Welcome to our largest issue ever! With our annual focus on Corporate Profiles, it’s not surprising that Beauty Packaging’s March pages are filled with descriptions of packaging companies that want to get their message out regarding their capabilities. It’s an accurate reflection of the current state of the industry.

Match a global marketplace in which packaging requirements and regulations change on a dime, with consumer expectations, accelerated delivery dates and streamlined budgets, and it’s easy to see why brands face enormous challenges in weighing options and figuring out what works best on all packaging fronts. But before they can reach a decision, they need to understand their options: which suppliers best match their current—and often, immediate and challenging—needs.

While some packaging projects require specialists highly versed in a particular area, others are best served by vendors with a broader expertise.

With the growing trend toward “one-stop shopping,” suppliers tell Associate Editor Steve Katz (see article on Contract Packaging, p. 100) that it’s vital to let customers know exactly what their capabilities are.

One corporate executive notes: “Because contract packaging is so diverse, when clients think of us, they often have differing perceptions. One client may think, ‘They are that company that does our gift sets,’ while another client thinks, ‘They flow wrap our kits.’ It’s up to us to cross sell those capabilities to both current clients and potential clients; if we don’t, they won’t see the benefit of our diverse offerings.”

Communicating is not critical only to contract packaging success; it’s paramount that suppliers and brand owners, in any segment, are on the same page.
We hope you enjoy all the pages in this month’s issue, and use it as a reference to guide your packaging decisions throughout the year.

Jamie Matusow
[email protected]

P.S.) Stay tuned for our July/August issue when we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our annual International Buyers’ Guide, a complete print and online reference guide with listings by both company and product. (nitesh_bp.rodpub.com/bg)