ePac MD Jason Brown and Healthy Food Crew founder Brian Nasr gave a joint presentation at Print21 + PKN Packaging News LIVE; discussing the business case for digitally printed flexible packaging for SMEs.
The event, themed Amplify & Engage, brought together brand owners, designers, and printers to outline where the opportunities are emerging, and how to optimise them through new technologies.
The duo honed in on three key areas of importance when working with small and medium enterprises: control, freedom, and opportunity.
In further detail: what digital can do to bring control back to entrepreneurs; the freedom digital can bring to amplify businesses, while being able to take it to market as the business intends to; and seizing opportunities that historically couldn’t be seized because the technology was never there to seize them.
Regarding control, and speaking from an entrepreneurial point-of-view, Nasr recommended start-ups try to remain as local as possible when sourcing packaging.
“You’re bound into set criteria that’s been set for a very long time, with that you lose an element of your control. Control for a startup is really, really important; and that comes down to the quantities of food products, packaging, graphic design – everything.
“You want to try and control as much as you can, and control as much as you can in Australia,” said Nasr.
Brown discussed freedom in an industry with set-in-stone methodology, and recommended rejecting traditional molds when working with clients.
“We need to get away from thinking about manufacturing the traditional way, and it needs to be a completely different shift in mindset about how we deliver and manufacture products, particularly in Australia,” said Brown.
Brown said during Covid, it became more apparent that there were roadblocks in the way of emerging ideas and businesses.
“A lot of people had great ideas during Covid, but weren’t able to partner with anyone to get those ideas to come to life because of those old-school ways of manufacturing,” said Brown.
Of ePac’s approach, he says, “We always like to think of ourselves as being really nimble. You’ve got to play the game on the day. You can’t go in with the same rules for everyone.”
Soldering the case for digital, Brown and Nsar said technology had made more big opportunities with small businesses seize-able by reducing packaging turnaround time.
“Seizing those commercial opportunities has been enabled digital technology, and I think it’s really changed things for small to medium size brands.
“As a small brand, you only get one good shot. So if you know that your partner or supplier that you’re working with can deliver for you. It makes you sleep a bit easier at night,” said Brown.
Of ePac’s approach, he says, “We always like to think of ourselves as being really nimble. You’ve got to play the game on the day. You can’t go in with the same rules for everyone.”
Soldering the case for digital, Brown and Nsar said technology had made more big opportunities with small businesses seize-able by reducing packaging turnaround time.
“Seizing those commercial opportunities has been enabled digital technology, and I think it’s really changed things for small to medium size brands.
“As a small brand, you only get one good shot. So if you know that your partner or supplier that you’re working with can deliver for you. It makes you sleep a bit easier at night,” said Brown.