In an interview last month, Mark Landaal, VP of Sales and Marketing, In-Store Division, sat down with Vivian Lee of Own Brands Now and shared some insights on packaging industry trends:
Landaal Packaging offers a wide assortment of packaging service covering four key niches: corrugated manufacturing, retail packaging and point-of-purchase displays, secondary contract packaging and sustainable packaging. As private brands gain traction in the market, Landaal is in a unique position to help support the efforts of brands and manufacturers that are looking to gain recognition for their products and expand the channels in which they are available. Mark Landaal, the company’s VP of sales and marketing in-store division, has already noted similar packaging needs between private label and national brand consumers. He spoke with Own Brands Now about what’s coming down the pike.
Own Brands Now: What types of packaging services do you offer a client interested in revamping a private label offering?
Mark Landaal: Landaal Packaging is a full-service packaging company, from design to delivery. We offer complete graphic and structural design services. We also offer prototyping services so our customers can present fully functional and printed prototypes to their potential retailers. [Landaal also] manufacturers the packaging, places products into unit containers, packs out displays, warehouses the product and fulfills customer orders. We are one of the few companies that can service both big box store requirements and ship directly to an end consumer.
OBN: Can you tell me a little more about your sustainable packaging services?
Mark Landaal: Our primary industry — corrugated — has long been considered one of the most sustainable packaging options in the world. In 2009, we took an even more active role in promoting sustainable packaging. We aligned ourselves with a company in Lansing, Mich., that manufactured and promoted a green foam product. We spent many months educating ourselves on the positive effects this foam would have on the packaging industry and began to fully endorse it. Green cell foam has led to many opportunities in the pharmaceutical, organic foods, manufacturing and nutrient-based supplement market places. We continue to expand our sustainable packaging options with products such as Bag in a Box, which reduces the use of petroleum-based products by 66%, and eco-friendly board stock that we can convert into point-of-purchase displays.
OBN: What effects has Landaal Packaging seen as a result of retailers trying to make good on their sustainability promise?
Mark Landaal: Without a doubt, the number of companies that have embraced the sustainable initiative has increased. We have seen significant growth in our green-cell foam offerings, and have helped our customers reduce “over-pack” by reducing both the footprint and costs associated. As the number of sustainable options increases, production costs will start declining. Once that occurs, we anticipate a very large transition into sustainable packaging options.
OBN: What types of changes does the company anticipate as a result of Amazon’s continued dominance?
Mark Landaal: An indirect change impacting our company is that more boxes are arriving at homes, which has been great for our business and the corrugated industry [at large]. However, most municipalities do not separate brown boxes, or OCC, from mixed paper, which can put pressure on the existing supply of OCC as a raw material. A direct impact to our company has been an increase in small to midsize brands asking for assistance executing a full-service e-commerce and Amazon sales strategy. We offer kit-to-order and pick-to-order services that allow our customers to connect directly to Amazon and other retailers through SPS commerce.
Source: http://www.ownbrandsnow.com/article/qa-landaal-packaging-offers-insights-private-label-effect