NAPCO Research Presents Evolving Packaging Trends at Fortis Solutions Summit
At the Fortis Solutions Summit held in late April 2023 in Lewisville, Texas, NAPCO Research analyst Cory Francer presented a range of hard data and analysis about evolving packaging trends and the technology needed to thrive. Francer leveraged a range of NAPCO Research's market intelligence from both brand and print service providers to help the print buyer audience better understand the current package printing landscape as well as how their peers are using the technology.
Package printing expert and NAPCO Research analyst Cory Francer presents data and insights on evolving packaging trends and technologies to the audience at Fortis Solutions Summit on April 20, 2023. | Credit: Kurt Michalak at Fortis Solutions Group
In an interview with Packaging Impressions, Francer explained that he was motivated by the desire to help brand owners understand some of the "whys" driving packaging industry trends, such as the rise in use of digital printing. "Versioning and SKU proliferation, for example, are two drivers for the influx of digital printing that we've been seeing across the industry," Francer says. "I wanted to present the audience with some data behind those trends and give some context to some of the tools that converters are investing in to be able to satisfy these trends."
Francer also touched on pain points shared by packaging converters and printers as well as the print buyers on the CPG side. "The supply chain has been a big challenge across the board for the past couple of years now," the researcher explains. "By highlighting NAPCO Research data from 2019 as well as our research data three years later, I was able to highlight that there's progress and there's data to backup that sense of optimism. There's definitely still room for improvement in terms of material availability, but things are moving in the right direction."
The researcher also expressed enthusiasm for the overall event, noting the Fortis Solutions Summit was well run, and the converter was open in sharing its processes, facility, and partners with the audience. Additionally, Francer says, in the near future, he will be sharing an overview of the event specifically for the Packaging Impressions' audience.
As editor-in-chief of Packaging Impressions — the leading publication and online content provider for the printed packaging markets — Linda Casey leverages her experience in the packaging, branding, marketing, and printing industries to deliver content that label and package printers can use to improve their businesses and operations.
Prior to her role at Packaging Impressions, Casey was editor-in-chief of BXP: Brand Experience magazine, which celebrated brand design as a strategic business competence. Her body of work includes deep explorations into a range of branding, business, packaging, and printing topics.
Casey’s other passion, communications, has landed her on the staffs of a multitude of print publications, including Package Design, Converting, Packaging Digest, Instant & Small Commercial Printer, High Volume Printing, BXP: Brand Experience magazine, and more. Casey started her career more than three decades ago as news director for WJAM, a youth-oriented music-and-news counterpart to WGCI and part of the Chicago-based station’s AM band presence.
