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Heroes Need 2020 Hall of Fame Nod

A time of crisis provides a unique lens through which to view packaging in general, and more specifically the individuals who drive it forward.

Matt Reynolds1

Whether we’re thinking about the Tylenol tampering scare in the early 1980s, Hurricane Katrina relief 15 years ago, or shifting modes from foodservice to retail and e-comm today in the shadow of COVID-19, packaging has played a critical, albeit too-frequently silent, role in keeping the public safe and nourished. I spoke with Michael Richmond, PhD, a principal at packaging and management consultancy PTIS, about just this topic.

“Just think about how packaging has aided all of us during this global pandemic. It has provided product protection to globally move goods safely and hygienically. It has provided pumps and easy dispensing of sanitizers and wipes, or food packaging that is tamper evident and has extended product shelf life while maintaining freshness,” he says. “Packaging has protected the many products we are receiving, now more than ever through e-commerce. And importantly, packaging has provided all these consumer and company benefits at low costs while offering recyclability, reusability, and more.”

Even in less chaotic times, packaging has been incrementally churning forward—sometimes smoothly, sometimes in fits and starts—with technologies and designs that have quietly changed the world. Today, a pack of deli meat or cheese without a zipper, or a condiment or salad dressing bottle without a squeeze nozzle, is considered a quaint remembrance of a bygone era.

Pphof LogoIn fact, the very lack of such luxuries is quaint enough that some brands are able to capitalize on them with the right homespun marketing campaign. But overall, the standards have changed, and the bar has been lifted forever with these now-ubiquitous packaging improvements. There are real people behind these benchmarks, and those are the ones we are seeking to honor in the 2020 Packaging and Processing Hall of Fame. Submissions are now being accepted and considered, and the deadline to nominate a candidate is June 30th, 2020.

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New e-book on Flexible Packaging
In this e-book, you’ll learn key considerations for vertical and horizontal f/f/s and how to choose between premade bags and an f/f/s system. Plus, discover the pitfalls to avoid on bagging machinery projects.
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New e-book on Flexible Packaging