Packaging-specific services remain a much needed, much in-demand core competency. Consumers want the benefits of the latest primary containers, pouches, blisters, pillows, stick packs, and/or the latest secondary innovations in POP, club packs, multi-packs and the like.
It's why, to cite one of innumerable examples, Salt Lake City-based Northstar Labs has steadily upgraded its injection molding, liquid filling and four-color digital label printing capabilities. And it's why Fairport, N.Y.-based LiDestri Food & Beverage, for instance, leveraged its contract manufacturing and packaging smarts to develop a new multi-compartment flexible pouch format and expand into pharmaceuticals.
Those for whom co-packing is the core focus are doing much more these days to give a brand anything it can, from upstream package development and manufacturing to downstream warehousing, fulfillment and logistics.
Fave Juice, for example, outsourced just about everything but product development and marketing to The Scoular Company, which manages everything from ingredient and material procurement to manufacturing, logistics and contract packaging"”even finding and managing day-to-day operations and growing a nationwide network of co-packers.
