry’s umbrella organization.
As a value-added offering inside this first issue, we present profiles of contract packagers, and related companies, large and small, to help you determine “who the players are.”
While contract packaging may or may not include contract manufacturing of the actual product, this magazine will focus on contract packaging operations and issues. I suspect you will feel as energized in reading this magazine as we do in bringing it to you. Let me know what you think and what kinds of content you want so we can provide the information you need.
Give me a call at 630/897-7158 or e-mail me at [email protected]. My fax number is 630/896-0214. And please feel free to pass along news items or story ideas to me.
