Features Packaging Web-to-print
Web-to-pack drives growth

“The waste that is recycled best is the one that we haven’t produced.” This adage, whose perspicacity cannot be questioned nowadays, applies to all areas, particularly packaging. As producers of packaging, we are accustomed to explaining to clients the packaging that is most easily recycled is the one we haven’t produced! One might say we are schizophrenic. Or rather, it is an urgent and absolute necessity to align ourselves with values, both personal and applied to our company, even if it means shocking others.

Yet, if we want to envision a sustainable and harmonious future, we must change our attitudes and discourse, offer new solutions that embody the challenges of tomorrow, disrupt deeply rooted habits, approach growth differently, and recognize that there is not just one way of doing things.

Digital technologies, which commercial printing and the label industry have embraced for a long time, will inevitably contribute, whether we are convinced or reluctant, to providing new perspectives in service of projects and needs. Behind digitalization lies not only the printing aspect, which is often seen in opposition to conventional approaches like offset or flexography, but also a world of finishing, including embellishments such as varnish and foil stamping, as well as cutting, automated workflow management, and enhanced prepress control that bridges the gap between clients and production.

To embrace and perhaps anticipate these technologies, the key is to evolve the mindset, adopt a holistic approach, reconsider the relationship with clients and the market, and thus transform the company culture, allowing new capabilities to permeate and impact all levels of society.

Digital synergies

Web-to-print, continuously evolving in its approach to the market, anticipating needs, and delivering highly refined customer experiences, has directly benefited from the new capabilities offered by digital advancements. It certainly would not have revolutionized the market without this contribution. However, we must not forget that web-to-print and digital technologies mutually leverage and feed off each other to progress and gain market share, forming a virtuous spiral.

In turn, web-to-pack benefits from the capabilities provided by digital means dedicated to the packaging and point-of-sales industry.

This, in turn, justifies the development of new equipment and solutions by manufacturers. The combination of digital and web-to-pack undoubtedly contributes to democratizing access to simplified packaging solutions that were previously reserved for experts with minimum volumes.

It now allows any brand or project holder to launch, test the market, make mistakes, backtrack, and avoid imposing heavy commitments.

Rapid web-to-pack market growth

All of these factors contribute to the rapid growth of the market share captured by web-to-pack without impeding the traditional business conducted on a personal basis. Moreover, the increasing number of new product launches, special and limited editions, and the incredible trend of offering numerous variations of the same product—to cater to individual consumers’ preferred flavour, colour, etc.—all contribute to the explosion of demands that require online solutions coupled with digital production technologies. If these numerous packages are produced locally, directly within the workshops connected to the web-to-pack platform, the loop is closed.

We are witnessing the development of more or less advanced and transparent web-to-pack offerings, indicating that these solutions seem like El Dorados. However, let us not be mistaken. The production of packaging, even with digital equipment, requires well-controlled processes and technical know-how that are acquired over time, sometimes through setbacks. Some platforms simply act as intermediaries, selling products produced by local or exotic manufacturers, while others make the radical choice of controlling their processes and production in-house, despite the constraints and difficulties this process entails. However, they retain all the added value within their own company.

As with any epic journey, we are witnessing the creation, consolidation, disappearance, and rapid growth of companies until the market structure solidifies. In the meantime, ingenuity and creativity know no bounds, naturally pushing the boundaries.

The remarkable ability of human beings to invent and reinvent themselves gives us hope for a promising future, albeit different from what we know today. Ultimately, one question remains: Do we wish for something better tomorrow, or can we become better ourselves? That is quite a program.

Fred Corbo is CEO and owner of SmilePack.fr, a web-to-pack platform. A part of the Drupa Essentials of Print Series, this article was published in the November/December 2023 issue of PrintAction.