9 minute read
HUNGRY FOR IMPACT
—Donna Roberts, human resource manager, SMC Packaging Group
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he says, “More hours can keep someone from taking the job in the fi rst place. Th ey don’t want to work 10 hours a day or on Saturdays. So we’re having to fi nd a balance between employee needs and customer needs. Th at means we’re also investing in equipment and processes that allow us to make the most of every hour in the day.” Th at means looking at the effi ciencies provided by technology, including robotics and automation.
MacDonald stresses that adding robotics and other automated processes on the shop fl oor does not mean you’re decreasing your head count. “You’re reallocating your human resources,” he explains. “You’re saying that the two, three, or four people that automation will replace can now go fi ll the two, three, or four jobs that have been unfi lled. Or they can be freed to move over to this new piece of machinery I want to buy. No one’s walking out of the company. Th ey’re just walking somewhere else in the company to get the job done.”
Equipment, robotics, and automation will be increasingly critical when it comes to managing labor challenges, MacDonald believes. “I only see that changing if there is some sort of infl ux of labor that has a diff erent set of priorities than what we’re currently seeing—people who want more hours, who are eager to learn, who want to put their head down and do the job,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see that again.”
At the same time, he says, there is a limit to just how much of the work can be relegated to technology. “Th ere’s no getting around the fact that our type of manufacturing depends on some hard work, some sweat and tears, and some truly skilled craftspeople,” he says.
A Fantastic Choice
SMC Packaging may be a rarity among boxmakers and other manufacturers these days: Roberts reports that all of their positions are currently fi lled. “I know a lot of boxmakers are struggling to fi nd workers, but we have fared really well,” she says. She attributes the company’s unusual success to the decision to distinguish SMC as an employer of choice.
“Our leadership has always been very active in the community, serving on diff erent boards and making a diff erence,” Roberts says. “I think that has helped establish a reputation for us as an employer of choice. Others in the community recognize SMC Packaging because of our community involvement, since we volunteer at community events and support local charities. Th at’s good branding, but it’s also the right thing to do. Th ese days, people care about the company they’re joining and what that company stands for. Job seekers like a company that’s giving back to the community, that cares about its people and puts its money where its mouth is.”
Practically speaking, that means the company is committed to taking care of its people and then trusting those people to take care of the business. “We make sure they’re trained and equipped to do their jobs well,” Roberts says. “Once they’re equipped and part of the family, we do what we can to hold on to them. So we have worked a lot on leadership training, which I believe is the key to retention. And then, we do everything we can to avoid having any kind of ‘us and them’ mentality, which often happens between leadership and employees in manufacturing. We’re all on the same side here. We try to make sure that’s evident in how we do things every single day. I think that’s been a big diff erence maker for us.”
A Silver Lining?
Despite the current wave of challenges, there may be a silver lining to the labor issue that too often gets overlooked: “I believe there are enough qualifi ed people out there to fi ll the positions,” Walters says.
Roberts agrees. “Th ere are plenty of people taking jobs every day out there,” she says. “Th e challenge is fi guring out what it takes to make them choose you. We need to understand what job seekers are looking for and then do our best to accentuate what we have to off er that distinguishes us from other employers in our area.
“Too often we assume people know a lot about our company and our business. Chances are they don’t, unless they have a friend or family member who’s worked here. It’s our responsibility to make sure we’re marketing well the jobs that we have and making sure people understand that, if they choose our company, they’re making a fantastic choice for their future.”
Robert Bittner is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and a frequent BoxScore contributor.
Smaller brands are leading the way in food and beverage packaging
By Lin Grensing-Pophal
Prior to March 2020, while e-commerce already represented a signifi cant percentage of overall food and beverage sales, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit and consumers turned en masse to the digital world for much of their purchasing, e-commerce growth ticked up signifi cantly.
Th e food and beverage industry saw much of this growth as consumers turned to online purchasing and delivery rather than shopping indoors—in some cases, because physical stores were closed; in other cases, due to their own concerns about the potential for exposure.
In fact, according to a EuroDev blog: “While a lot of industries suff ered from a worldwide decline in demand since the outbreak of COVID in early 2020, revenue in the food and beverages industry skyrocketed. Worldwide revenue is expected to reach $342 billion in 2021, an increase of 97% compared to 2019’s revenue ($174 billion), almost doubling the revenue in just two years.”
Amid this growth in demand, brands both big and small are addressing challenges and fi nding new opportunities to stand out and make an impact while still being mindful of cost considerations and sustainability.
Design Considerations for a Hybrid World
Kristi Duvall is vice president of sales with Th e BoxMaker Inc. in Kent, Washington. She’s observed, fi rsthand, some of the shifts in packaging needs for food and beverage brands since the beginning of the pandemic. While many parts of the country are now widely open for in-store sales, consumers continue to shop online—not only due to pandemic concerns but also because they’re discovered the ease and convenience that online shopping can provide. In addition, with rising gas costs an ongoing concern, saving money by making fewer trips to physical store locations is also a benefi t.
“Brands are focused on trying to connect with the e-commerce market while also improving their shelf presence for retail applications,” Duvall says. Th at, she says, has been an impact of the pandemic, and one that is likely to continue. “Brands are having to have
a sort of multichannel or multifaceted approach where they’ve got to be able to connect with the customer and deliver an experience to their doorstep as well as catching their eyes in retail stores.
A related challenge has been the ability to predict just how much and what type of packaging materials will be needed as shopping patterns continue to shift. Boxmakers are fi nding themselves taking an increasingly just-in-time approach to packaging.
Just-in-Time Approach
Effi ciency and cost-eff ectiveness are as important as ever—perhaps even more important in a tight and increasingly competitive market. Duvall says one of the things she’s seeing is more brands taking advantage of digital printing: “buying what they need when they need it instead of buying large volumes and then sitting on inventory.”
Th e ability to stand out is another requirement in a hybrid, and very competitive, market.
Customization and Co-branding
Retailers want to feel special, and they want their consumers to believe they’re special, too. Seeing the same packaging on the same product from one store to another doesn’t help retailers stand out in meaningful ways.
Instead, says Duvall, retailers are increasingly seeking personalized experiences. “Th ey want to see something that’s exclusive—that you can only buy at one retailer,” she says. “Th ey don’t want to know that the consumer can go somewhere else to buy the same thing.” For instance, she says, in a community two brands could pair up and then get together with their favorite charity and do something unique tied to an online campaign.
Infl uencer Kits
Connecting with infl uencers has also been an area of new opportunity. Social media—especially channels like YouTube and Instagram—have given rise to an explosion of infl uencers, people with large followings whose opinions can move the needle for sales of a wide variety of consumer-packaged goods, including food and beverages. Getting the attention of these infl uencers can be challenging, though. Th at’s giving rise to a trend in using “infl uencer kits” to break through the clutter and stand out.
Also called “infl uencer marketing boxes,” these kits are designed to attract attention as well as drive an impactful unboxing experience.” Infl uencer kits might include product samples, for instance, along with some swag, Duvall says. Th ey’re usually printed both inside and out. “And I think the brands expect somebody to do an unboxing video—unboxing videos still get a lot of clicks online.”
While big brands have tended to have better budgets to provide exceptional experiences and create creative packaging concepts, smaller brands have gained traction during the pandemic. As Jessica Paige points out in an article for Packaging Gateway: “One positive to come out of the pandemic disruption is consumers’ growing appreciation of small and local businesses. ‘Support Local’ was one of the many slogans that were thrown around over the pandemic in a bid to save local economies and protect jobs, and websites supporting local companies experienced a boom in interest.”
Emotional Connections and Interactive Packaging
Food and beverage brands have an opportunity to make emotional connections with consumers, says Lisa Barrieau, banding sales manager, food, at Felins. “In the world of retail food, the label is more than just a means of advising the consumers of the nutrition facts, ingredients, and expiration dates,” she explains. “Th e food label is the voice of the brand, creating an emotional connection between the company brand and the consumer, making it a crucial part of the packaging.”
Creating an emotional connection, says Barrieau, “is the fi rst step in forming a relationship with the customer, and therefore encouraging repeat purchases, so companies must pay close attention to their packaging and labeling decisions to foster this relationship.”
Digital packaging can also be combined with interactive packaging, Duvall says, using Digimarc—the watermarking and interactive packaging. Also, from a sustainability standpoint on digital packaging, every time that customer changes the art, they’re not having to worry about those plates having to go into a landfi ll at the end of life.
Also, if somebody is using a traditional print method such as a litho-lamp, you’re not having to worry about using all that
