Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller packaging shows how inclusive design principles can transform the unboxing experience. We explore how accessibility-driven packaging decisions emerged, why they matter for brand owners, and what CPGs can learn from Microsoft’s journey today.
47 INTRODUCTION
Packaging at a Crossroads: Balancing Performance, Pressure, and Progress
As regulation, ful llment complexity, and labor realities reshape packaging decisions, brands are being pushed to rethink materials, formats, and operations, and they have to do so all at once.
48 SUSTAINABILITY In 2026, Paper Keeps Top Spot, EPR Trumps Cost as Driver
60 AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS Labor Pressures, ROI Demands Shape Automation’s Climb
66 E-COMMERCE E-comm Packaging in 2026: Tough, Lean, and Flexible
80 AUTOMATION
Linear Transport System Syncs 120 Axes for Ultra-fast Capping
A new cap applicator from Tetra Pak uses the Beckhoff XTS linear servo transport system to deliver 25,000 precisely sealed cartons per hour, tripling output over conventional portion-package cappers that run at 9,000/hour, while combining digital control with exible, high-speed motion.
& Amazon Tap into a New Recycling Data Model
Pilots with Colgate-Palmolive and Amazon helped shape Glacier’s new DataStream platform, a new subscription tool that lets CPGs verify recyclability performance and close the loop between packaging design and real sortation and recovery outcomes.
Chelsea Milling Co. found a way to replace 18 lling lines with brand new equipment with no interruption in meeting consumer demand and without laying off any of its valued employees.
102
Specialty Blends runs three different PET bottle formats on a new line that culminates in a tray packing/shrink bundling system featuring the rst application of single-point lane adjustment.
Faced with fragmented cannabis packaging regulations and manual labeling inef ciencies, Fernway turned to Paxiom’s dual-head carton labeler to maintain speed, precision, and premium quality across four states and counting.
Jan Brücklmeier Technical Application Group Packaging Technology Expert, Nestlé
M. Shawn French Director – Innovation & Packaging Engineering (Beverage), Danone North America
Patrick Keenan R&D Packaging Engineer, General Mills/Annie’s Organic Snacks
Tim Lehman Sr. Engineering Manager, Supply Chain, GOJO Industries, makers of Purell
Mike Marcinkowski Director of R&D Material Science, Packaging & Sustainability – Nature’s
Shannon Moore Director Global R&D Packaging Sustainability, Kellanova
Andrew Seys Senior Director, Global Operational Excellence, Spectrum Brands
David Smith, PhD Principal, David S. Smith & Associates
Brian Stepowany Packaging R&D, Senior Manager, B&G Foods, Inc.
Loop
Matt Reynolds Chief Editor
Anne Marie Mohan Senior Editor
Sean Riley Senior News Director
Casey Flanagan Associate Editor
Kim Overstreet Director of Content
Pat Reynolds, Sterling Anthony, Eric F. Greenberg Contributing Editors
David Bacho Creative Director
Reggie Lawrence Vice President, Sales rlawrence@pmmimediagroup.com
Courtney Nichols Director, Client Success & Development cnichols@pmmimediagroup.com
Lara Krieger Senior Manager, Print Operations lkrieger@pmmimediagroup.com
Janet Fabiano Financial Services Manager jfabiano@pmmimediagroup.com
David Newcorn President
Elizabeth Kachoris Vice President, Digital
Jen Krepelka Senior Director, Digital Media
Amber Miller Director of Marketing
Joan Jacinto Director, Ad Tech and Search
Joseph Angel Founding Partner and Executive Vice President, Industry Outreach, PMMI
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If there’s a sentiment that defines the packaging industry’s mindset heading into 2026, it isn’t optimism or innovation or vision. It’s closer to discipline, pragmatism, or practicality.
Packaging World’s 2026 Annual Outlook Reports reflect CPG reader survey results on topics spanning automation and robotics, e-commerce/D2C packaging, sustainable packaging, contract packaging, workforce development, healthcare packaging, and digitalization. And across all seven surveys, the big-picture takeaway is remarkably consistent. Packaging decisions are being shaped less by aspiration and more by operational reality. Across these reports, less sexy factors like cost, labor, regulation, and risk consistently rise to the top of decision-making.
Consider automation. Nearly 7 in 10 CPG respondents say they plan to add packaging automation in 2026, up from last year. This isn’t an automation boom. It’s a cautious but deliberate commitment to technology as insurance against labor instability and rising operating costs.
What’s changed isn’t the why, but the how. Brands are more exacting about ROI, footprint, and deployment risks. Survey respondents don’t frame automation as transformative, rather as a hedge or as protection.
The workforce survey data makes that logic unavoidable. Hiring difficulty rises sharply with skill level, with more than half of respondents reporting great difficulty hiring skilled operators and maintenance technicians. Turnover remains stubbornly high, temp labor is widely used but increasingly viewed as a stopgap, and despite OEM efforts to simplify HMIs and training, respondents say that training on new equipment is becoming harder, not easier. Even as companies invest more in leadership training, they’re pulling back on long, operator-level programs because retention is too uncertain.
Access Packaging World ’s entire 2026 Annual Outlook Report by visiting pwgo.to/9052
Against that backdrop, automation isn’t replacing labor. It’s compensating for a labor system that simply can’t scale fast enough.
That same realism is pushing brands toward contract manufacturers and packagers. In the 2026 Contract Packaging survey, 42% of brands say they plan to increase external manufacturing and packaging over the next two to three years, up from last year. And uncertainty around outsourcing has nearly vanished. Access to specialized equipment remains the top driver, not cost alone.
This reflects a broader shift in capital strategy. Rather than invest heavily in equipment that may be underutilized, brands are choosing flexibility. They’re using contract partners to access advanced processes, short runs, and new formats without locking up capital or talent. In many ways, contract packaging has become an extension of the same disciplined thinking driving automation decisions: focus internal resources where they create differentiation, and partner for the rest.
E-commerce and D2C packaging show a similar pattern of tradeoff management. Product protection remains the dominant requirement, cited by nearly 70% of respondents, while sustainability and aesthetics jockey for position behind it. The rise of SIOC/SIPP and the quiet move toward channel-specific packaging designs point to a growing acceptance that “one perfect package” is often unrealistic in a parcel environment shaped by carriers and platforms.
Sustainability, meanwhile, has entered its most pragmatic phase yet. Paper and fiber continue to gain share, recyclable monomaterial plastics are surging, and bio-based and compostable materials have largely stalled in the face of infrastructure and performance realities. Extended producer responsibility is now a primary driver of material choice, overtaking consumer perception in many cases. Lightweighting, recycled content, and material reduction are as much about fee exposure and compliance risk as environmental ambition.
Taken together, these signals point to an industry that has changed a lot in recent years under a ton of pressure. Packaging in 2026 isn’t about chasing every new idea (I’m looking at you, AI). It’s about choosing the right ones and being able to defend them to operations, finance, regulators, and consumers alike.
That may not sound glamorous. But after a decade of disruption, it’s what progress has to look like. —Matt Reynolds
mreynolds@pmmimediagroup.com
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A new joint report from AMERIPEN, the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) nds that U.S. companies continue to make progress in reducing packaging weight even as population growth and e-commerce expansion increase demand. Produced by Smithers, the study estimates that industry-led efforts cut nearly 5 million metric tons (MMt) of packaging between 2019 and 2024.
with material shifts that lower overall weight, while others cite redesign projects that reduce packaging without altering core functionality.
The study notes that packaging decisions are becoming more complex as recyclability rises to the top of many companies’ environmental priorities. Higher recycled content can add weight or require thicker structures to meet performance needs, while some lighter formats face challenges in today’s recycling systems. These trade-offs shape many of the decisions companies make as they balance reduction with broader sustainability expectations.
Notes the report, companies have spent more than 20 years re ning designs to use less material without compromising protection. “Consumers are at the heart of everything we do, and packaging is a critical piece of ensuring our industry’s products remain safe and accessible,” says John Hewitt, CBA’s SVP of packaging and sustainability. “Packaging’s fundamental function is to protect the American consumer and the products they love. This report shows that our industry has made great strides in source reduction efforts. As we look to the future, continued progress must not come at the expense of consumer or product safety.”
Lightweighting remains the most common reduction strategy. Brands continue to trim bottle weights, adjust lm structures, and re ne material speci cations to remove grams where feasible. For example, Coca-Cola reduced the weight of its bottle from 21 g to 18.5 g for its 12-, 16.9-, and 20-oz sizes—a 12% source reduction. That change is anticipated to reduce PET consumption by 3 megatons by 2025. Some companies report success
Interest in re llable and reusable packaging is growing, but the study shows that practical barriers remain. Companies cite cost, supply chain limitations, and contamination concerns. One food company reports uncertainty when employees are asked to ll containers not supplied by the brand, and another notes that two years of testing returned no viable path to pro tability. These examples illustrate why reuse models can be dif cult to scale despite potential bene ts.
Lynn Dyer, executive director of AMERIPEN, underscores the importance of evaluating reduction within a wider frame, saying that “we must consider other sustainability goals and mandates like recyclability, increased recycled content usage and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” since an overly narrow focus can lead to unintended outcomes.
Looking ahead, companies say another 5 to 10% reduction may be possible by 2029. Smithers projects total U.S. packaging volume to fall between 82 and 92 million metric tons by that year, depending on trends in population, GDP, and e-commerce.
Across the industry, teams are working toward more sustainable packaging through measured progress while adapting to new pressures.
Says Katie Reilly, VP, environmental affairs and industry sustainability for CTA, “Industry-focused innovation is driving real progress in packaging sustainability. Durable goods manufacturers recognize that source reduction is not just about sustainability—it’s about maintaining product integrity while innovating responsibly. This report reinforces that reduction goals must be balanced to protect products from breakage, serve customers and maintain our complex global supply chains.”
—Anne Marie Mohan
Global lubricant brand Mannol introduced a new container cap featuring a patented lenticular logo effect designed to make counterfeit motor oil products easier to spot and harder to reproduce.
The lenticular effect, which creates a subtle, light-dependent visual shift on the top of the cap, is protected by a Bericap patent and was developed in close collaboration with SCT Lubricants. The project took nearly two years to create, test, and approve before commercial rollout.
“Lenticular logo effect is Bericap patent, it took us almost two years to create, test and approve it together with SCT Lubricants Team,” the company told Packaging World
The cap also incorporates embossed branding and an inner seal
printed with manufacturer identi cation, reinforcing authenticity at multiple points of inspection. Mannol says the new closures are being introduced across engine oils, transmission oils, industrial oils, and operating uids in 1-, 4-, and 5-L containers, with a phased global rollout underway.
While Mannol con rmed the use of patented lenticular technology, the company declined to provide additional technical details regarding materials, manufacturing methods, or production-line integration. Such limited disclosure isn’t uncommon in anti-counterfeiting packaging, where brands increasingly rely on proprietary, hardto-replicate physical features as a rst line of defense against product piracy. —Matt Reynolds
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Plastic card manufacturer Placard and packaging design firm Burgopak partnered to create a premium, interactive mailer for fintech startup Emerge’s new bank card.
The pack is made from 300 GSM artboard printed with holographic foil and spot UV, delivering a tactile, high-end feel intended to elevate what is typically a routine card unboxing experience.
Sasha Fowler, creative director at Emerge, who led the creative direction and concept development behind the pack, says that from the outset the team wanted the bank card’s packaging to be representative of Emerge’s brand.
“From the get-go, we wanted the bank card’s packaging to be an extension of Emerge’s brand. The goal was to elevate what’s typically a routine experience into something worth remembering, a design that would surprise, delight, and embody the brand’s forward-thinking personality,” she says.
Visually, the pack needed to communicate innovation, she added, describing a look that is sleek, with striking colors accented by holographic foil. The feel was equally important, Fowler said, noting that the team wanted the pack to be high quality, with a satisfyingly solid way of opening.
“We design everything, from our app to our physical touchpoints to feel considered, premium, and unmistakably Emerge,” she says, adding, “We’re delighted with the final packaging and are looking forward to the reaction from our customers.”
The packaging features a dual-slide opening mechanism designed to turn the card reveal into an interactive experience, while also protecting the card during transit.
“Emerge wanted a pack that not only protected the card during transit but also converted what would be a mundane experience into something more interesting,” says Tess Barone, GM, sales & marketing at Placard. “The dualslide mechanism makes the reveal interactive and fun.” She added that manufacturing a pack with a belt-driven opening mechanism requires tolerances of less than half a millimeter to ensure smooth opening and closing action. “This is what Burgopak specialises in and why we partner with them. They precision manufacture their packs so that the opening mechanism works perfectly, every time,” Barone says.
The Emerge bank card is now available in New Zealand. —Matt Reynolds
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Over the last year, Mondele z International has embraced paper packaging as one strategy for reducing the environmental impact of its packaging. In late 2024, it introduced mono-paper secondary packaging for its Lu biscuits produced at the La Haye-Fouassière plant in France. In 2025, it switched to a paper bottom can for its Cadbury drinking chocolate. And now, it has begun a trial of 300,000 Cadbury Heroes paper tubs across Tesco stores nationwide. The paper tubs are part of a test-and-learn initiative that will inform Mondele z’s efforts to achieve its long-term goal of reducing virgin plastic.
Says Joanna Dias, UK sustainability lead at Mondele z International, “We are extremely proud to announce the new Cadbury Heroes paper tubs and are excited to hear consumer feedback on the new packaging. The paper tubs demonstrate once more Mondele z’s commitment to driving sustainable packaging solutions and this test and learn initiative in partnership with Tesco will help inform our long-term efforts to reduce virgin plastic.”
The new paper tubs for its Cadbury Heroes assortment of miniature chocolates were developed in partnership with DS Smith, an International Paper company, over several years of R&D. As part of the trial, Mondele z is asking Heroes fans to share their feedback by scanning the
QR code on the inside of the lid. This feedback will inform its Heroes assortment selection and wider packaging initiatives in the future. The tubs feature the U.K.’s On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) labeling to support consumers with recycling information.
The trial is the second sustainable packaging initiative from Mondele z and Tesco, which recently worked together on a trial to introduce ~1.8 million Cadbury Crunchie multipacks with 60% less outer plastic packaging per pack compared to a standard multipack format, thanks to an innovative sticker solution.
Says James Bull, head of packaging at Tesco, “We are delighted to be working with Mondele z International on another sustainable packaging initiative which will support our mission to eliminate preventable packaging waste. As part of its Planet Plan, Tesco is committed to reducing its packaging footprint and collaborating with suppliers to evaluate packaging suitability.”
The Cadbury Heroes paper tubs test and learn initiative is the latest step in Mondele z’s global Pack Light and Right strategy, which focuses on reducing packaging, evolving packaging so that it is designed to be recyclable, utilizing recycled materials where appropriate, and improving recycling infrastructure and capabilities. —Anne Marie Mohan
Iconic Baltimore seafood seasoning Old Bay, the flagship spice of the Chesapeake Bay region, is changing its packaging from plastic back to its original material, tin. While maintaining its fan-favorite logo and design, the move brings back the classic feeling and user experience of years past, on shelves now.
“Old Bay is more than a seasoning. It’s a symbol of heritage, flavor, and Baltimore pride,” says Giovanna DiLegge, VP, marketing, U.S. consumer, McCormick & Company. “The return to tin is our way of honoring generations of fans who’ve made Old Bay a staple for decades. From crab feasts with family and friends to much more, Old Bay has long been the flavor that brings people together.”
Questions on sustainability/ recyclability, equipment requirements, and more were distributed to McCormick seeking more detail, but the brand’s spokespeople declined to answer.
McCormick isn’t alone among spice
and seasoning brands making the shift from a legacy format into printed tinplate containers. The woman-owned, clean label spice brand Eat Happy Kitchen is making its own move into fully redesigned vintage-inspired tin packaging. But not from plastic, rather from a recycled paperboard structure.
According to founder Anna Vocino, the shift to vintage-style tins began with the familiarity of old-school spice tins, which she says many consumers associate with home cooking and keeping seasonings on the counter near the stove. She says Eat Happy Kitchen wanted to reference that sense of familiarity while still creating packaging that feels modern and instantly recognizable on shelf. Vocino also believes the tin format aligns with the brand’s focus on clean, trustworthy ingredients, noting that Eat Happy Kitchen’s seasonings are gluten-free, sugar-free, and filler-free.
The redesign represents a complete overhaul of Eat Happy Kitchen’s packaging. Previously, the company’s seasoning line
was sold in canisters made from recycled paperboard with an aluminum plug and a plastic top. The new packaging is printed tinplate with plastic lids. Vocino says the tins were designed to improve clarity on shelf and provide countertop appeal, aligning with what she described as a “kitchen couture” approach. She also referenced vintage spice tins as familiar objects for consumers who grew up in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Vocino says the tin format offers stronger visual impact than the brand’s prior packaging, with richer color, increased vibrance, and improved readability. She says one of the reasons for moving to tinplate was its immediate recognition as a seasoning container.
Beyond nostalgia and vintage aesthetic, there may be sustainability implications for the shift, particularly as extended producer responsibility legislation increasingly emphasizes recyclability and recycled content. Vocino says Eat Happy Kitchen weighed sustainability tradeoffs in making the change, noting that the tins are more expensive to produce and include plastic lids, while the previous packaging relied on post-consumer recycled
paperboard. She also says the tin containers tend to remain in home kitchens and are often reused rather than thrown away.
Vocino says Eat Happy Kitchen previewed the new tin packaging at Expo West, where feedback from grocery buyers and attendees was positive ahead of the national rollout.
Whenever we see multiple examples of brands large and small moving to a packaging format (or perhaps, returning to it, as the case may be), we want to know if the trade associations associated with the formats are seeing similar trends.
“An iconic American seafood seasoning, like Old Bay, calls for an iconic packaging option, like tinplate steel. Many food brands choose the metal can because it is a premium packaging type that is lightweight, locks in freshness, prolongs shelf life, and offers superior sustainability attributes. The steel used in canned goods is in nitely recyclable, and steel cans are the most recycled food packaging type in America,” Tim Ebner, the Can Manufacturers Institute’s VP of communications and marketing, says of the recent spate of returns to tin (steel) cans. —Matt Reynolds
As squeeze bottles continue to gain traction in the olive oil aisle, Bertolli is pairing format innovation with a material shift: the Dress & Drizz extra-virgin olive oil bottle is made from 100% recycled PET (rPET), marking another step in the brand’s broader sustainability strategy.
According to Jose Maria Zamora Rica, global sustainability leader at Bertolli, the rPET used for Dress & Drizz is sourced through tightly controlled channels—the company didn’t disclose suppliers. “The rPET used for Dress & Drizz is sourced exclusively from EU-authorized facilities. We partner with a trusted supplier who holds a favorable scienti c opinion and oversees the entire bottle-blowing process using recycled PET,” he says.
move
very similarly to virgin PET in core properties such as mechanical
From a performance standpoint, the company says the move to rPET did not compromise functionality. “Functionally, rPET performs very similarly to virgin PET in core properties such as mechanical strength, clarity, and barrier performance,” Zamora says. While slight variations can occur depending on feedstock quality and recycling processes, Zamora notes that suppliers carefully select high-quality rPET akes and optimize preform and blowing parameters to ensure nal bottle performance remains aligned with virgin PET standards.
On the manufacturing oor, the transition required minimal disruption. “No new equipment was needed. Our existing lines were already compatible with the switch to rPET,” Zamora says. That includes lling, capping, labeling, and case packing operations.
The Dress & Drizz package itself represents a clean-sheet design rather than a retro t. “The shape was developed speci cally for this launch. We wanted to deliver a clear upgrade versus what was already available on shelf in this format,” Zamora says. The new silhouette, which features textured sidewalls and a controlled- ow nozzle, did require new tooling.
Consumer usability was validated through testing before launch. “We conducted consumer testing to ensure the design addressed real usage needs, con rming improvements in grip, control, and dosing precision,” he says.
On the shelf, sustainability messaging is made explicit. “We communicate the 100% rPET claim clearly on the front label, and we reinforce it through marketing campaigns, our website, and e-commerce assets,” says Zamora. To support proper end-of-life handling, Bertolli also aims to guide consumers through clear labeling. “Our labeling clearly indicates which components are made from recycled materials and speci es any parts that are not, helping consumers recycle each component correctly,” Zamora says.
The bottle itself is designed to remain within existing recycling streams. “rPET (recycled PET) bottles are widely accepted within today’s U.S. municipal recycling systems, particularly in applications such as beverage bottles, food bottles (sauces, dressings, oils, etc.), and clear plastic containers,” says Zamora. The company acknowledges, however, that acceptance can vary locally depending on residue concerns and program-speci c rules. Recycling acceptance can vary by municipality due to factors such as oil residue remaining in bottles, differences in caps-on vs. caps-off requirements, and whether recycling rules are set at the city or county level rather than statewide, according to Zamora. Dress & Drizz is not Bertolli’s rst use of recycled content, and it won’t be the last. “rPET is already used across our Bertolli Organic Olive Oil range, our Sustainably Sourced proposition, and our 2L formats,” Zamora says. “Our long-term goal is to transition our entire PET portfolio to 100% rPET.”
While rPET can carry a cost premium, the brand says consumers won’t see that re ected on shelf. “We view the shift to rPET as a long-term sustainability commitment rather than a cost passed on to consumers,” says Zamora. “Although recycled materials can be more expensive, we have made a deliberate choice not to re ect that cost on shelf.”
At the corporate level, the packaging move aligns with Deoleo’s broader sustainability framework. “Our sustainability purpose, ‘Caring for what cares for you,’ guides our long-term vision,” Zamora concludes, pointing to a strategy built around sustainable agriculture, operational stewardship, and responsible business practices. —Matt Reynolds
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Union City, Calif.-based homemade-style dip, spread, and quiche company La Terra Fina has redesigned its quiche packaging to remove several components while preserving product protection and shelf appeal. The update rolled out first to club stores last August, followed by retail channels in November, and targeted plastic packaging materials that consumer feedback indicated was excessive.
“At La Terra Fina, developing more sustainable packaging is a natural extension of our commitment to environmental stewardship and continuous improvement,” says Rose Hartley, sustainability manager for La Terra Fina. “We view sustainability as an opportunity to simplify the consumer experience, removing complexity and non-value-added components.”
The existing packaging format included a clear plastic dome, a black plastic tray, an aluminum baking tray, an easypeel protective film, and a printed paperboard sleeve. The updated system eliminates the dome and tray entirely. What remains is a recyclable aluminum tray paired with a protective film seal and an upgraded, recyclable paperboard sleeve.
“Eliminating those components allowed us to achieve dramatic material reductions while still maintaining product protection and shelf appeal,” says Tom Chole, VP of innovation and operations. “Out of all the product innovations I have been involved with, this one has the biggest impact to the environment.”
For Costco and Sam’s Club variety two-packs, the new format
cuts plastic use by 75%. Retail quiches sold through Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts, and Albertsons now use 80% less plastic. The change also trims paperboard use by 18% per two-pack and corrugated cases by 28%, enabling denser palletization and fewer truckloads.
While the redesign focused on material reduction, La Terra Fina also maintained sustainability features from the prior package, including FSC- and SFI-certified paperboard and sustainable inks. It also retained the clear film window so shoppers can still see the product, an attribute that Hartley says is essential to shelf appeal. “Less packaging, thoughtfully designed, delivers a better customer experience while reducing waste and cost,” she says.
Notes Chole, the transition required some refinement of the remaining packaging components. Early tests showed that the fit of the paperboard sleeve could cause minor abrasion to the easy-peel film, prompting adjustments to both the sleeve geometry and the die-cut folded paperboard design to improve durability during handling and distribution. Chole adds that retail partners, including Costco and Kroger, were “open, collaborative, and highly supportive” throughout the process.
According to Hartley, retailers and consumers have responded positively to the change. Wrote one shopper, “Thank you for reducing the plastic packaging. We love the product but had stopped purchasing it due to the plastic waste. Happy to add it back in our rotation.” —Anne Marie Mohan
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Reusable foodware systems provider r.World reached a milestone last October, preventing 20 million single-use cups and foodware items from going to landfill through its reuse programs at live events, campuses, and corporate locations. The company says the achievement reflects both environmental impact and the operational viability of reuse systems at scale.
Based in Minneapolis, r.World supplies venues with reusable cups and serveware, along with collection bins, logistics, washing, and impact reporting. Items are returned to wash hubs located near the venues. “We definitely try to keep them within 30 to 40 miles, ideally closer,” says Michael Martin, founder and CEO of r.World. The company operates centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, D.C., and the Twin Cities.
“Eliminating 20 million single-use items is irrefutable proof reuse at scale is achievable, profitable, and impactful,” Martin says. “This milestone validates our belief that a better way to tackle waste is possible, one that’s environmentally responsible and economically viable.”
According to the company, preventing those 20 million items from entering landfill has avoided more than 110 tons of plastic production, eliminated 440 U.S. tons of CO2 emissions, saved 1.65 million kW hours of energy, and conserved 5 million gallons of water. r.World reports it now washes about 1 million cups per month. The system is designed to mirror the simplicity of single-use from a client perspective. Venues do not make an upfront investment in inventory. “It’s no risk to activate because we pay for the cost of turning it [the program] on,” explains Martin. r.World provides the serveware, bins, and logistics, and charges per use. “For every time they use a cup, it’s like a linen service in some ways,” he adds. Lost items are charged back, reinforcing the importance of guest education and high return rates. “We work really closely with them to make sure that they don’t lose anything,” says Martin. “We don’t want them to lose one cup. It defeats the purpose of what we’re doing.”
Education is built into deployment. r.World works with venues on signage, bin placement, and staff training, and relies on a no-deposit model for most high-volume events. “In America, if you put a deposit down, you feel like you’ve purchased a cup,” Martin says. “So that’s why we’ve gone to the no-deposit model.”
The reusable items themselves are made for durability. “They’re designed for over 300 uses,” Martin says. “We have some cups from 2019 that are still being used, probably some close to a thousand times.” Offerings include polypropylene cold beverage cups, as well as thermoformed containers, plates, trays, and cutlery. One recent addition Martin is particularly excited about is a nitrogen bubble-infused PP hot cup from Bockatech, the EcoCore, that reduces PP by 50% and eliminates the need for a sleeve. r.World also washes client-owned serveware.
Behind the scenes, data collection is a core part of the program. Inventory is tracked in bulk using QR codes on transport totes, with counts reconciled after each event. Clients receive reports detailing cups used, waste avoided, water and energy savings, and greenhouse gas reductions. “What you don’t measure, you can’t change,” Martin says.
The company’s reuse model has gained traction across sports and entertainment, higher education, and corporate dining. r.World says it has serviced thousands of locations across more than 35 states, 150 cities, and 12 countries, working with venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Crypto. com Arena, as well as operators including Live Nation, AEG, Aramark, Sodexo, Levy, and Legends.
Artists have also played a role in early adoption. “From launching reuse on the Joshua Tree tour in 2017 to seeing r.World now surpass 20 million single-use items diverted, we’ve witnessed the idea grow into an industry-changing solution,” says The Edge, guitarist for U2. “Reuse is innovation in action.” —Anne Marie Mohan
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Bel Group is transitioning Mini Babybel cheese from home-compostable cellophane to recyclable paper, a change that required reengineering the brand’s outer packaging system to meet the barrier and food-safety requirements of a pressed cheese.
The transition is not a direct material substitution. Packaging for pressed cheese must limit exposure to moisture and oxygen, maintain texture, and ensure microbiological safety across transport, handling, and temperature variation.
“This is far more than a simple material swap. It requires rethinking the entire protection system to ensure quality and safety at every stage from production to consumption,” says Delphine Chatelin, VP of R&D, Bel Group.
In the redesigned system, the paper does not function as a barrier material. Instead, Babybel’s red wax coating remains unchanged and continues to serve as the primary protective barrier in direct contact with the cheese, providing microbiological protection and limiting exposure to air and moisture. The paper replaces the former cellophane outer wrap and is responsible for handling, protection during distribution, and consumer use, without altering the cheese formulation or food safety profile.
The wax-based barrier also allows the product to remain stable outside refrigeration for up to eight hours under normal conditions of use, a performance requirement that was maintained in the transition to paper.
Development followed a multi-year test-and-learn process that included material formulation, factory trials, industrial validation, and real-world testing to ensure performance at scale and across markets.
“Our production sites are mobilizing to adapt their equipment, rethink their processes and train their teams, in order to integrate new environmentally friendly materials while guaranteeing the quality and food safety of our products,” the company says.
Industrial conversion is underway across Babybel manufacturing sites in France, the U.S., Canada, and Slovakia. The Evron, France, facility, Babybel’s largest production site, served as an early testing location for paper-capable lines, enabling process optimization before broader rollout. Bel has also invested €60 million ($70 million) in a new Babybel production line in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France, to support capacity expansion.
The paper packaging will be introduced gradually by market, starting in the U.K. in late 2025, with broader international rollout continuing through 2027 to accommodate line modifications and validation requirements in each region. The company did not disclose its paper film or packaging automation suppliers.
Read the full story on this material transition at pwgo.to/9029 —Matt Reynolds
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“If Europe or even the globe had an intrinsic motivation to go for an environmental approach, they would already use much more recycled and bio-based material than they do today. The simple reason is that fossil material is too cheap, and the environmental effects are not reflected in the price. Without legislation, the industry will not move.”
–Patrick Zimmermann, managing director of FKuR, in a panel discussion titled, “20 Years of EBC: Reflecting the Past, Shaping the Future,” at the European Bioplastics’ EBC25 conference
“Customers are not looking for science projects. They want long-term solutions that improve productivity, safety, and workforce capability. That means technology has to be intuitive, repeatable, and scalable across plants—not just impressive in a pilot. Automation succeeds when it fits the operator, not when the operator is forced to fit the technology.”
–Craig Salvalaggio, president of Applied Manufacturing Technologies, from a webinar produced by A3 Association for Advancing Automation, “2026 Industrial Automation Trends: What to Expect in the Coming Year”
“We focus heavily on the front end of packaging, but we rarely talk about the value created at the back end. The organics recycling industry generates revenue, products, jobs, and tax income. When you account for that full value chain, compostable packaging becomes a much stronger proposition than when it is judged on material cost alone.”
–Rowan Williams, president of the Australasian Bioplastics Association, speaking in a session titled, “Market Pulse & Industry Update: Global Trends and Insights,” at the European Bioplastics’ EBC25 conference
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“Sustainability is really driven by operational efficiency. When we optimize pallet loads, reduce shipping air, lower energy usage, and minimize motion paths, we’re doing sustainability simply because it’s good business. We’re still hitting cycle time and productivity targets, but with less energy, less waste, and lower cost. That’s sustainability that sticks.”
–Mike Lashbrook, VP of digital solutions for JR Automation, in a webinar produced by A3 Association for Advancing Automation, “2026 Industrial Automation Trends: What to Expect in the Coming Year”
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Pioneering sustainability strategist and movement builder Michael Martin shares insights learned from founding and scaling r.World, a reusable foodware solutions company that serves entertainment venues, campuses, and corporations.
You indicate on your website that you pioneered recycling and composting of single-use cups at sports and entertainment venues, but found those solutions didn’t work. Why is that?
Michael Martin:
I introduced recycling to live events in 1990 and spent the next 25 years trying to make it work. Later I introduced composting. That had never been done before either. We tried a number of strategies, including signage, gamification, and trash goalies [volunteers or staff members who monitor recycling and compost stations to prevent waste contamination]. Live Nation hired me to develop their sustainability strategy, and they gave me free rein. I eliminated all the plastic, replaced it with bioplastics and recycling, and we just had compost and recycle bins, no trash bins. It was a perfect solution.
After every live event, the cleanup crews leaf-blow or shovel everything on the ground, which is 80% of the waste, and throw it into a dumpster. And inevitably people are drunk, and they put things in the wrong bins. So everything is commingled. It’s a dirty little secret of the live event industry that, while they have recycling bins and compost bins, 90% of it goes to landfill.
So I got really depressed for about six months. I spent 25 years at this point trying to make recycling and composting work. And then I remembered what I’d seen with U2 in Europe where they were doing a reusable cup system. That’s when I thought, “We got it. We think about reduce, reuse, recycle. That’s an order of priority, and we need to get people thinking about moving to reuse from recycle.”
How did you develop a reusable system?
If you’ve looked at my background, I’ve worked on catalyzing or promoting or growing some key sustainability movements over the years, including Earth Day, climate change, hybrid cars, green energy, organic and plant-based food, and corporate CO2 reductions. I thought, “Well, let’s see if we can launch the reuse movement.”
Because I had relationships with leading artists, I realized that was the way to introduce it to this country. So that’s how we started off—with artist-branded cups. We had a $3 deposit, and you could return the cups at the end of the event and get your money back or keep the cup. It was exciting because for the first time ever, there was no waste because people didn’t throw their trash on the ground.
Then I started analyzing it and realized, wait a minute, we’re just creating more waste by selling souvenir cups. That’s why we morphed to this model where we have these “ugly” cups
that people don’t want to take home. [r.World also got rid of the deposit.] They still do a bit, but not very much. We say to people when they’re leaving a venue, do you take the cups from the restaurant you eat at? It’s like this mind tear for people because they don’t think about it that way. It’s about re-educating people. I’ll say, this cup’s going to be used here again tomorrow, so please leave it here.
We’ve also added a QR code to the cup. If people scan it, there’s information about the reuse crisis and what they can do. We use influencers and artists to help reframe behavior.
This mindset shift—would you take home your cup from a restaurant—is a powerful way to think about reuse. We also use really high-quality cups, so they’re clearly not throwaway. People then look for our bins. We feel like we’ve cracked the code on waste at live events because over half of the audience puts the cups in the correct bins, which does not happen with single use.
We’re also finding it saves money on cleanup crews, because there’s less waste left on the ground. Venues are throwing out and recycling less waste too. There are real economic benefits to reuse.
How have you approached challenges such as logistics, cleaning, data analysis, and consumer education?
When I started the company, I thought it’d be really easy to just wash some cups. But it’s unbelievably complicated and complex to do this behind the scenes. We’ve designed the system so that, for our clients,
it’s as simple as using single-use cups, and they get the economic and environmental benefits as well.
We’ve been fortunate to have a board of successful business leaders and to build what I think is one of the most professional reuse operations anywhere. We raised funds to get the right people and systems in place.
I’m a former investment banker, so I’m all about analytics and quantification. We have a full-time person focused on data analysis,
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A big part of this is education. We do A/B testing to determine the best messaging for optimal impact.
From a client standpoint, there’s no upfront investment required. If they want to provide their own cups or serveware, we can just wash them, but most clients use our turnkey solution. [Clients pay on a per-cup basis, similar to a linen service, reimbursing r.World for cups that are not returned.] Our technology platform is called r.Turn, and it handles inventory, ordering, freight tracking, impact reporting, and invoicing.
How do you gather data on inventory and turns?
We track cups and serveware in bulk using QR tracking on all totes. When we deliver items, we scan the totes into r.Turn. When we collect them, we count everything during sorting. We then reconcile that data with sales or inventory reports to generate harvest and impact reports. That’s how we know we’ve passed 22 million cups washed and are doing about a million per month (see related news on p. 20).
What information is included in client reports?
Clients receive reports showing the number of cups used, pounds of waste eliminated, gallons of water saved, pounds of CO2 eliminated, liters of crude oil saved, and kilowatt hours of energy saved. Many of them publish these reports or aggregate the data for their sustainability disclosures. That’s exciting because what you don’t measure, you can’t change.
What do you see as the future of reusable packaging?
The first challenge is that the country has been trained to believe recycling works. There’s no such thing as “away.” You’re making it someone else’s problem. There’s a role for recycling and composting, but optimally we need to get away from single use overall. The biggest challenge is changing behavior. Reuse works best in places where people have already experienced it. Denver is a great example. We’ve been there for nearly four years, and reuse is understood.
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The second challenge is collection at scale. Services like Ridwell Recycling [a subscriptionbased service for doorstep pickup of hard-to-recycle items] are interesting, but broadly, reuse will require infrastructure, either through waste haulers, retailers, or legislation.
If reuse is legislated and big CPGs are required to adopt it, that may be how it scales nationally. I do believe CPG reuse is coming.
How should companies decide what sustainability goal to prioritize?
It depends on what you’re trying to solve for. My company focuses on plastic reduction. We’ve stopped about 110 tons of plastic from being produced, and I’m proud of that. But climate change is the biggest existential threat.
We show clients comparisons of different materials. Aluminum isn’t plastic, but it has mining, labor, and toxicity issues, and many aluminum cups still contain plastic liners. Compostables have chemical, energy, and contamination challenges. Clients are often shocked to see that these alternatives can be worse environmentally than single-use plastic. The real issue is single-use itself.
On a personal note, what originally set you on this path?
I had just finished my MBA at Kellogg and was on track to become an investment banker when the Exxon Valdez spill happened. I had a full-stop realization that something was wrong about the capitalistic system that requires quarterly growth over a natural environment that has finite resources.
Once you truly understand what’s happening—to the climate, to ecosystems, even to our bodies—you can’t unsee it. If you have any empathy, you feel compelled to act.
—Anne Marie Mohan
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for space. Read the full article at pwgo.to/9031.
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By Eric F. Greenberg, Attorney-at-law
In our last column (pwgo.to/9032), we described the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which have enormous influence on food labeling claims and package configurations each time a new edition appears. At the time, the new 2025-2030 DGA were expected at any moment, and we predicted what they’d look like. In early January, they finally appeared, so here’s the analysis of them as they actually look.
In short, the new DGA reinforces some diet advice that we’ve seen before, seems to resurrect advice from over 40 years ago, and contains a few bits of advice that at present don’t appear to be based on established science, though they might turn out to be right based on future research.
Once again, for expert insight, I will call upon Dr. Robert Post, a food and nutrition regulatory and policy affairs consultant, who previously held important positions in the federal government and led development of past editions of the DGA and related symbols.
First as to form: As promised by those preparing it, the new DGA document is much shorter than more recent editions. It’s 9 pages long, and while the past several editions had been over 50 pages in length, even earlier editions were also in short, brochure-type formatting. Post says the regulators behind the DGA—Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture— “deserve credit for highlighting dietary public health issues.” He commends the shorter format, saying “a 9-page document has the advantage of capturing consumers’ attention and making it easier to understand and adopt the recommendations.”
fats because they were believed to promote cardiovascular disease and weight gain. Still, this resurrected advice might not be as revolutionary as it at first appears, since Post points out that the new DGA recommends that these healthy fats should not exceed 10% of one’s total daily calories.
Also, Post observes that “Among the recommendations that differ from past editions, the new DGA also advises consumers to avoid— not just “limit”—highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that have added sugars and sodium.”
I reminded Post that he said previously that he hoped the new DGA would be consistent with established science, and I asked him whether any aspects of the new DGA were not. He said that he believes that “some conclusions on which the new recommendations are based are not supported by moderately strong or strong evidence and require additional research,” pointing in particular to the advice to limit foods and beverages containing artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.
He expects, though, that the agencies and their advisors will provide more support for such advice in the future.
What will this new advice mean for the food and beverage industry, and for consumers? He analyzes it this way: “There will likely be interest in promoting protein content claims, the use of healthy fats, and the inclusion of natural ingredients on labeling. More fermented foods may claim to support a diverse microbiome.”
In terms of substance: As before, the new DGA emphasizes eating vegetables and fruits, fiber-rich whole grains, and limiting added sugar, and they have added that snack foods should meet FDA’s recently revised definition of foods that are “healthy.”
The graphic representation of the new dietary advice is a retro version from the past; an upside-down pyramid, and some of the new DGA’s advice does indeed turn past advice on its head.
Probably the most notable new and different advice in this new DGA is that it emphasizes consumption of “healthy fats” from multiple sources, including meat, butter, and full-fat dairy products, and pairs it with whole protein foods. HHS secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. said about the new DGA, “We are ending the war on saturated fats.”
This is something of a throwback to the common advice up until the 1960s, when Post says the general advice was to avoid saturated
Also, watch for this: “By promoting more protein foods in naturally nutrient-dense, whole, non-highly processed forms, there will likely be more whole protein foods used as ingredients.” Moreover, “processors may want to find ways of cooking with ‘healthy fats,’ including butter, olive oil, and beef tallow, while finding ways to substitute artificial preservatives and antioxidants with natural preservatives.” He adds that many manufacturers have already begun replacing artificial flavors and synthetic colors.
As for the government’s next steps, Post was invited to a special HHS/USDA event celebrating the new DGA, and says he learned there that we can expect the agencies to hold a series of public events through the coming year, designed to raise the profile of “real foods” (see realfood.gov). All federal food and nutrition programs are expected to incorporate these new DGA recommendations.
As before, the DGA should remain an important driver of food and beverage product changes until the next edition in 2030. PW
By Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor
The bottoms of Regular Slotted Containers (RSCs) have outer flaps that abut, forming a center seam. The most utilized method of securing the bottoms of those corrugated boxes is taping. An inadequately taped bottom can fail the functions of containment and protection.
Ironically, it’s not tape that’s most frequently considered integral to a box’s fitness. That consideration is given to basis weight, flute, board, dimensions, manufacturer’s joint, and rating (Mullen or Edge Crush). And although the Box Maker’s Certificate (BMC) lists Gross Weight Limit, it’s under the assumption of a secure bottom.
When the bottom falls out, contents loss and damage are likely, squandering all the time and cost expended up to that point. Even if some of the contents are salvageable, there’s still the additional time and cost for repackaging. Plus, there’s the damage to goodwill resulting from dissatisfied associates and customers.
Separately, there’s the specter of physical injury, when falling contents strike someone who is lifting or carrying the box. Being struck is not the only possible cause of injury, either. It can result from bodily contortions performed as someone attempts to either catch the contents or get out of the way. Physical injury can happen anywhere in the supply chain, to a worker or to a consumer.
in distribution centers, order-fulfillment centers, and throughout e-commerce. Since WAT can’t be removed without structural damage to the box, nor reapplied, it provides a tamper-evident feature.
WAT does not have to be removed when recycling the box. That’s not as true of reinforced WAT: filaments sandwiched between kraft layers, held together as a laminate. The added strength of reinforced WAT comes at a trade-off of not only recyclability but also of a higher price. Another price trade-off of WAT (reinforced or not) is the necessity of a water source, i.e., a reservoir. On the credit side, all versions of WAT are printable, thus functional as a medium for communication.
Because RSCs arrive knocked down, they must be set up and have their bottoms sealed before being loaded. So, users of RSCs need to know categories of tape, along with the factors that justify a particular choice. The factors are application-specific, including the contents’ weight, fragility, and value, along with the supply chain profile.
All tapes (at a minimum) consist of two components: a backing (substrate) and an adhesive. A strong applied pattern is the H-pattern, named for its resemblance to that letter. It’s formed by applying a strip of tape along the center seam of the bottom and separate strips up and along the seam where the bottom and end panels meet. Another strong pattern is a single strip of tape that runs the bottom’s center seam and up the end panels.
Water-activated tape (WAT) consists of a kraft paper backing and a dry corn starch-based adhesive that becomes sticky when moistened. The adhesive is absorbed into the fibers of the box, a fusion that results in a strong seal. Its strength makes it suitable for contents that are heavy and/or expensive, especially when parcel post shipping (with its rough handling) is involved. The latter fact is why WAT finds usage
Pressure-sensitive tape (PST) seals are surface seals because there is no fusion into the fibers of the box. Three attractions are at play: adhesion, cohesion, and tack. Adhesion refers to the bond between the adhesive and the box. Cohesion refers to the inner strength (hold-togetherness) of the adhesive. Tack refers to how well the adhesive sticks to the box on initial contact.
A popular PST has bi-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) as its backing and an acrylic-based adhesive. Its performance endures the physical forces imposed by a wide variety of supply chains. That, in addition to environmental conditions such as exposures to UV light, coldto-hot temperatures, and low-to-high relative humidity. The tape is transparent, compatible with boxes that sport an outer liner of bleached kraft that is printed with text and graphics.
A company experiencing bottoms falling out should not simply apply more tape, whether by width, length, or number of strips. Corrugated mummies aren’t the answer, given the increased material costs and the decreased operational efficiencies. As with all packaging-related decisions, success hinges on a systems approach: identifying components, quantifying their interrelatedness, and balancing trade-offs, for optimal results.
Useful resources include various performance testing protocols issued by ASTM, ISTA, ISO, and PSTC (Pressure-Sensitive Tape Council). They address such particulars as peel, tensile, shear, vibration, and drop—all under standardized temperature and RH. Tape suppliers typically commission laboratories to conduct the testing. Tape users, on the other hand, can require that certain test ratings be cited on the specification. The subject of testing gives new meaning to the phrase, “measuring tape.” PW
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In this annual Q&A, AMERIPEN’s new policy director and general counsel, Danielle Waterfield, provides updates on current state and federal packaging policy, along with insights on what to expect this year.
As we head into 2026, how would you characterize the overall packaging policy landscape at the state level?
We’re entering 2026 at a full sprint rather than a reset, especially with 2026 being a huge election year. While many 2025 state legislative sessions were long and complex, most 2026 sessions will be shorter. But that doesn’t mean the activity slows down. In fact, many states started prefiling legislation in late 2025 or have already carried bills over into the new year. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging, recycled content requirements, chemical restrictions, and truth-in-labeling claims will continue to dominate the policy conversation, with real potential for significant developments in several states.
Which states are shaping up to be the biggest battlegrounds for packaging EPR in 2026?
New York is clearly a critical state considering EPR in 2026. The primary legislation under debate there, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S.1464/A.1749), would create the most restrictive and unworkable packaging EPR law in the country. It would set the most stringent source reduction mandate (30%) in the country, impacting all packaging, not just plastic, like in California. While the Assembly bill narrowly failed in 2025, it will pick up in 2026 right where it ended, and the Senate bill will re-enter the process. The question is whether lawmakers pursue compromise or continue advancing a proposal that raises serious concerns for businesses in New York and across the country.
Massachusetts is another state to watch. Regarding EPR, while two packaging EPR bills moved forward in 2025, the state’s EPR Commission indicated that further study is needed before proceeding. As such, we will be looking for a potential needs-assessment approach and activity from the newly recommended solid waste subcommittee. In addition, a recyclability labeling bill, in the newly amended form of HB 4810, moved forward in December and is now in the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill would prohibit misleading or deceptive claims about product recyclability in advertising and on packaging. Companies using terms like “recyclable” or the chasing arrows symbol would be required to maintain documentation proving the recyclability of their products in Massachusetts and meet Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
New Jersey has been active on packaging policy in recent years. What’s the outlook there?
New Jersey is unique in that its current legislative session doesn’t formally end until January 12, 2026. While we don’t anticipate passage of one of the most problematic EPR and labeling bills this
session, we expect some version of them to be reintroduced in the 2026-27 session. The question is whether those proposals come back unchanged and include unworkable elements—such as the highest source reduction mandate (50%) for plastic packaging in the country and the ability for the state to direct EPR revenues to other programs during tough economic times—or reflect more moderate, workable approaches that could gain broader support by industry.
Are there other states where new packaging policy proposals are likely to emerge in 2026?
Absolutely. On the legislative and regulatory fronts, states such as California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia could become active, depending on political will and legislative interest. AMERIPEN is already engaged in coalition-building and monitoring efforts in many of these states, so we’re ready to respond quickly if proposals gain momentum.
Beyond legislation, what trends are you seeing on the regulatory side of packaging policy?
Regulatory activity continues at a steady pace, particularly in states that have packaging EPR laws and are further along in the implementation process. Regulations for California’s EPR law (SB 54) are nearing adoption, with supply reporting deadlines and early program fees rolling out early this year. Moreover, Colorado
will become the second state with an active EPR program in mid2026, following approval of its program plan. States such as Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington are at different stages of EPR rulemaking or implementation. What’s consistent across states is the complexity of these regulatory processes and the importance of stakeholder engagement to ensure rules are practical, flexible, and grounded in real-world operations.
There are also several regulatory matters other than EPR on the horizon. For example, in California, the state’s recyclability claim requirements (SB 343) are set to take effect in October 2026, absent any rule corrections or enacted federal preemption. New Mexico is undergoing a rulemaking to implement the PFAS Substances Protection Act (H.B. 212). In a similar fashion, Minnesota will implement the final rules adopted in December 2025 under Amara’s Law, which describe what manufacturers using PFAS will report. The rules also authorized the agency to establish more details in the future. This is in addition to undergoing the final review of its PFAS Reporting Information System for Manufacturers, which will launch for reporting on July 1, 2026.
Having spent many hours in state houses discussing the nuances of EPR for packaging over the last several years, has AMERIPEN changed how it thinks about and advocates related to EPR?
Yes, I’d say we have. While seven states have enacted EPR so far, we haven’t seen the outcomes from those laws yet. We really need
to understand what’s working and what’s not if we want effective and efficient programs that truly drive a circular economy. For that reason, we recommend that proper time is needed to evaluate implementation in these states and develop lessons learned before other states adopt new laws.
California has long been a bellwether for packaging regulation. What’s on the horizon there?
While California’s 2025 session ended without major changes to existing packaging-related laws, several issues are likely to resurface in 2026. Proposed reforms to the rigid plastic packaging container law and legislation restricting certain chemicals in food packaging are both expected to return.
Turning to federal policy, what are AMERIPEN’s priorities heading into 2026?
A major priority is advancing the Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act, or PACK Act (H.R.6832), which was introduced by Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) in December. The goal is to create a national framework under the FTC for recyclable, compostable, and reusable claims on consumer packaging, addressing the growing patchwork of state laws and reducing confusion for consumers and businesses alike. If organizations are interested in learning more about this critical bill and showing their support, I invite them to visit ameripen.org/pack-act.
We’re also closely tracking federal recycling and reuse legislation,
including bills focused on improving data collection, expanding recycling access through tax credits, and evaluating reuse and refill systems. These efforts reflect a growing recognition that strong data and infrastructure investment are essential to improving packaging recovery nationwide.
What advice would you give packaging companies preparing for 2026?
Engagement is more important than ever. Companies should monitor both legislative and regulatory developments. Understanding where proposals are headed and engaging early can make a meaningful difference in shaping workable outcomes. AMERIPEN’s role is to bring the full packaging value chain perspective into these conversations, and 2026 will be a critical year for doing just that.
Additionally, it’s imperative that companies collaborate internally to prepare for what’s to come, given that policy is driving many trends in the packaging industry today. Whether you’re a CEO, packaging engineer, marketer, procurement officer, or have other responsibilities that touch packaging, there’s a good chance that packaging policy is, or will be, impacting your company. Understanding policy is a crucial risk management strategy these days. —Anne Marie Mohan
AMERIPEN, a material-neutral trade association for the packaging industry, is focused on the intersection of packaging policy and the environment, and educates the industry on the value of packaging.
By Ken McGuire, Contributor
The world of new package and product development has changed dramatically over the past 20 to 30 years. When I began my career three decades ago, the only way to obtain “real-world” purchase data for a new product or package concept was to run a full-fledged test market. This process was expensive, slow, and resource intensive. It typically required producing thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands—of units, securing placement on retail shelves, and then monitoring consumer behavior over several months. A successful test market also demanded costly marketing components such as TV advertising, printed materials, in-store displays, and even live product demonstrations. Simply put, testing a new idea meant making a major financial commitment long before anyone knew whether the product would resonate with consumers.
Today, the landscape is unrecognizable compared with those early days. E-commerce, social media, and AI tools have transformed not only the way consumers discover and purchase products, but also the way brands can explore ideas, refine concepts, and build confidence before entering full production. These technologies dramatically reduce the cost of testing while allowing teams to gather meaningful data within days instead of months. As a result, by the time a new product or package reaches full-scale launch, the company is operating with far more insight—and far more confidence—than was ever possible in the past.
Through my work with Fortune 100 companies as well as small, ambitious startups, I’ve had the opportunity to see how transformative these new tools can be. They level the playing field in a way that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago. In this column, I’ll explore a practical example and discuss several creative ways these emerging capabilities can guide modern product and package development.
Let’s imagine I want to create a new face wash brand. Years ago, I would have needed to design a package, hire an agency to create artwork, manufacture at least a small batch of product, and arrange retail distribution just to get consumer feedback. Today, the process looks very different.
I begin by finding a simple stock package photo—like the white, round squeeze bottle shown in image A on this page. I upload this into ChatGPT and ask it to generate artwork concepts based on a brand story I’ve defined. After a few iterations, I have a realistic looking, fully branded package. I then ask the AI to place the package “in context,” such as sitting on the ledge of a shower or next to a
bathroom sink. What once required graphic designers, photographers, and studio time can now be prototyped in minutes, as shown in image B below.
So how do I take this virtual prototype and learn something meaningful about selling a product that does not yet exist?
I can build a simple e-commerce landing page containing a brand description, product benefits, pricing information, and multiple realistic visual assets. A “Buy Now” button completes the illusion of a fully launched product. When a visitor clicks to purchase, they are taken to a page stating the item is currently out of stock and given the option to be notified when it becomes available.
BAFrom plain pack stock image (A) to a (hypothetical) branded prototype, shown in context on a shower shelf (B), AI artwork and context images now take minutes, not weeks.
By tracking both the number of visitors and the number of purchase attempts, I can calculate conversion rates, test messaging effectiveness, and estimate potential demand. This type of insight once required expensive mass production runs and months of field data. Now it can be gathered over a single weekend.
One of the biggest advantages of virtual testing is the ability to iterate quickly. Pricing, artwork, product descriptions, and even the “shape” of the package can be modified rapidly to explore their impact. Social media platforms make it possible to show ads to highly targeted audiences at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.
These ads can drive consumers directly to the testing website, and analytics tools can reveal which groups respond most favorably.
For example, if most of my traffic comes from young, single women, but the clicks on the “Buy Now” button are coming from a different demographic entirely, that tells me something important about how the message is being received. I can also learn whether my story is attracting affluent shoppers, budget-conscious consumers, or a mix of both. These insights help shape not only product design but long-term brand strategy.
When I think back to my early years at Procter & Gamble in the late 1990s, I’m struck by the contrast. The company was committed to launching new products, and from that environment came household names such as Febreze, ThermaCare, and Press’n Seal. But many other promising ideas didn’t make it beyond the test-market stage. If we had access to today’s rapid-testing capabilities, we could have saved enormous amounts of time, money, and effort—while learning even more about consumer behavior.
Not all companies start with a blank slate. Many already have a prototype product in hand and are looking for ways to refine positioning or price before scaling up. Last year, I worked with a new skincare company that had fully developed formulas, polished artwork, and high-quality packaging. Their challenge was not product creation—it was understanding demand.
Their initial sales channel was Amazon, and together we decided to treat the launch as a controlled experiment. In the e-commerce environment, it’s easy to adjust price, refine copy, test new photography, or reposition the brand within weeks, or even days. We asked questions such as: What happens to sales if we double the price? Do they fall by half, or by more? What if we cut the price in half? Does volume grow enough to offset the margin loss? Which product images drive the most clicks? Which bullet points resonate most strongly with shoppers?
By treating the launch as a learning opportunity rather than a final verdict, the brand quickly gained clarity on how real customers behaved. The brand then made smarter decisions as a result.
The tools available today to product developers, package designers, and brand owners are genuinely game-changing. They enable rapid experimentation, informed decision-making, and highly targeted marketing at a scale that was once possible only for the world’s largest companies. Small brands now have the ability to compete with industry giants by using creativity, agility, and data-informed insight.
Those who embrace these modern testing capabilities will develop smarter products, reduce risk, and move forward with far greater confidence. And in the coming years, I believe the brands that leverage e-commerce experimentation, social platforms, and AI-driven design most effectively will be the ones that emerge as tomorrow’s success stories. PW
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By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor
Accessibility is often discussed as a feature to be added or a box to be checked, but Kevin Marshall, senior director of design, packaging and content at Microsoft, sees it differently. For him, inclusive design is inseparable from responsibility. “Every decision that we make as creators can raise or lower barriers to participation in society,” he said. “It’s our collective responsibility to lower those barriers through inclusive products and practices.”
That responsibility is especially visible in packaging—an everyday interface that can either invite people in or quietly shut them out. Marshall argues that packaging is rarely neutral; it shapes who can independently access a product and who must ask for help. When designers overlook accessibility, exclusion is often the unintended result.
Designing inclusively, Marshall explained, begins with recognizing human diversity as the norm rather than the exception. Roughly 1.3 billion people worldwide live with a significant disability, and many more experience temporary or situational limitations over the course of their lives. “There is no them and us,” he said. “There’s only us.”
The Xbox Adaptive Controller packaging marked a turning point for Microsoft, prompting the team to rethink traditional measures of packaging success and design a box that reflects the same inclusive intent as the product inside.
These ideas framed Marshall’s presentation last October at London Packaging Week, where he shared how Microsoft’s approach to packaging has evolved from focusing primarily on protection, branding, and unboxing moments to embracing accessibility as a core measure of success.
Source: Microsoft’s “Creating Accessible Packaging—An Inclusive Design Guide”
One of my designers actually wrote him back and said, ‘We think about people like you when we design boxes,’” Marshall shared.
As Marshall explained, for Microsoft, the importance of designing for inclusion became clear through a product design project that challenged long-held assumptions. The pivotal moment came with Microsoft’s development of the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a gaming device created for players with limited mobility. Marshall shared how that launch transformed the company’s approach to packaging as well. “We discovered principles that we didn’t know existed,” he said. “Principles like ‘nothing about us without us,’ or ‘design for one, extend to many.’”
The team quickly realized that if a controller was built to include more people, the packaging itself needed to reflect the same intent. That realization led to a profound shift in what success meant for Microsoft’s packaging team. “We completely reinvented how we approached creating a package and what a package can be,” Marshall said.
The reaction from customers was immediate. He recalled a gamer from New Zealand who posted an emotional unboxing video. “He said, ‘It’s like you see me. Who thinks about me when they make a box?’
That moment inspired both operational and cultural change at Microsoft. “From that point forward, we decided to really lean in and build an operational foundation and a design culture around inclusive experiences,” he said. The outcome of that effort was a set of accessible design principles that continue to guide the company’s work today. These principles, detailed in Microsoft’s inclusive design guide, serve as the foundation for designing products that work for everyone.
The guide identifies nine core principles:
• Simple is best. Explained Marshall, “More simple steps are easier than fewer complicated steps.” The goal is to create packaging that is straightforward and intuitive.
• Identifiable elements. Features must be easy to locate and understand. Clear visual and tactile cues guide users naturally through unboxing.
• Materials matter. “People are inventive,” the guide notes, emphasizing that materials should be safe and pleasant to handle for users with varying dexterity.
• Ready access. “People want to engage with products on their own terms,” the guide explains. Multiple access points allow flexibility.
• Reduce pivot-points. The fewer motions needed to open a package, the more inclusive the design.
• Low physical effort. Packaging should require minimal strength or grip.
• Size, space, stability. “Be mindful of how products are contained,” the guide advises, ensuring that users of all body types can access products easily.
• Mindful moments. Marshall said that “physical and visual moments are more accessible when they’re unmistakable and lead the user to the next logical step.”
• No tools needed. Packaging should not require scissors, knives, or other instruments to open. “Designing straightforward packaging that performs with no assistance required seems obvious,” Marshall said, “but it’s tricky when you consider the breadth of diversity of consumers.”
Marshall described how these principles shape real products. In discussing Microsoft’s redesign of its Surface and Xbox Series X console packaging, he said, “Principles applied become a language. As long as you’re designing with your customer and not just for your customer, you stand a pretty good chance of doing something that resonates.”
For the Surface family of touchscreen-based PCs, tablets, and interactive whiteboards, Marshall’s team focused on subtle inclusivity, meaning packaging that felt premium but not “purpose-built.” For Xbox, accessibility was front and center, with bold tactile cues and structural consistency across models. “It’s proof that as long as you’re putting people and their needs at the center of your work, inclusive package making isn’t an exercise in rinse and repeat, but more an exploration into possibility.”
He also described the development of the Xbox Adaptive Joystick package as an example of how inclusive design can support business goals. The team used an existing automated box to keep costs low while adding accessible features such as loops, die cuts, and tabs. “Inclusive packaging design did not create imbalance in the cost equation,” Marshall said. “It did its part to facilitate business success.”
Marshall also underscored the value of collaboration. “Co-designing is more than just running user tests or surveying customer preferences,” he said. “It’s the recognition that members of the disability community are the true experts.”
At Microsoft, this philosophy takes shape in the Inclusive Tech Lab, a space built to support learning directly from people with disabilities. The lab brings together designers, engineers, and community members to explore how different assistive tools work together.
“People don’t use assistive tools one at a time,” a member of the lab team explained in a video shared by Marshall. “They layer them.” This layering helps the team understand how products and packaging function in real-world contexts, revealing where barriers still exist.
According to the design guide, multiple access points give users flexibility in how they engage with packaging, allowing people to choose the path that works best for them rather than forcing a single, prescribed unboxing experience. Source: Microsoft’s “Creating Accessible Packaging—An Inclusive Design Guide”
The lab’s design itself also reflects intentional inclusivity. Every texture, color, and acoustic element was chosen to ensure comfort for visitors who may be sensitive to sensory environments. The space hosts tours, workshops, and inclusive design sprints that encourage collaboration between Microsoft teams and external partners. “The lab is a place where we have the freedom to explore what an ideal accessible world looks like,” one team member said.
Marshall called the lab a cornerstone of Microsoft’s inclusive
design process. “Creating an accessible product is simply not enough,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s a great and empowering experience.”
The lab’s approach emphasizes storytelling as a bridge between design and empathy. Members of the disability community share their lived experiences, giving designers a deeper understanding of how packaging and products impact daily life. These conversations, Marshall said, help designers make a genuine emotional connection with people who use their products.
The presentation concluded with an invitation to explore Microsoft’s inclusive packaging design guide. “We decided to put all of our learnings into one place and open source our accessibility journey,” Marshall said. The guide offers practical steps, metrics, and models for companies looking to begin or expand their accessibility journey. “It’s not perfect,” he admitted, “but it’s a start.”
Marshall concluded his presentation with a reflection on the ongoing effort required to create meaningful change. “We can’t change the world overnight, and we can’t change the world alone,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t avail ourselves of the little opportunities to make a difference where and when we can.” PW
What follows on sustainability, e-commerce, and automation is only a portion of our full 2026 Annual Outlook Report. The full report also covers trends in healthcare packaging, digitalization and AI, packaging workforce, and contract manufacturing/packaging, plus more. Visit pwgo.to/9052 or scan the QR to access the full report.
As regulation, fulfillment complexity, and labor realities reshape packaging decisions, brands are being pushed to rethink materials, formats, and operations, and they have to do so all at once.
Packaging decisions in 2026 are increasingly defined by tradeoffs. Across sustainability, e-commerce, and automation, brand owners and manufacturers are navigating a landscape where performance expectations are rising, constraints are tightening, and long-term strategy matters more than ever.
Sustainability has entered a more regulated, execution-focused phase. Material choices are now driven less by aspiration and more by compliance, cost, and proven recovery pathways, with paper, recyclable monomaterials, recycled content, and lightweighting emerging as pragmatic priorities.
At the same time, Extended Producer Responsibility and labeling rules are reshaping how sustainability is measured, and ultimately, paid for. Automation and robotics continue
their steady climb, driven by labor scarcity, throughput demands, and ROI discipline. Adoption is cautious but decisive, with investments concentrating where they deliver the fastest returns and the greatest operational resilience.
In e-commerce and D2C, product protection remains non-negotiable, even as brands face pressure to reduce materials, meet platform requirements, and deliver a compelling unboxing experience. The result is not a single dominant strategy, but a range of channel-specific and omnichannel approaches designed to balance durability, sustainability, and cost in a demanding parcel environment.
Together, these forces reveal a packaging industry adapting in real time—optimizing not for perfection, but for progress under pressure.
—Matt Reynolds
In the pages that follow, PMMI Media Group editors reveal, analyze, interpret, and discuss with experts results of the second annual Packaging World Annual Outlook Report. The data re ects responses exclusively from self-reported consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, and food and beverage manufacturers. Surveys contained eight to 11 questions each and were collected July-Sept., 2025. Surveys were sent via email, with quantitative (multi-select) and qualitative (write-in) questions. Responses were submitted via an online form.
(page 48)—95 respondents
(page 60)—111 respondents
E-comm & D2C (page 66)—76 respondents
Paper’s rise, the growth in recyclable monomaterial rigids, an increased demand for recycled content, and emerging EPR rules converge in 2026, reshaping material strategies across the packaging landscape.
By Anne Marie Mohan, Senior Editor, Packaging World
As sustainable packaging enters a more mature and regulated phase, material decisions are increasingly shaped by compliance, cost, and proven recovery pathways rather than aspirational intent alone. This second Annual Outlook Report on Sustainable Packaging reveals how paper’s continued dominance, the rapid rise of recyclable monomaterial plastics, and expanding extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks are redefining packaging strategies in 2026. Drawing on year-over-year survey data and industry analysis, the report highlights a clear shift from pledges to execution, as brands prioritize recyclability, recycled content, and material reduction in response to regulatory pressure and operational realities.
Over the last two years, the most prominent trend in the primary packaging mix has been the acceleration of paperization, i.e., the shift toward paper, paperboard, and fiber-based structures as preferred primary packaging materials. Paper/fiberbased materials were already dominant when we conducted our survey in 2024, but their role expanded further in 2025. Corrugated rose from 39.08% to 41.38%, and paperboard showed a major jump from 19.54% to 31.03%, reinforcing that paper is not only entrenched, but is also gaining share across multiple formats.
This momentum aligns with broader industry analysis. PMMI’s “New Material World – Compass Update”* notes that brands continue to shift toward recyclable, fiber-based formats because they align with emerging regulations, provide high consumer acceptance, and integrate into existing recovery systems. Consumer research from McKinsey & Co.** similarly finds that consumers rate paper and fiber packaging as highly recyclable and environmentally favorable, fueling brand enthusiasm for paper-based packaging.
*Percentages add up to more than 100% since respondents were asked to choose more than one option.
While paper rose, two other contrasting shifts occurred. First, rigid plastics surged from 25.29% to 65.51%, driven
mostly by more recyclable, monolayer formats. Second, bio-based and compostables collapsed from 10.35% to essentially 0%, reflecting a stalled infrastructure, performance challenges, and increased regulatory scrutiny. Glass dropped sharply (from 12.64% to 3.45%), reinforcing the preference for lightweight, curbsiderecyclable materials like corrugated and paperboard. Metals remained stable, filling specific structural or barrier roles rather than growing as sustainability-forward options.
“When we look at sustainability, we think there are three big concerns. One is circularity, and that’s driving recyclability and recycled content. The second is waste ending up in nature, and that’s driving a reduction of packaging materials. And the third is greenhouse gases. We have a global warming issue, and we have to decarbonize to address that. As we know, no single substrate’s better at all three. A paper solution may be more recyclable in some applications than a plastic one but could have a higher carbon footprint. So usually, brands are emphasizing one of those dimensions. It’s really hard to emphasize all three in a package.”
— David Feber, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
The past year marked a decisive shift toward active packaging transformation. In our 2025 Outlook Report, using data collected in 2024, more than half of companies reported no plans to change materials; by the time we collected the responses for the 2026 report, that figure dropped to 20%, reflecting mounting pressure from emerging regulatory deadlines and stricter recyclability labeling rules, including state laws targeting unsubstantiated claims and anticipated FTC Green Guides updates.
According to McKinsey’s David Feber, pent-up demand is also driving this acceleration. Many brands postponed packaging changes during the pandemic due to supply-chain instability, destocking cycles, and resin uncertainty, delaying projects that would otherwise have progressed. As supply chains normalized in 2024, companies regained the capacity and confidence to advance previously stalled initiatives. This “catch-up cycle,” combined with tariff exposure and sourcing-risk concerns, is propelling material updates across categories, he says. Within this renewed momentum, paper substrates dominate. Planned moves into corrugated, molded pulp, and paperboard rose sharply, supported by consumer preference for fiber, established recycling pathways, and alignment with emerging EPR fee structures that classify
paper as lower cost and higher recovery.
Rigid plastics also expanded, with increased adoption planned of monolayer formats, which are valued for their performance, recyclability, and compatibility with higher
*Percentages add up to more than 100% since respondents were asked to choose more than one option.
PCR use. Flexible plastics saw moderate gains, particularly in monomaterial films, though recycling infrastructure and barrier requirements still limit conversion. Meanwhile, biobased and compostable packaging declined, as companies favor materials with clearer recovery routes, predictable costs, and better equipment compatibility.
Despite major shifts in materials and planned redesigns, public sustainability or GHG reduction commitments remain essentially unchanged: 39.02% in 2025 and 40% in 2026. This plateau reflects the reality that many large companies already established their packaging commitments several years ago— often between 2018 and 2021—and are now transitioning from pledges to execution. McKinsey reports that most top global CPGs already have public packaging targets, supporting this trend.
The majority (60%) still have no public commitments, suggesting that smaller manufacturers, private brands, and resource-constrained firms may be cautious about taking on public-facing accountability. PMMI Compass
interviews support this interpretation, indicating that some companies prioritize compliance first, communication later. Has your company made public commitments around sustainable packaging?
Recyclability remains the foremost priority when companies evaluate material changes, holding above 50% in both years of the survey. In the data collected in 2025 for the 2026 report, however, two considerations rose sharply in importance: material reduction (from 21.25% to 37.5%) and recycled content (from 25% to 37.5%). These shifts reflect a growing emphasis on lowering total material use, increasing circular inputs, and improving recovery value. This is consistent with PMMI’s Compass findings that source reduction and PCR integration can reduce both environmental impact and EPR-related costs.
Climate considerations also became more prominent over the past year. GHG/CO2 reduction climbed from 15% to 20.83% as more companies formalize Scope 3 reporting and look to packaging as a leverage point for measurable emissions reductions.
What are your top considerations when making a material change?*
*Percentages add up to more than 100% since respondents were asked to choose more than one option
At the same time, interest in biobased and compostable materials fell sharply. This decline mirrors well-documented market challenges that include higher costs, a limited composting infrastructure, performance variability, and greater
scrutiny. McKinsey’s research also shows that consumers place far more value on recyclability and recycled content than on bio-based or compostable claims.
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Companies are embracing recycled content, but the shift remains weighted toward low-to-mid PCR levels. The largest increase occurred in the 1% to 25% PCR band (from 40% to 54.17%), suggesting broad adoption of baseline circularity. The 26% to 50% band grew slightly, while higher-level PCR tiers (51% to 75% and 76% to 100%) declined significantly. This distribution reflects supply-chain and performance realities. McKinsey’s analysis notes that food-grade PCR—
especially polypropylene and polyethylene—remains constrained and expensive. PMMI confirms that while PCR availability is improving, cost and performance still prevent widespread, high-percentage adoption.
The decline in the 0% PCR category (from 7.5% to 4.17%) is significant, showing that most companies are now making at least small moves toward PCR compliance ahead of regulatory mandates.
The data shows a dramatic pivot in recycled material use. Paper remained the largest category but declined in share as rigid plastics surged. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) paper decreased slightly, while post-industrial recycled (PIR) paper dropped sharply as brands prioritized post-consumer circularity.
Rigid plastics were the standout category: PCR rigid usage grew from 25.64% to 62.5%, while PIR rigid went to zero, indicating a move away from internal waste streams. Flexible plastics declined in both PCR and PIR usage, reinforcing long-standing technical barriers in integrating recycled content into high-performance flexibles. Glass and metals showed small declines as recycled inputs, remaining niche.
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Barriers to sustainable packaging adoption are shifting from issues of awareness and material access toward more practical economic and operational constraints. Cost remains the most significant hurdle, though its influence is gradually declining as PCR supply improves and pricing becomes more competitive. Even with this progress however, manufacturers still face price volatility, limited availability of food-grade PCR, and variability in material quality. Equipment compatibility remains a persistent challenge and shows little improvement year over year. PMMI research notes that material transitions often require modified sealing temperatures, altered forming characteristics, or adjustments to maintain barrier performance. These challenges are particularly acute for compostable materials and emerging monomaterial flexible structures, which do not always run reliably on legacy equipment. For many manufacturers, retrofitting or upgrading machinery represents a significant investment, slowing broader adoption of newer substrates. Meanwhile, barriers such as material availability and lack of expertise continue to decline. Organizations such as the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) have expanded design-for-recycling guidance, educational resources, industry training, and supplier support, helping improve technical literacy across packaging teams. These initiatives have contributed to standardizing terminology, clarifying recyclability pathways, and reducing confusion around material specifications and end-of-life outcomes. What will be the greatest hurdles to changing materials?*
“In some cases, compostable packaging is not being given strong incentives in the EPR fee structures coming out of early implementation plan. Companies may be feeling this uncertainty, and these numbers may reflect a hesitancy to commit to these materials before seeing whether they will be incentivized in fee structures in other states.”
— Olga Kachook, Director, Sustainable Packaging
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Packaging material decisions in the U.S. are undergoing a clear shift as regulatory requirements replace consumer demand as the primary driver. Companies are moving from voluntary sustainability efforts toward a more compliance-focused phase shaped by emerging EPR programs, stricter recyclability labeling rules, and heightened expectations for substantiating environmental claims. This transition is prompting brands to prioritize materials with well-defined recovery pathways that limit future EPR costs and reduce the risk of overstated recyclability. As a result, recyclability and recycled content have become foundational design criteria rather than optional enhancements.
Cost considerations are rising as well. Lightweighting, downgauging, and strategic substrate selection now serve both sustainability goals and economic pressures,
especially as inflation, supply-chain recalibration, and PCR price volatility tighten the link between cost and compliance. While consumer demand still matters, it increasingly plays a secondary role as policy, economics, and infrastructure shape the material strategies guiding packaging decisions in 2026.
“I think we’ll continue to see lightweighting for cost. Cost is going to be more predominant.” — David Feber, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Respondents anticipate major movement in EPR, EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), and transparency in reporting, mirroring the shift in importance of regulations. The increased availability of recyclable formats and PCR is frequently mentioned, including monomaterial flexibles and higher-PCR rigid containers. Alternative materials, such as seaweed films, bioplastics, and compostables, are viewed as emerging rather than mainstream, reflecting performance and infrastructure limitations.
Lightweighting and reduced plastic use continue as key strategies aligned with cost and compliance. PW
According to Packaging World’s Annual Outlook Report survey, companies are turning to automation to solve labor constraints and throughput demands while simultaneously grappling with higher costs and internal alignment challenges.
By Sean Riley, Editor-in-Chief, OEM Magazine
At first glance, the 2026 results of our Packaging World reader survey of CPGs on automation and robotics mirror those of its 2025 predecessor. A closer look at the numbers confirms the trends established last year, with incremental or steady increases or decreases where applicable. Motivations intensified around reducing labor cost and addressing labor scarcity, while cost has become an even bigger hurdle, and deployment has shifted decisively to end-of-line and secondary packaging.
Cautious But Decisive Climb Automation adoption (2025 vs 2026)
65% Automation adoption
69% Automation adoption
In 2026, 69% of surveyed companies say they will add automation, cobots, or robotics to packaging operations, compared with 65% in 2025. The rise is incremental rather than explosive, but it is notable for reflecting a confidence trend: even as budgets feel the pressure, more CPGs view automation as the prudent hedge against an unreliable labor market and persistent input cost inflation. That perspective closely echoes last year's narrative, which found that workforce constraints and costs simultaneously drove adoption and restraint—a paradox that persists into 2026.
“Automation adoption will increase. Even if the labor market and inflation improve, companies don’t want to be caught in another pinch as they were during the pandemic. As projects can be justified to boards, they will continue making cases for lower operating cost equipment over expensive labor.”
—
Ryan Simmons, Site Director, Second Nature Brands
Motivations Increase in Intensity
The strongest reasons in favor of adding automation strengthened year over year. In 2026, reducing labor cost/good ROI jumped to 71% (from 61% in 2025), difficulty finding labor climbed to 44% (from 33%), and adding speed/throughput rose to 40% (from 34%). Interest in accuracy/ repeatability and safety/ergonomics also ticked up, rounding out a profile that blends financial, operational, and risk controls.
This spike in cost-centric motivations aligns with broader evidence that companies are pairing automation with AI/vision to protect margins and meet volume targets amid tight labor. The 2025 workforce driver stressed how labor realities were the primary catalyst; 2026 data reveals that firms are now quantifying ROI more aggressively to win internal buy-in.
“Automation is a huge differentiator for reducing the end cost to consumers… in a time of increasing costs, anything that can be done to reduce costs and consumer prices is a must.”
— Cody Loewen, Packaging Engineer, Hill’s Pet Nutrition
The barriers to automation and robotics implementation grew more pronounced in 2026. The cost of automation/weak ROI case surged to 73% (from 50% in 2025), limited floor space/footprint to 49% (from 35%), and ability to find skilled technicians to 35% (from 31%). Concerns about the complexity of programming and the inflexibility of equipment remain material, even as cobots and software reduce integration friction.
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As in 2025, 2026 robotics deployment priorities skew heavily toward end-of-line (61%) and secondary packaging (59%), up from 39% and 33%, respectively, in 2025. Primary packaging also gains to 37% (from 25%), while fulfillment/warehouse interest sits at 16% (vs. 6% in 2025). The pattern is unmistakable: firms are automating labor-intensive, ergonomically challenging, and high ROI tasks first. End-of-line and secondary packaging are also typically less disruptive to integrate, with mature cobot stacks, vision, and safety speeding deployment.
A case could also be made that, for larger CPGs, primary packaging would be the first area automated and could have already happened in years past.
Top allies vs top hurdles
Not surprisingly, Plant Operations (63%) and Engineering (49%) remain the top allies for pushing towards automation and robotics investment, with growing support from the C-suite (22%). The actual operators on the floor are aware of the benefits of the technology and serve as its biggest champion, and executive teams are “coming around,” especially when ROI is well documented. Conversely, Procurement (37%) and the C-suite (39%) figure prominently as hurdles in separate results sets—consistent with 2025 narratives about ROI proof points and capital approval being critical.
Procurement skepticism underscores the need for phased pilots, clear downtime plans, and total cost of ownership models that bridge the gap between engineering enthusiasm and capital discipline. PW
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Protection still dominates D2C packaging decisions in 2026, while SIOC/SIPP gains traction. Brands split between channel-specific and omnichannel packs, sell through multiple platforms, and juggle carrier reality with sustainability pressure.
By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor, Packaging World
Across the 2026 Annual Outlook Report on E-comm and D2C Packaging, one priority continues to tower over all others, and that’s product protection. Nearly seven in ten respondents rank robustness/sturdiness among their top attributes, reinforcing that damage prevention remains the core performance requirement in parcel shipping. Right behind it, the survey surfaces a more nuanced balancing act: sustainability and aesthetics are both highly valued, but brands are increasingly navigating the tradeoffs between environmental goals, unboxing expectations, and the structural demands of the “front porch” supply chain.
When it comes to how brands actually execute D2C packaging, the results don’t point to a single playbook so much as a plurality of workable approaches. Many respondents report using distinct retail and e-comm/D2C packs for the same product, while nearly as many stick with a single package across channels, often supported by over-boxing or corrugated case shipping. This mixed reality mirrors how brands go to market and fulfill orders: most are selling through multiple buying paths (their own sites, specialty channels, and major platforms like Amazon) while still keeping fulfillment largely in-house, often supplemented by 3PLs or platform fulfillment.
“We
can’t forget cost; digital/omni often is (today) lower volumes, lower economies of scale and more complexity. This will require brand owners and supply chains—not just packaging engineers—to work together in finding creative and scaleable solutions that protect the package, the consumer experience, sustainability (Extended Producer Responsibility) and the P&L”
— Andy Seys, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Engineering and Commercialization, Spectrum Brands
PFinally, data on adoption hurdles makes clear why “simple” solutions are elusive. The most commonly cited challenges cluster around carrier/parcel handling, designing for damage prevention, and meeting sustainability expectations—all at the same time. This is evidence that e-comm and D2C packaging is less about optimizing one variable and more about managing competing constraints and balancing tradeoffs. Open-ended responses to “what’s next?” add a forward-looking layer to that reality: respondents expect continued growth, intensifying sustainability pressure, and among a smaller but notable subset, greater influence from AI and automation on how packaging operations are managed and scaled.
roduct protection remains the non-negotiable packaging attribute in the 2026 results to the Annual Outlook Report on E-comm and D2C Packaging, just as it was in the 2025 results. Nearly seven in ten respondents (69%) selected robustness/sturdiness of the package structure as one of their top three most important attributes, up from 64% in 2025. That five-point gain just reinforces how hard it is for anything else to outrank basic damage prevention in the parcel environment, given how much it impacts profitability across all KPIs.
“It should be noted that fully automated packaging and unitizing is built for full truckload (FTL) palletized shipments that have a significantly lower number of ‘touches’ compared to e-commerce packages,” adds Brian Wagner, cofounder and principal of packaging consultancy PTIS. “These FTL shipments typically have as few as two to four touches, while e-commerce packages can be handled more
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“I’m not surprised by the sustainability shift. There are a lot of macro pressures on brands that have de-prioritized some of these efforts.” — Brent Lindberg, Head of Curiosity, Fuseneo, Inc.
than a dozen times throughout their journey. When e-commerce was a small percentage of a brand owner’s sales, creating special packs was costly. Now, the higher volumes help justify the additional cost of automation with greater protection. In the late ’90s, the popularity of club stores requiring special packaging was a very similar challenge.”
mentions: 2025 vs 2026)
Robustness/ sturdiness of package structure
Sustainability profile of package
Appearance/ aesthetic of package
SIOC (Ships in own container) design
Use of internal dunnage and bracing
Reverse logistics, return-friendly
Just behind that top priority, the survey reveals a minor, but interesting reshuffle. In 2026, sustainability profile and appearance/aesthetic land in a tie for the #2 spot at 52% each— but they get there by moving in opposite directions. Sustainability drops from 59% in 2025 to 52% in 2026 (-7.3 points), while aesthetics climbs from 46% to 52% (+5.7 points). Taken together, that suggests brands are keeping sustainability in the conversation, but they’re also elevating the “front porch moment” and the unboxing experience. This is a familiar tension in D2C, where packaging has to perform structurally, and sustainably, while also carrying brand presence. There are always tradeoffs between these
“It was interesting that sustainability and the experience are now tied for #2 priority. When you look at recent trends around unboxing and premiumization, you see this reflected in the look of the package like the type of print coupled with brands choosing kraft over bleached full print packaging.”
— a packaging pro at a large food/bev CPG who chose not to be named
three pillars of e-comm packaging.
The most dramatic year-over-year change is further down the list: SIOC (ships in own container, now called SIPP, ships in product packaging, by Amazon) design posts the biggest jump, rising from 23% in 2025 to 31% in 2026 (+8.0 points). That shift hints at a growing interest in designs that simplify fulfillment and reduce waste, whether through fewer layers, fewer materials, or fewer touches, while also potentially improving how parcels survive shipping without additional over-boxing.
Meanwhile, some more traditional protective strategies appear to be losing emphasis. Internal dunnage and bracing declines from 18% to 14% (-4.2 points), which may signal that respondents are increasingly looking to the structure of the pack itself, or to right-sized/SIOC/SIPP approaches, rather than relying as heavily on added interior materials. Brands try to avoid “shipping air” when it can be avoided. And return-friendly packaging remains the least-selected attribute in both years, slipping slightly from 8% to 7% (-1.1 points). Even as returns remain a reality in e-commerce, respondents are still prioritizing prevention (avoid damage in the first place) and overall performance over optimizing for reverse logistics.
In 2026, respondents didn’t converge on a single “correct” packaging strategy for e-comm/ D2C. Instead, the data shows a plurality of workable approaches. The largest share say they use channel-specific designs for the same product, maintaining a retail-optimized package while also deploying a separate pack design optimized for the realities of parcel shipping and home delivery. Close behind, nearly as many take an omnichannel approach, using a single package design across retail and e-comm/D2C, often supported by secondary protection such as over-boxing or shipping the shelf pack in a corrugated case. A meaningful minority say their approach depends on the application, reflecting the fact that product fragility, brand goals, and distribution realities are a complex set of
+
D2C-optimized
variables and tradeoffs, and there’s no one calculus that will dictate whether or not packaging needs to diverge by channel—it’s product dependent.
Because the survey question was asked slightly differently in 2026 than in 2025 (including the presence of an “Other” option in 2026), any year-over-year contrast should be treated carefully, more as signals than definite trends. That said, two patterns across this project are
Note: 2025 vs 2026 multichannel question used slightly different response options/wording (incl. ‘Other’ in 2026)
at least worth watching together. In the Most Important E-Comm/D2C Packaging Attributes results on page 68, respondents elevated SIOC (Ships in Own Container) as a more important attribute in 2026. This is an approach closely tied to the rigors of the parcel environment and front-porch delivery, even when a SIOC-ready pack can still function as on a retail shelf in an omnichannel format. In this multichannel design question, 2026 also shows a sizable share of respondents choosing separate retail and e-comm/D2C packaging designs. Taken together, these signals suggest that some brands may be moving toward more purposeful channel optimization, even if this specific year-to-year comparison can’t be treated as a clean measurement or “shift.”
“Amazon financial implications of not meeting SIPP are likely a crucial factor impacting this answer. However, brand owners still struggle to meet SIPP/SIOC profitably.” — Brian Wagner, Cofounder and Principal of PTIS
Answers to this question, asked in this fashion for the first time this year, provide a snapshot suggesting that most brands are operating in a multichannel e-commerce reality rather than relying on a single route to market. A majority of respondents (61%) say consumers shop and order directly from their brand’s own website, and nearly as many (57%) report sales flowing through small or specialty e-commerce channels. This pool includes drop-shipper platforms that carry no inventory, or online-only marketplaces of similarly marketed goods. Large e-commerce shopping platforms (Amazon or Grove Collaborative) are also firmly in the mix, selected by 43% of respondents. The takeaway isn’t that one channel dominates—it’s that many brands are supporting multiple
buying paths at once, which helps explain why e-comm/ D2C packaging strategies often need to be flexible enough to perform across different fulfillment models and shipping environments.
“We have been talking about ‘omnichannel’ for a few years now, and companies realize they need a strategy to address packaging needs across channels. Some are doing this on their own, while others rely on outsourcing to expert companies who can manage the complexity.” — Brian Wagner, Cofounder and Principal of PTIS
This snapshot suggests that most brands in the sample are still hands-on with e-comm/D2C fulfillment: 82% say they package and fulfill their own orders. At the same time, a meaningful share are using outside partners in parallel—25% say third-party e-commerce platforms (e.g., Amazon-like models) package and fulfill orders, and 21% point to third-party logistics providers. In other words, even when brands retain in-house control, many are also operating in a hybrid fulfillment ecosystem, which can complicate packaging decisions. That’s because packouts, handling practices, and performance requirements may differ depending on whether orders ship from a brand facility, a 3PL, or a platform-run operation.
• Up to 40% improvement in contaminant detection
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Why
(Pooled 2025-2026 write-ins)
Cost/ROI
Operational Complexity/ Implementation
Not a priority/ haven’t considered
Product fit/safety/ regulatory
Reverse logistics/ getting it back
Customer participation/ education
External dependency (e g., Amazon-led)
Returnable/reusable packaging: why not, vs. why yes, vs. “I could be convinced”
Why not (57% of responses)
• “No, at our price point, the cost of shipping returnable/ reusable packaging far outweighs any cost benefits”
• “No, backwards logistics is an untenable complication.”
• “Food products. Cannot accept return packaging.”
• “Yes, makes returns easier for the consumer and ensures it ships back in proper packaging.”
• “Yes, a reusable container will reduce costs especially as the cost of corrugated increases.”
• “Yes we are considering returnable packaging for our local retail orders, but hadn't considered it yet for e-commerce because the emissions of returning packaging to Hawaii from across the country would upset the LCA of switching to this packaging. If there was a packaging option where people could return it locally wherever they were at we would be very interested.”
Pooled write-in feedback suggests that reusable/returnable packaging remains less a question of intent than of execution. When respondents say “no,” they most often cite the economics—either outright cost or the reality that return shipping and handling can overwhelm any packaging savings—followed closely by product-fit constraints (from food and hazmat to low-price, disposable items) and the operational complexity of reverse logistics. The “yes” responses, while fewer, point to specific use cases where reuse can pencil out: higher-value products, controlled loops, or programs designed to simplify customer returns. Even there, respondents flag practical hurdles such as return compliance and packaging performance requirements.
“Closed loop supply chains have always been required to make any financial sense of reusable containers, and even with that, in many situations, LCAs prove one-way disposable/recyclable packaging to be worse for the environment. TerraCycle’s Loop experiment continues to evolve via local retailers, rather than front porch drop off and returns. E-commerce and D2C will require significantly improved supply chains and other experiments for returnables or reusables to make any sense. Where there is demand, there will be innovative solutions.”
— a packaging pro from a CPG who chose not to be named
In this 2026 snapshot, the biggest hurdles to executing an e-comm/D2C packaging strategy cluster around a familiar threeway tradeoff: parcel handling realities, package performance, and sustainability expectations. Half of respondents point first to the cost and complexity of dealing with carriers (50%), underscoring how much packaging outcomes are shaped by the shipping environment outside a brand’s four walls. Close behind, designing robust packaging to prevent damage ranks nearly as high (46%), reinforcing that protection remains a defining challenge in the “front porch” supply chain. At the same time, addressing sustainability concerns is cited by 43%—suggesting that many teams are trying to reduce material and improve environmental performance without losing the structural integrity needed to survive distribution. Secondary hurdles include navigating third-party platforms (29%) and meeting aesthetic/unboxing expectations (25%), while fewer respondents cite return logistics (14%, see
Cost and complexity associated with...
page 74, only 25% of respondents say they have programs), product suitability (11%), or hiring a 3PL (11%). Overall, the distribution suggests that the toughest D2C packaging problems aren’t isolated design tasks—they’re balancing acts between durability, sustainability, and the unpredictable handling conditions of parcel networks.
Even with slightly different answer groupings year to year, the story is consistent in one key way: the fulfillment ecosystem remains to be perceived as a central constraint on e-comm/D2C packaging success. In 2025, carriers, 3PLs, and returns were grouped into a single “carrier complexity” bucket that led the list, and in 2026, carriers again top the hurdle list on their own. What changes in the 2026 snapshot is the prominence of pack performance and tradeoffs: respondents place damage prevention/robustness and sustainability near the top of their list of hurdles, suggesting that the toughest problems aren’t only logistical. They’re the design compromises required to survive parcel handling while meeting material, cost, and consumer expectations. This question was asked a slightly different way last year, so it can’t be simply illustrated graphically. But here are some apples-to-apples comparisons that we can confidently make, based on last year’s responses and this year’s. So across hundreds of responses over two years of data collection, the four key points illustrated to the right remain consistently true.
Carriers remain a top-tier hurdle: 46% (2025) vs 50% (2026)
• Carrier/parcel handling remains the most commonly cited challenge.
Platforms are still a meaningful constraint: 34% (2025) vs 29% (2026)
• Platform requirements remain a secondary but significant hurdle.
Robustness/damage prevention is far more emphasized in 2026: 16% (2025) vs 46% (2026)
• Designing for damage prevention is now one of the most-cited hurdles.
Difficulty in satisfying sustainability concerns are clearly more prominent in 2026: 25% (2025) vs 43% (2026)
• Respondents find it more difficult to be sustainable in 2026. Meanwhile (page 68), fewer respondents cite sustainability as a key D2C package attribute.
How do you see e-comm/D2C packaging operations changing over the next 3-5 years? (Write-in response themes)
Sustainability/less packaging/ lower footprint
Growth/more e-comm volume
Automation/efficiency (non-AI)
Shift away/less D2C (pickup/retail focus)
Reusable/returnable packaging
Outsourcing/3PL/ third party fulfillment
Parcel performance/ damage prevention
W“Sustainability isn’t often the noble cause it once was for early-adopting, mission-focused brands. Now there is regulatory pressure. Economic pressure. And ‘We’ve-got-to-make-this-affordably pressure. Sustainability can mean ‘We’ve got to use as little as possible’ more than ever.”
— Brent Lindberg, Head of Curiosity, Fuseneo, Inc.
e asked our respondents directly: How do you see e-comm/D2C packaging operations changing over the next 3-5 years, and why do you predict this to be the case?
“With sustainability and material reduction being paired, [the top answer in the chart above] this seems very much in line. Honestly, sustainability isn’t often the noble cause it once was for early-adopting, mission-focused brands. Now there is regulatory pressure. Economic pressure. And ‘We’ve-got-to-make-this-affordably pressure,’” quips Lindberg. “Sustainability can mean ‘We’ve got to use as little as possible’ more than ever.”
Across the write-ins, respondents largely expect e-comm/ D2C to keep growing over the next three to five years, often citing consumer convenience and post-COVID behavior as the driver, while packaging operations evolve to handle higher
AI: “More AI integration.”
Sustainability/material reduction:
“Less packaging to meet sustainability goals and lower carbon footprint.”
Parcel performance:
“Damaged shipments will be unacceptable to the consumer. Brands will need more robust packaging to eliminate damage.”
Shift to at-store pickup:
“Store pickup seems more of a focus now.”
“Even lower income consumers continue to pay a premium for these services. One shopper asked if they’d go back to shopping in-store. And they replied, ‘no way. It is too inconvenient to drive in circles waiting to find parking close to the store.’ Convenience is king.”
—
Brian Wagner, Cofounder and Principal of PTIS
volume with greater efficiency. A second, equally consistent thread is sustainability: many predict pressure for “less packaging,” improved materials, and greater use of reusable/ returnable or compostable options, even as brands try to maintain parcel-ready performance. A smaller but notable set explicitly point to AI and automation—“More AI integration” and “very AI focused”—as tools to standardize, speed up, or reduce the cost of packaging and fulfillment. And while the prevailing expectation is growth, a few contrarian notes suggest D2C won’t expand uniformly, pointing to retailer platform priorities (such as store pickup) and intensifying competition as potential brakes on the model. PW
A new cap applicator from Tetra Pak uses the Beckhoff XTS linear servo transport system to deliver 25,000 precisely sealed cartons per hour, tripling output over conventional portion-package cappers that run at 9,000/hour, while combining digital control with flexible, high-speed motion.
By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor
At its Modena, Italy, development center, Tetra Pak engineers recently designed a next-generation capping machine that applies plastic caps to beverage cartons at what they say is unprecedented speed and precision. The new Tetra Pak Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper uses a linear servo transport system, the XTS from Beckhoff, that precisely synchronizes over 120 motion axes, doubling system reliability and enabling quick changeovers across packaging formats. The system has been so successful that Tetra Pak’s pilot end-user customer (who could not be named), impressed by its reliability, performance, and flexibility, has described it as a “magic machine.”
“When it comes to new developments, we believe it is always very important to listen to our customers carefully,” says Gianmarco Di Eusebio, product owner at Tetra Pak. “In this case, a more flexible machine with reduced space requirements and a higher system output was needed. Current solutions for portion packages run at 9,000 units per hour—so achieving the required 25,000 would have meant installing
Two XTS linear transport systems installed parallel to each other enable extremely fast and highly precise joining of the plastic cap and carton packaging—supported by additional motion axes implemented using AM8000 servomotors (top).
three machines, each with a feeding system and so on, and finding the space to go along with that.”
He adds that the requirements placed on the new machine were demanding, both because of the high processing rate and the complex 3D geometry of the cap, which must meet extremely high quality standards when applying adhesive.
To meet these goals, Tetra Pak’s engineering team says that it selected Beckhoff PC-based control to provide the necessary computing power and flexibility.
“Our customers are increasingly demanding systems with a high degree of digitalization and connectivity,” adds Paolo Scarabelli, director of innovation, analytics & line solutions at Tetra Pak. “The PC-based control technology from Beckhoff forms the ideal basis for this. XTS also makes it easy to replace work that used to be mechanical with software functions, representing an additional step towards a digitalized machine. With the Tetra Pak Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper, for example, we were able to shift the boundary between digital and mechanical machine components in favor of digitalization. In our specific case, this means that we have full digital control of more machine functions and can operate the system more reliably.”
This higher level of digitalization improves data transparency and allows faster product changeovers. Fabio Bassissi, technology specialist at Tetra Pak, says: “The XTS movers can be controlled as individual servo axes, allowing new product formats to be introduced very quickly and easily, leveraging software flexibility. In addition, we can compensate for any mechanical tolerances very effectively in conjunction with the
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adhesive profile,” Flore continues. “For this purpose, the cap bracket moves on the X-axis and Y-axis by means of a mechanical coupling with the associated mover of the parallel system. At this point, the system compensates for any tolerances, such as those caused by the adhesive nozzle. The cap is then applied to the carton packaging with precision and monitored by means of image processing. The system also assists with error-free gluing by maintaining the correct contact pressure using a precisely defined level of transverse force.”
Adhesive is applied to the plastic caps in the upper XTS area, and the plastic caps are then glued to the cartons with high precision in the lower area—in a process that’s almost invisible to the naked eye at full speed.
Adhesive is dispensed onto plastic caps upstream, after which the caps are rapidly and precisely affixed to cartons in the lower section, all at speeds difficult to see in real time.
The contact pressure that Flore mentions above results from the coordinated interaction of the two coupled gantry movers. The high degree of digital control also allows data from the motion system to feed directly into diagnostics. Deviations from parameters can be quickly localized or even prevented.
“The mean time between failures (MTBF) has more than doubled with this system,” Di Eusebio says.
Tetra Pak also chose to use control technology from Beckhoff because all system-related components are available from a single source, which the company says guarantees seamless, efficient integration. At the heart of the machine control system are two C6032 ultra-compact Industrial PCs that handle the HMI applications, the two XTS systems, and motion control via TwinCAT NC PTP and TwinCAT PLC. In addition, a wide range of functions can be combined in a single control unit, including machine simulation. The selected PC-based hardware platform also offers plenty of potential to add new functionality in the future.
“TwinCAT exploits the full potential of PC-based control. This ranges from a wide variety of programming languages, including object-oriented languages, to integration in Microsoft Visual Studio and comprehensive network configuration options, to excellent
multi-core processor support,” Scarabelli says. “In addition, the software is well structured, and its open nature makes it possible to not only use the extensive function libraries, but also seamlessly integrate your own libraries to create machine-specific condition monitoring. We also make extensive use of TwinCAT Scope for development-related analyses. Overall, TwinCAT gives us the best possible support, including when it comes to achieving our goal of standardized software development.”
Flore adds that the openness of the platform plays a key role.
“The platform is backed by powerful and open EtherCAT communication, which seamlessly integrates the I/O system, functional safety, and drive technology. The Beckhoff AX8000 servo drives offer clear advantages due to the very high dynamics and precise control of the motion sequences. In addition, the modular design is extremely compact and flexible, allowing the simple addition of more axes if required. This is supported by the wide range of AM8000 servomotors and its fine scaling in terms of motor type, power,
Davide Borghi, manager of advanced analytics for equipment at Tetra Pak, adds that the whole exercise of launching new equipment on
A C6032 ultra-compact Industrial PC is responsible for complete machine control, while the second computer provides the visualization.
a new software and components platform relies on good service and support.
“Support is particularly important when changing the machine concept. For the Tetra Pak Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper, this came into play right from the point when feasibility testing was performed, and was especially useful for configuring the system and its huge range of functions. Support was provided flawlessly in all cases—on-site in Italy and from experts in Germany, and right up to each of the different management levels involved.”
Looking ahead, Tetra Pak expects to build on this success.
“We believe that No Cable Technology (NCT) is a promising further development,” says Flore. “And we are already testing the possibilities that XPlanar can bring to a number of applications. We also see attractive advantages of the MX-System for control cabinet-free automation and of TwinCAT Runtime for Linux. So there is a great deal of potential to surprise our end users–like the pilot customer in this case–by giving them another ‘magic machine.’” PW
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Pilots with Colgate-Palmolive and Amazon helped shape Glacier’s new DataStream platform, a new subscription tool that lets CPGs verify recyclability performance and close the loop between packaging design and real sortation and recovery outcomes.
By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor
Until recently, packaging engineers have had to approximate their packaging’s true, real-world recoverability and sortation performance at recycling facilities. Lab tests, models, or small-scale, periodic audits were about all the info they had to go on to inform their assumptions.
“Until now, many brands and producers have been flying blind on what really happens to their packaging,” says Rebecca Hu-Thrams, cofounder and CEO of Glacier, an AI and robotics company modernizing recycling infrastructure. “Glacier provides the receipts.”
Those “receipts” are now formalized in DataStream, a subscription software platform that Glacier launched in late 2025. The platform gives CPG companies verified, real-world data on how their packaging moves through municipal recycling systems, as captured by Glacier’s AIenabled robotic vision systems operating in Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across North America. The technology is already active in MRFs serving about one in ten Americans.
Born out of pilot programs with Colgate-Palmolive and Amazon, DataStream is now productized for all brand owners and CPGs to access. This commercialized evolution of Glacier’s early collaborations is a scalable, continuous data service that replaces manual, one-off audits.
Hu-Thrams says the goal is to bridge the long-standing information gap between brands and recyclers. “We wanted to create a unified view that all players could trust to represent what’s actually happening,” she says.
DataStream compiles data from Glacier’s vision systems operating inside participating MRFs—the facilities that sort curbside recycling streams of paper, plastic, and aluminum.
Each AI-enabled camera continuously captures imagery of packaging on conveyor belts, identifying material types and packaging formats in real time. The model, trained to recognize attributes such as resin
Scan the QR code to listen to a podcast about Glacier’s DataStream platform and its growing use among CPGs.
Glacier’s DataStream platform aggregates detection data from multiple MRFs into a brand-facing dashboard. The tool allows CPGs to visualize recovery trends, compare packaging types, and quantify recyclability performance region by region.
type, color, and shape, can distinguish between similar items—like a recyclable HDPE toothpaste tube and a non-recyclable laminated one. Every item that passes under the lens becomes a data point, forming a live picture of what’s recovered and what’s lost.
“The data in our system comes from facilities that are partnering with Glacier,” says Hu-Thrams. “Our facility partners retain ownership of their operational data.” Glacier aggregates and anonymizes that information so brand partners can access category-level insights without exposing individual facility details.
Hu-Thrams likens it to an energy utility. “You’d never show anyone’s individual power bill,” she says. “But you can analyze total energy use across the grid. We apply that same principle to recycling data.”
For MRFs, the model provides operational visibility, showing contamination or line composition at any given moment. For brands, it delivers performance data tied to specific packaging types or materials. The system is modular and scalable: a brand like Colgate can focus narrowly on HDPE tubes, while another CPG might subscribe to track a portfolio across multiple formats or regions.
For Colgate-Palmolive, the path to DataStream began before the platform even existed. The company had already re-engineered its toothpaste tube into a recyclable HDPE format and shared the design across the industry. But turning recyclability “in theory” into recyclability in practice required evidence.
“We wanted to see what was really happening to our tubes once they entered the recycling system,” says Anne Bedarf, Director of Global Packaging& Plastics Sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive.
Colgate partnered with Glacier to install AI camera systems at Mazza Recycling in New Jersey and Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery in California. The vision models were trained to identify toothpaste tubes from among thousands of items moving down each line.
“We enjoyed getting the information so much that we decided to expand to the second MRF in California,” Bedarf recalls. “The goal was gaining real-time insights into how tubes flow through a MRF.”
The data revealed that recyclable tubes were showing up more consistently in sort streams—even in communities that didn’t yet list them as accepted materials. “It confirmed to us that tubes are making it through the system,” says Greg Corra, SVP of Global Packaging at Colgate-Palmolive.
Glacier’s AI system identifies a Colgate toothpaste tube (left) on a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) conveyor line. The system uses optical and material recognition to distinguish HDPE tubes from other plastics, verifying how often they are captured in the recycling stream. AI detection distinguishes between toothpaste and non-toothpaste tubes (inset), improving dataset accuracy and enabling brands to assess how different materials and graphics affect sortation efficiency.
“This is over time,” Corra says. “If you can show the data, it helps the MRF operators and municipalities become more comfortable explicitly saying yes.”
The pilot replaced Colgate’s reliance on manual bale audits, giving the company continuous visibility into real recovery performance. “It’s a mutually beneficial data thing rather than a competition of who owns the data,” adds Brian McEnroe, who leads sustainability data analytics. “More data for these different entities is better.”
Over months of monitoring, Colgate saw a steady incline in tube recovery rates. Bedarf notes that each new deployment becomes easier
A stream of recycled waste, mostly packaging, enters Glacier’s
sented data from a joint pilot in which AI systems identified bioplastic film and flexible packaging on a MRF paper line. Amazon funded part of the work through its Climate Pledge Fund, a $2 billion venture arm for low-carbon innovation.
“Back in 2019, we knew one of the key challenges was getting a handle on our boxes, plastic wrappers, and packaging,” said Nicholas Ellis, principal at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, during that presenta
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insights on how consumer behavior or labeling affects what makes it into the right bale.”
Hu-Thrams adds that brands beyond the initial pilots are already discovering new ways to use the data. “The technology is the same— it’s just the questions that change,” she says.
Behind the analytics lies a simple model: Glacier sells access to its insights as a subscription service, built on data generated by its MRF-based AI systems.
Participating MRFs supply raw recycling data but retain ownership; Glacier aggregates it into anonymized, category-level insights. This approach gives CPGs a statistically robust picture of packaging performance nationally or regionally without revealing any single facility’s details.
For subscribers, DataStream functions like a typical SaaS platform. Clients log into a dashboard to view real-time recovery rates, trend graphs, and benchmarks. Subscriptions are modular: a brand may focus narrowly on a single format, like Colgate’s HDPE tubes, or scale up to monitor multiple categories. Glacier’s data scientists help interpret early results and integrate insights into packaging design or sustainability reporting.
Pricing tiers correspond to scope and complexity, allowing smaller brands to start small while providing multinationals with enterprise-level visibility.
For CPGs, the payoff is actionable insight; for MRFs, it’s operational transparency. The relationship is mutually reinforcing. The resulting data ecosystem is designed to reward openness, transparency, and continuous improvement.
If Glacier’s early pilots of what would become DataStream proved anything, it’s that CPGs are eager for real-world feedback loops on packaging performance. With DataStream now active in MRFs serving one in ten Americans, the platform is building one of the most detailed recyclability datasets ever compiled.
For Colgate-Palmolive, the value lies in validation: proving that its HDPE tubes are being recovered in practice. For Amazon’s Climate Pledge, it’s diagnostic: learning which design attributes make flexible bioplastics more recoverable.
Both pilots helped shape DataStream’s foundation, but the brand outcomes speak loudest. Verified data has given Colgate new confidence in advocating for municipal acceptance of tubes, and it’s helping Amazon refine packaging design before products ever reach consumers.
Hu-Thrams sees this data as infrastructure for collaboration among brands, recyclers, and policymakers. “There’s a misconception that recycling is only a local issue,” she says. “But the truth is, the decisions brands make in design and labeling affect recovery everywhere. We’re helping connect those dots with evidence, not anecdotes.”
For packaging engineers and sustainability leads, that kind of evidence is fast becoming essential. As Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs spread across states and countries, verified recyclability data will move from a “nice-to-have” to a requirement.
More broadly, Hu-Thrams says DataStream helps close the gap between packaging design and real-world outcomes. Brands sometimes design for theoretical or “technical” recyclability, but need verified data to prove that their packaging is actually being recovered and recycled in practice.
Chelsea Milling Co. found a way to replace 18 filling lines with brand new equipment with no interruption in meeting consumer demand and without laying off any of its valued employees.
By Pat Reynolds, Contributing Editor
Chelsea, Mich.-based Chelsea Milling Co., a fifth-generation family-owned business since 1901, is best known for its iconic JIFFY brand of prepared baking mixes. The firm recently completed a massive modernization of its packaging operations that focused on replacing the many “double packaging” machines that were responsible for forming the primary packaging. These operated by wrapping a paper liner around a mandrel, forming a paperboard blank around the liner, and then sending a lined carton to the filling machinery. Since the 1950s, 18 of these machines had served the firm well. But about four or five years ago it was clear that some serious modernization was due. Getting it right was going to be tricky, says Justin Hubbard, senior project engineer at Chelsea Milling Co.
“September to December, our busiest time of the year, is when our lines run flat out 24 hours five days a week,” says Hubbard. “Because we’re the only factory in the world that makes Jiffy Mix, we had to come up with a plan to essentially duplicate the 18 lines of production without interrupting overall throughput.”
Corrugated case blanks are picked from a magazine feed and placed in a station so that 24 collated cartons can be pushed into the wraparound case. Four of the five new packaging cells are dedicated to the 8.5-oz carton while one cell can do either 40-oz or 8.5-oz cartons (inset).
Also complicating the modernization plan was the fact that the firm had never in more than a century laid off a single employee. Management was determined to keep that record clean. So the whole plan had to revolve around attrition as older employees were approaching retirement age. And then, to further complicate things, just as the first new line was about to be installed, Covid struck. Who could forget the impact that had on machine delivery schedules around the world?
Nevertheless, the team at Chelsea Milling Co. persevered, and by 2021 it had installed what it refers to as a pilot line. Anchored by auger fillers from Spee-Dee over vertical form/fill/seal systems from Triangle Package Machinery Co., the pilot line was a highly useful way to get a foot in
the door of the future. “It was a way to get some kinks worked out from an engineering standpoint and to also begin the training and familiarity that our operators and mechanics needed to have,” says Hubbard.
The pilot line idea proved to be a good one. Based on the learnings it provided, the firm proceeded to install what it calls packaging cells. There are five of these. Each is anchored by three Triangle baggers, and each bagger sits beneath its own Spee-Dee auger filler. In each cell, three parallel conveyors take freshly pouched product through three Spee-Dee checkweighers. All three parallel conveyors then drop
pouches into a bucketed conveyor running at a right angle. This conveyor feeds a single R.A Jones cartoner that feeds a single Massman Automation case packer. So altogether the five cells comprise 15 auger fillers, 15 baggers, 15 checkweighers, five cartoners, five case packers, and five Ryson spiral conveyors that take cases to an overhead conveyor leading to remote palletizing. Two of the five cells also include a shrink bundler from EDL, also a Massman company. This bundled format appeals to consumers who want to purchase cartons in groups of six right off the shelf. It is one of these cells, Cell 2, that we’ll look at here in detail. It’s dedicated to the 81 2-oz format.
Orbi-track carton feeder puts erected cartons into position so that bags of product can be pushed into cartons (above). At the heart of the modernization was the installation of a total of 15 paired auger fillers/vertical baggers like the pair shown here (right).
The powdered product is delivered from the floor level up to three overhead surge hoppers by way of a Chain-vey Tube Drag Conveyor from Modern Process Equipment. The surge hoppers hold up to 400 lb of product, and each one feeds the 16-gal hopper of one auger filler.
Watch a video of the Chelsea Milling packaging line in action at pwgo.to/9033, or by scanning the QR code.
familiar with them and the fact that they have a good relationship with Spee-Dee made them an attractive option. We also saw some advantages from a controls standpoint since both the baggers and the auger fillers feature controls from Rockwell. That made it easy to integrate everything together from an electrical panel and controls standpoint.”
The firm also paid close attention to the composition of the flexible film feeding into the Triangle baggers. “As the new machinery was coming in, we specifically formulated a pouch material with our vendor that would give consumers an easy-peel opening,” says Hubbard. “It involved considerable testing and research.” The resulting material is supplied by Eagle Flexible Packaging, which describes it as a peelable HDPE co-extrusion.
Like most auger fillers, the ones at Chelsea Milling Co. use a servodriven motor to rotate an auger screw that measures and dispenses a specific volume of product from the hopper. The process is electronically controlled for accuracy, with the motor accelerating to a selected speed, rotating a precise number of times, and then decelerating for a repeatable fill each cycle. Chelsea Milling Co. opted for split hoppers, which are machined from stainless steel and then hinged. This makes it easy to swing open the hopper for easier access during cleaning. This feature, says Hubbard, was a key attraction as he and his colleagues evaluated auger filling systems. “You just turn five knobs and the whole hopper swings wide open,” he adds.
Beneath each auger filler is a Triangle vertical form/fill/seal machine that encloses the powdered product in roll-fed flexible film. “We did a project with Triangle some time ago for a five-pound format, so being
Bags drop from the three Triangle machines onto three parallel incline belt conveyors, each of which leads to a Spee-Dee checkweigher. Each checkweigher constantly sends feedback through the bagger and to the filler so that the filler can modify its fill amounts automatically if need be.
Once past the checkweigher, the bags pass under a conditioning roller that flattens them slightly and then transition onto the infeed belt of the Jones cartoner. Jones calls it a smart belt because it gaps the bags in such a way that they are spaced perfectly when they arrive a short while later at the rotary vane transfer that drops them into the cartoner’s infeed buckets. These buckets run perpendicular to the three conveyors feeding them and lead to a station where each pouch is pushed from its bucket and into a carton that has been picked and erected by the Jones Orbi-Track carton feed. Carton tops are tucked and closed with an assist from a Nordson adhesive dispensing unit and then bags are pushed into cartons through the bottoms. After the flaps are tucked and the cartons closed, the cartons pass a Domino laser coder for date coding.
Finished cartons are conveyed to a “waterfall” guide rail that causes them to drop from the cartoner discharge conveyor onto a separate takeaway conveyor. In the process they’re turned 90 deg so that now each carton stands upright on its bottom.
Next is a Nercon 15-lane accumulation conveyor where cartons can accumulate for about four minutes should any of the downstream equipment go down momentarily. On the other side of this accumulation section is a diverter that sends cartons down one of two paths. If
Cartons exit pass through a metal detector before making a turn leading to the case packer. Finished cases or trays then travel by way of a spiral conveyor that takes them to an overhead conveyor leading to the warehouse.
shrink bundling into six-carton bundles is called for, cartons are conveyed through a Fortress metal detector and then into a shrink bundler from EDL; bundles then proceed to the case packer. When shrink bundling is not called for, cartons are diverted to a separate Fortress metal
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detector and conveyed directly to the Massman case packer.
Both wraparound cases and open-top trays are produced on the case packer. Both cases and trays hold 24 cartons when cartons bypass shrink bundling. When cartons are bundled, cases and trays get four six-carton bundles. Changeovers on the case packer are streamlined by the use of electronic position indicators from SIKO
As for speed, four of the cells are all capable of running the 8.5-oz carton at 80/min. Cell 5 is designed to run either 8.5-oz or 40-oz formats, and this required a Jones cartoner whose buckets are on a 9-in. rather than a 6-in. center line. So speeds are slightly lower on Cell 5.
Before exiting the case packer, each case runs past four Domino print heads, two on each side. “It’s a single ink-jet system with four print heads, so on both sides of the case or tray we do the best-by date plus product information and bar code for our case sortation system out in the warehouse,” notes Hubbard.
A Ryson spiral conveyor now takes cases to an overhead conveyor that brings them to the warehouse. It, too, has been transformed by the addition of new Alvey palletizing equipment from Honeywell Intelligrated and stretch wrapping equipment from Lantech
The modernization project took about five years to complete, with the final Cell swinging into operation in August of 2024. Hubbard and colleagues are greatly pleased not only by the increase in efficiency but also by how compact the new packaging lines are. “Essentially the 15 weighing/bagging lines now produce as much volume as the 18 lines we replaced while occupying about half the space.” PW
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Since Specialty Blends runs three different bottle widths, these lanes feeding the tray former and packer need to be adjusted, and a patented single-point adjustment feature makes it possible to do this by simply turning an adjustment wheel (below left). The PET containers are fed into the line by this versatile unscrambler (below right).
Specialty Blends runs three different PET bottle formats on a new line that culminates in a tray packing/shrink bundling system featuring the first application of single-point lane adjustment.
By Pat Reynolds, Contributing Editor
Specialty Blends is a beverage producer famous for two things: Bob’s Pickle Pops, which are frozen dill pickle ice pops packaged on a stickpack machine, and Bob’s Pickle Potion, a dill pickle sports drink available in both 3-oz PET and 6.3-oz (187-mL) PET bottles. The Dripping Springs, Texas, firm has seen steady growth since its founding in 1998. But in 2024 the firm partnered with Austin-based Beverage Ranch LLC to launch Slamzees, a 15% ABV “party drink” in brightly decorated 6.3oz single-serve PET containers. With sales across the board rising briskly, the firm had little choice but to add a new packaging line.
“The main driver behind the new line was definitely Slamzees,” says Nick Tindol, who oversees operations at the Texas plant. “It’s a highalcohol-content, flavor-forward, wine-based cocktail product in a single-serve format with a resealable lid. It’s big on convenience, which is
Watch a video of the Specialty Blends packaging line in action at pwgo.to/9035, or by scanning the QR code.
why it’s grown the way it has in convenience stores.”
Also boosting sales considerably is that the product is now available at Walmart stores. All of which led to the need for faster, more automated packaging capabilities. “We’re pretty much nationwide in distribution at this point, so relying on a 12-head in-line filler and manual tray set-up and loading was really holding us back. With eight operators we could do about 50 containers per minute. Now with the new line running, we’re at 150 per minute with six or seven operators. And with the smaller 3-oz pickle juice shot, we can do 200 per minute.”
The benefits of automation are perhaps most notable in the corrugated tray packing and wrapping operation. As Tindol mentioned, what used to happen is a team of operators would manually erect the tray, load in the required number of containers by hand, and then send the filled tray through a semi-automatic L-bar sealer. All of this has been
As bottles exit the unscrambler this laser coder (right) puts date and lot code information on the bottom of each bottle. Filled bottles exit the 24-head rotary filler by way of this discharge starwheel (below).
two things happen. First, the bottle interiors are cleaned with deionized air that is vacuumed out. Second, a laser coder from Macsa ID date codes the bottom of each bottle. At that point the bottles proceed forward on a conveyor leading into the filler. Also supplied by Kaps-All, the Fills-All Model FA-R Rotary High Speed Pressure Filler is equipped with color-coded toolless change parts and an advanced touch screen access panel capable of storing up to 150 recipes. Such built-in versatility once again makes this 24-head machine highly suitable for Specialty Blends. Other features include:
• an exclusive stainless-steel dual manifold that eliminates the need for overflow tanks and prevents unwanted spills.
• a station for inserting a dose of liquid nitrogen to drive out oxygen and extend shelf life.
• patented independent adjustable trimming nozzle adjustments that provide 5/1000-in. accuracy.
• closed-tip diving nozzles for optimal foam control and clean filling without splashing.
replaced by an automated solution from Polypack consisting of a Model TR-I tray former/packer and a Model IL-24 shrink wrap machine.
“This new system will increase our production capacity by roughly three times, allowing us to fulfill more orders as we expand into additional grocery and convenience retailers,” says Tindol. “It has made our operations more efficient and consistent, while also improving the look and uniformity of our packaging and driving long-term cost savings for our business.”
While the Polypack equipment handles end-of-line duties, the new line begins upstream with a Model AU-6-E unscrambler from Kaps-All It has a low-profile 36-in. diameter stainless-steel pre-feeder with one inner disc for optimal performance, an exclusive patented design that eliminates the need for numerous change parts. It also has a fully adjustable orienting mechanism capable of handling a wide range of container shapes. That means minimal changeover parts are required for processing round, square, rectangular, or oval containers. Slamzees are round and Pickle Potions are square, so this versatile unscrambler is a great fit at Specialty Blends.
Speaking of bottle shapes, it’s worth mentioning that while the 3-oz shot comes in a stock bottle, the other two PET bottles are custom molds. The 6.3-oz squared-off Pickle Potion bottle comes from TricorBraun, and the 6.3-oz round Slamzees bottle comes from Berlin Packaging. Bottles arrive in bulk corrugated shippers that are dumped into the hopper of the KapsAll unscrambler. Before exiting the unscrambler,
• Rockwell HMI and controls make it easy to go from one filling task to another quickly by simply picking from a menu.
• User-friendly controls system includes functions like bottle counter, rate meter, and pump-setting controls.
• Stainless steel conveyor extensions can be added to the infeed or discharge side of the conveyor, an option that Specialty Blends took full advantage of.
Next in line is a Kaps-All Model C8 eight-spindle capper with an integrated cap elevator. “We like how adjustable the capper is,” says Tindol. “The two pickle potions we fill, 3-oz and 6.3-oz, both take a 28-mm closure. But the Slamzees have a much bigger closure at 64 mm.” The injection-molded PP caps are supplied by Berlin Packaging.
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One other feature on the capper that Tindol appreciates is a torque monitor. “We can monitor our torques and if anything is over- or undertorqued it gets blown off the line by an air reject,” he notes.
At this point the single-file bottles are more or less randomly spaced, but they get properly spaced by a timing screw just ahead of the shrink sleeve labeler, a Model LX-150 from AFM. The PETG labels, printed flexo in up to seven colors, are perforated by the AFM system just before application. Also from AFM is the Series WSN steam tunnel that shrinks the labels onto the containers. Equipped with multiple steam zones, the tunnel directs the steam heat where needed to produce a precise, finished appearance.
Exiting the steam tunnel the containers pass through air knives from Exair that dry off excess water. Next is an AutoMate AM-DA inspection station. It uses photoeyes to detect a variety of faults including missing cap, crooked cap, down bottle, missing label, and fill level. Should any of these be detected, that container is automatically rejected from the line.
Containers now move through a surge table provided by Kaps-All before arriving single file at the infeed of the Polypack Model TR-I tray former and packer. The machine uses a diverter that splits bottles into lanes: six lanes when filling trays of 18 bottles arranged 6 x 3, or eight lanes when filling trays of 24 bottles arranged 3 x 8. Operators can switch between these formats with a simple press of a button on the HMI screen. The change takes only seconds and does not require any manual adjustments.
Since Specialty Blends runs three different bottle widths, the lanes also need to be adjusted to fit each bottle width. Polypack created a patented single-point lane adjustment to make this easy, and Specialty Blends represents the first commercial application of it. Instead of adjusting each lane by hand, the operator turns one adjustment wheel. This automatically changes all the lanes to the right width through a linked mechanical system. The
design also leaves the option to add servo automation in future models. Each adjustment wheel includes a SIKO DA095 mechanical position indicator. When it’s time to switch to another bottle width, the operator checks a recipe sheet to find the correct number for that bottle. They turn the wheel until the number on the SIKO display matches the setting shown on the sheet. As the wheel turns, all parts of the lane adjustment system move together to prepare the machine for the new container.
“We will be implementing this on additional machines going forward because it eliminates a number of change parts you need if you are running multiple sizes through our tray packer,” says Chris Harris, division manager at Polypack. “In this case, where Specialty Blends is running three different bottle widths, they would have needed three sets of change parts. Not only does that represent added cost, it means you need space to store the parts and your changeovers are longer because you have to put the new parts in when a new size goes into production. With this single-point lane adjustment system, you turn the wheel to the setting indicated on the SIKO device and you’re ready to go.”
Sensors above each lane ensure that the correct number of bottles, 18 or 24, has accumulated before releasing them onto a staging plate. From there the bottles are pushed at a right angle onto a corrugated tray that has been erected from a flat blank. As soon as the bottles are positioned on the tray, the tray is pushed at a right angle through flap closing and sealing stations equipped with a Nordson adhesive application system.
After sealing, a Videojet ink-jet tray coder prints lot and date codes on each side of each tray. The trays then enter the film curtain of the Polypack shrink bundler, where a heated seal bar closes the film around the tray. The tray continues into a shrink tunnel, where the film tightens around the tray to create a clean, secure bundle ready for shipping.
“One of the challenges we faced is that we don’t have very much space here,” says Tindol. “So this line is basically a big horseshoe. In a perfect world, you’d just put everything in a straight line. But we didn’t have that luxury because the space we had available was in a warehouse that we converted for this new line. So that was definitely one of the challenges that line integrator Lakey Packaging helped us solve as we got this line to fit in a tight spot.”
André, Product Manager
Faced with fragmented cannabis packaging regulations and manual labeling inefficiencies, Fernway turned to Paxiom’s dual-head carton labeler to maintain speed, precision, and premium quality across four states and counting.
By Matt Reynolds, Chief Editor
For Fernway, packaging isn’t just a vessel for cannabis products—it’s a reflection of the brand’s identity and its promise of quality and care. Founded in 2019 by four friends in Massachusetts, Fernway has grown rapidly, expanding into New Jersey, New York, and Illinois. But with each new market comes a new set of labeling and regulatory hurdles.
“Every time we enter a new market, we do a regulatory analysis under the lens of packaging,” says Kevin Hu, Fernway’s COO and co-founder.
Fernway’s premium rigid cartons, used for edibles and vaporizer products, now carry consistent, compliant labeling in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and New York.
“The goal is to make one carton or pack fit as many states’ regulations as possible.” Each state dictates its own rules for THC potency data, batch labeling, expiration dates, and even illustrations. “For example, Illinois doesn’t allow images of fruit on cannabis packaging [to avoid being mistaken for candy by children], so we replaced our strawberry illustrations with drawings of ferns.”
Navigating that patchwork of rules became a logistical and operational challenge. But the bigger strain came from the labeling process itself.
Before automation, Fernway’s operators printed regulatory labels on Epson printers, loaded them onto manual dispensers, and applied each one by hand. That meant roughly one carton per minute—far too slow for a company scaling into multiple states.
“Human hands can only work so fast,” says Hu. “It wasn’t a big deal when we were selling a few thousand units a month, but once that turned into tens of thousands, it became unsustainable.”
Label accuracy was another pain point. “Having a premium brand means the product has to look the part,” Hu adds. “It’s hard to pull that off when the label is crooked or hanging off the edge of the box.”
That’s when Fernway turned to Paxiom for a more scalable solution. The company purchased its first dual-head carton labeler in 2022 for Massachusetts, then followed with additional units for New Jersey, Illinois, and New York as new facilities came online. A fifth system is planned for early 2026.
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Paxiom’s two-headed carton labeler applies labels to two sides of a carton at up to 30 to 40 cartons per minute, a roughly 30x improvement over hand labeling. Operators feed cartons onto a conveyor manually, and as they move through the machine, each label head applies one of two labels in sequence—typically a front-facing regulatory label and a secondary back label for marketing copy, QR codes, or batch details.
The system features a stainless-steel frame, a split-belt conveyor with product guides, and a photo cell start/stop sensor to ensure precise timing and label placement.
“It’s accurate, fast, and flexible,” says Hu. “We even reduced the footprint of our packaging by 30% without having to modify the equipment. We just created new programs and recipes.”
Hu also praised the ease of training and changeover. “After a few weeks, someone can go from zero to fully understanding not just how to use the machine but also how to troubleshoot and reprogram it for different box sizes,” he says. “That’s critical for us because we’re constantly changing over—sometimes every thousand or two thousand cartons.”
The variable data printed on each Fernway label is drawn from test results uploaded by independent labs to a platform called Confident Cannabis, then integrated into the company’s Acumatica ERP system. That ensures the correct batch data—THC content, potency, lot number, and expiration date—flows seamlessly to each label. “Having the right
software to manage all that data has been huge,” Hu says. “It’s what keeps us compliant across states.”
With automation, that data integrity now extends to the physical label application. The Paxiom equipment provides not just speed and precision, but consistency that human operators couldn’t match. “Occasionally we’d find a missing label or one upside down,” Hu says. “Those were experiences we just couldn’t afford to have.”
Each new machine installation is supported by an on-site Paxiom technician, who commissions the equipment and provides hands-on training. “They stay a couple of days to work with our team and make sure we’re comfortable running changeovers, handling maintenance, and troubleshooting,” Hu says. “By the time we got to our third and fourth machines, the process was seamless. Our technicians were already familiar with the workflows.”
Visit pwgo.to/8925 or scan the QR code to watch a short video of Fernway’s labeler in action.
Fernway’s labeling cells are currently semi-automated—the cartons are hand-fed into the machine and case-packed manually after labeling—but Hu says the company is now exploring downstream automa-
tion with Paxiom to extend those gains further. “We’d love to fully automate everything,” he says, “but because every state requires its own facility, each investment gets multiplied across multiple locations.”
Even with those constraints, the investment in automation has paid off. “The payback has been roughly a year,” says Hu. “That’s equivalent to about two technicians’ worth of labor. It allows us to stay lean, give our team job security, and let them focus on higher-value work.”
Hu offers a piece of advice that applies to cannabis brands and CPGs alike: when designing packaging, think about the entire supply chain, not just the consumer experience.
“When we first designed our box, we were thinking only about our brand and the end consumer,” he says. “What we didn’t do was talk to our dispensary partners, and that was a mistake.”
Dispensaries in Massachusetts and New Jersey, for example, urged Fernway to reduce its package size to fit more inventory in limited vault space. “That feedback led us to cut our carton footprint by 30%,” Hu says. “It was a lesson in remembering that our ‘customer’ isn’t just the person who opens the box—it’s everyone who touches it along the way: transporters, dispensary staff, budtenders, and finally the consumer.”
For Fernway, packaging is both a brand expression and an operational necessity. And by investing in automation, the company is proving that even in a fragmented, heavily regulated market, consistency and quality can still scale. PW
MFT Automation is a global leader in friction feeders, labelers, and integrated packaging systems.
Ossid’s Reepack ReeForm E40 Thermoformer is a stainless-steel, open-frame machine for ambient vacuum skin and modified atmosphere packaging, supporting flexible and rigid films with customizable film widths, forming depths, and cut-off lengths.
Ossid pwgo.to/9046
Horizontal F/F/S Machine
The Bartelt MAG-B uses magnetic linear track technology to form, fill, and seal multiple pouch styles from roll stock film at speeds of up to 150 pouches per minute, featuring fast changeovers and a compact dual-side processing design.
Bartelt, a ProMach product brand pwgo.to/9047
CNG expands its GreenArrow portfolio with a matte-finish MDO-PE print film that integrates premium shelf appeal into a recycle-ready structure, eliminating secondary coatings while meeting How2Recycle store drop-off guidelines.
Charter Next Generation pwgo.to/9039
Hoffer’s Trust-T-Lok Drop-In Cap & Spout runs on existing pouch-filling equipment without modification, reduces plastic use by 18.5%, incorporates tamper-evident technologies, and is compatible with mono-PE and mono-PP recycle-ready structures.
Hoffer Plastics pwgo.to/9049
CASSEL Inspection’s Shark MultiSense Metal Detector offers multi-frequency detection technology that is ideal for challenging applications and diverse product profiles, delivering advanced contaminant detection accuracy and flexibility.
CASSEL Inspection pwgo.to/9050
Mespack’s UHS ServOriginal processes up to 7,200 pouches per minute, offering 25% higher speed than comparable systems and providing flexible, high-volume flat pouch production with consistent forming and zero-speed automatic web splicing. Mespack, a Duravant company pwgo.to/9038
Designed to help high-volume handwrap users transition to machine wrapping, Western Plastics’ Evolution features a Quick Thread film carriage, extra-wide support rollers, and a heavyduty chain drive to deliver reliable, consistent wrapping.
Western Plastics pwgo.to/9040
TIPA’s high-barrier exible packaging solutions provide enhanced moisture and oxygen protection while remaining printable, sealable, and compatible with conventional packaging machinery for a wide range of food and single-serve applications.
TIPA Compostable Packaging pwgo.to/9041
Effytec USA’s Model HB 15, which can switch between powder and liquid applications, delivers up to 90 ppm (simplex mode) or 180 ppm (duplex) and offers exible production of twin, shaped, and perforated pouches within a compact, sanitary design.
Effytec USA pwgo.to/9048
Matthews Marking Systems’ high-speed MPERIA Axian XIJ AX1000 Series combines Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) technologies in a single platform for crisp, highresolution markings on a variety of substrates with no solvent additives.
Matthews Marking Systems pwgo.to/9037
Spee-Dee’s high-speed rotary ller integrates a Yamato multihead scale into a compact, tool-less-changeover system for accurate, gentle lling of rigid containers across a wide range of products, including snacks, pet treats, and detergent pods.
Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery pwgo.to/9045
Columbia Machine’s FLD1500-SW is a high-performance palletizer with a fully integrated stretch wrapper that enables simultaneous “stack and wrap” load building within a 90-square-foot footprint to maximize ef ciency in space-constrained facilities. Columbia Machine pwgo.to/9036
Murrelektronik’s MVK Fusion CIP
Safety is a eldbus I/O module that integrates discrete I/O, safety I/O, and IO-Link into a single device supporting the Common Industrial Protocol Safety standard for Ethernet/IP-based automation systems.
Murrelektronik pwgo.to/9043
Parsons-Eagle Packaging Systems’ High-Speed Duplex Bagging Machine runs both paper and recycle-ready monolayer polyethylene bags up to 15 pounds, delivering up to 100 bags per minute and automated changeovers in under 2 minutes.
Parsons-Eagle Packaging Systems pwgo.to/9051
Continue your search for the right packaging solution. Visit prosource.org
ProMach acquires American Holt, DMA Solution, and Pride Engineering—collectively AmHolt from Arcline
ProAmpac signs a definitive agreement to acquire TC Transcontinental Packaging (TCP) from TC Transcontinental
AFA Systems expands its U.S. presence with a facility in Cleveland, Ohio.
ID Technology, a ProMach product brand, announces expansions to its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and regional sites in York, Pennsylvania, and Edmonton, Alberta.
PulPac and Future Materials Sweden announce a strategic partnership aimed at driving the transition from plastics to responsibly produced fiber-based packaging solutions.
SupplyOne expands its Midwest presence by acquiring Arkansas-based Lamb & Associates
Packaging and Illinois-based Wertheimer Box
Marchesini Group and AST announce a strategic partnership to strengthen aseptic production capacity.
Rockwell Automation announces plans to build a greenfield manufacturing site in Southeastern Wisconsin.
Lantech expands its Louisville, Kentucky, manufacturing facility to include production of its CS300 and CS1000 case sealers, which previously were produced only in the Netherlands.
Mespack begins construction in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda of its new headquarters dedicated to sustainable packaging.
Teradyne Robotics announces it will open a new U.S. operations hub in Wixom, Michigan.
DCC Automation acquires Custom Metal Designs
Duravant announces the retirement of Mike Kachmer after 12 years as chairman and CEO and names Jill Evanko chief executive officer.
Steve Bannon, who served as CEO and president of Ska Fabricating, is named as the company’s chief executive officer, replacing Steve Sherman
BluePrint Automation appoints Andy Stamp as vice president of sales and marketing.
Claudio Di Placido joins Rychiger Canada as financial controller.
Xampla hires Sam Walker as head of business development & sales and David Cohen as PR & communications manager and promotes Scott Thompson to technology director and Katrina Curl to marketing & corporate affairs director.
Pharmaworks appoints Mike Ferraro as regional sales manager for Southeast U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Somic Packaging hires Roy Hoke as Southeast regional sales manager and Joshua Larson as the after-sales and service manager.
Can Manufacturers Institute appoints Pearce Crosland as senior director of government relations & regulatory affairs.
Karthik Rajagopal joins Specright as chief product officer.
JLS Automation appoints Sean Spees as director of cartoning solutions.
Jarkko Tuominen assumes the role of chief executive officer at Paptic Ltd.
By Paola Appendini, CPP
Today’s CPGs can’t afford slow, linear innovation processes when developing packaging that must meet consumer needs, sustainability goals, operational constraints, and the requirements of multiple sales channels. The market moves too fast for that approach. This is where agile innovation becomes powerful.
In an agile approach, packaging is part of a holistic innovation system rather than an afterthought. Instead of investing large amounts of time building the “perfect” concept before testing it, agile innovation breaks development into small, iterative cycles that prioritize rapid learning. Agile processes rely on fast prototyping and experimentation, allowing teams to identify risks and optimize ideas early, long before final investment decisions are made.
This approach is transforming how teams pursue packaging solutions. For example, a team exploring a refillable liquid product might start with a simple, low-fidelity bottle prototype and a small number of consumers in an informal setting. This could be enough to understand how easily these consumers can refill it, trust the closure, or store the container. This early learning increases speed, reduces risk, and helps teams optimize quickly before moving into the next iteration.
the product still functions and sells.”
Noncritical hypotheses help refine a solution but do not dictate whether the package innovation should be halted.
Killer hypotheses are those that, if proven false, undermine the success of the project. These assumptions must be tested early to avoid expensive misalignment or late-stage failure. Killer hypotheses guide essential learning and help teams determine whether a concept is viable at all—not just what needs refinement.
At the core of agile innovation is the hypothesis, a clear statement about what is believed to be true and must be validated. In packaging, most hypotheses relate to desirability (consumers want it), viability (it can sell), or feasibility (it can be made). For example:
• “We believe consumers will prefer a resealable pouch because it reduces mess and improves portion control.”
• “We believe a glass-like PET structure will create a premium perception while delivering the sustainability benefits of lightweight plastic.”
Each hypothesis is measurable and tied to a consumer, technical, or business outcome and is framed in a way that when tested, it can yield clear decision-making results.
Not all hypotheses are equally important. Some can be disproved without derailing a project—such as assumptions about aesthetic preference, minor convenience features, or on-pack messaging. Examples include:
• “We believe placing the recyclability logo on the front panel will increase purchase intent.”
• “We believe including a tear-notch will improve the opening experience. If consumers don’t care, the notch can be removed, and
For example, for a mono-material flow wrap, a killer feasibility hypothesis might be: “We believe the film will maintain integrity through the supply chain without increasing damage rates.” If the material cannot perform, the project cannot move forward, even if consumers love the idea or sustainability benefits meet goals.
Killer hypotheses often stem from foundational questions that teams cannot initially answer with confidence, such as:
• Will consumers adopt the new behavior required by the packaging (e.g., returning a reusable pack for refill)?
• Can manufacturing lines reliably run the new material at scale (e.g., a new paper-based film requiring equipment upgrades the business cannot support)?
If the answer to these questions is “no,” confidence decreases immediately. By surfacing these risks early, killer hypotheses empower teams to validate or eliminate major assumptions before committing significant resources.
A hypothesis is not a killer hypothesis if failing it:
• does not undermine the business model
• does not break manufacturability or supply-chain feasibility
• does not introduce safety or compliance issues
• does not require major structural redesign
• does not change the required core consumer behavior
Ultimately, the case for killer hypotheses is the case for disciplined, transparent, insight-driven innovation. Agile innovation accelerates learning, but killer hypotheses ensure the learning focuses on the factors that truly determine success. Packaging innovation rarely fails due to a lack of ideas; it fails because critical assumptions go untested until it is too late.
By identifying and validating killer hypotheses early, organizations can build packaging that delights consumers and gives leaders, retailers, and supply-chain partners the confidence needed to bring successful innovations to market.
