Business Management - Industry Trends

With consumers demanding convenient packaging that matches their on-the-go lifestyles and environmental values, stand-up pouches are rising to the challenge.

As digital printing continues its rise throughout the industry, printers and converters are helping brands see packaging in a new light.

Mintel, a global market intelligence agency, has revealed its annual list of top packaging trends. These trends, which are poised to impact the global packaging industry in 2019 and beyond, focus on sustainability, e-commerce and packaging connectivity.

In many cases, paper manufacturers have been closing mills, taking papermaking machines off-line or rededicating machines to produce more profitable substrates, such as paperboard and packaging grades.

The success and growth of the flexible packaging segment was a key theme throughout the Flexible Packaging Association's (FPA) Annual Meeting, which was held March 6-8 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The meeting also covered key strategies in approaching some of the challenges impacting the industry.

Established three years ago as an exploratory committee, the Women in Print Alliance became the newest alliance within the SGIA organization in 2019. Denise M. Gustavson, Editorial Director for the Print and Packaging Group, which includes packagePRINTING, was invited by SGIA to be a member of the Women in Print Alliance Advisory Committee.

Consumers are increasingly seeking out products from craft, boutique and artisanal brands, whose packaging needs tend to differ from their larger CPG counterparts.

Industry convergence was the topic of the night when Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Executive Vice President James Martin spoke to members of the Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) about PRINTING United.

Among printers and converters, the definition of “short run” depends on whom you ask and what they’re producing. A high-margin opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors with short-run output is what they all share.

The Paperboard Packaging Council's Spring Outlook and Strategies Conference will be held from April 3-5 in Coronado, Calif. Presentation topics during the event will include workforce development, the state of the economy, California's Prop 65, and more.