Program 2019

September 5th - 6th; Boston, MA

For the full speaker list & session highlights, download the brochure!

8:00 AM - 8:55 AM

Registration & Refreshments

8:55 AM - 9:05 AM

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Christopher Costa, Director of Product Management and Packaging North America, Victorinox Swiss Army

Introductory remarks by the Chair in the plenary room

9:05 AM - 9:40 AM - Keynote

Packaging Development

Stories of Progressive Thinking: How Microsoft is Making Packaging more Meaningful

John Whitfield, Director, Packaging Engineering and Development, Microsoft Corporation

Kevin Marshall, Creative Director of Design, Global Packaging and Content, Microsoft Corporation

By challenging accepted practices and pushing the ethics of Inclusion and Sustainability, Microsoft’s Packaging and Content team is redefining what premium packaging can be.  Case studies: the Xbox Adaptive Controller packaging and Microsoft’s Commercial Channel redesign.

9:40 AM - 10:15 AM - Keynote

Innovation & Technologies

AeroFlexx – Revolutionizing Liquid Packaging

Ken McGuire, Research Fellow, Procter & Gamble

Traditional rigid packaging – bottles – have been the standard for liquid consumer products for generations. Drawbacks of converting to flexible materials – pouches – include poor, messy dispensing, cheap appearance, and expensive converting. The AeroFlexx package, developed by Procter & Gamble and available for license from Innventure, removes the drawbacks and creates a liquid dispensing pack with benefits surpassing even traditional bottles. Additionally, the pack is suitable for E-commerce without additional preparation. This presentation will cover the generalities of the package development and the method by which it works. It also covered the status and time lines for commercialization in the industry across the different categories in liquid packaging.

11:15 AM - 11:50 AM - Case Studies

Innovation & Technologies

When Packaging Requirements Compete and Conflict for Priority: What it Takes to Keep Winning with your Customers

Kiersten Wilmes, Packaging Engineering Manager, Hallmark Cards, Inc.

In this session you will hear how Hallmark’s packaging engineering team delivers innovative packaging solutions while addressing the competing and complex requirements of customers, new product formats, cost constraints and design feasibility. 

What you’ll discover:
  • Why there are packaging engineers at Hallmark (don’t they just produce cards)
  • 3 key tactics to stay ahead of your key business partners in order to win
  • The importance of a packaging interview in the packaging development process

Packaging Development

Our Sustainable Packaging Journey

Lindsey McCoy, CEO, Plaine Products

  • Plaine Products evolved out of a personal desire to find a solution for all of the plastic bottles in the bathroom.  We offer premium personal care products packaged in aluminum bottles that we reclaim to wash, refill and reuse 
  • Lessons and obstacles we've encountered in shipping, packaging, and creating a closed loop system to reduce waste
  • Best practices around reusable product bottles, reusable boxes, paper filling optimizations, paper tape and more
  • How our sustainable packaging has also led to an engaged, loyal customer base

11:55 AM - 12:30 PM - Keynote

Innovation & Technologies

How to Implement Innovation projects in a CPG Company "Digital Printing"

Luis Arévalo, Design & Packaging Director Latin-American Business, Colgate-Palmolive

Digital Printing is changing the way we communicate and engage with our consumers, develop and  implement an Innovation project in a CPG company has many challenges that we need to tackle from any angles simultaneously.

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Networking Lunch

1:30 PM - 2:05 PM - Case Studies

Packaging Development

Eat Green - Engineering a More Sustainable Food Experience

Amelia Black, Director of Packaging, Blue Apron

Gaurav Kale, Senior Manager Packaging Engineering, Blue Apron

In this session, you will hear how the Blue Apron packaging teams are addressing the industry-wide challenges of cold chain delivery in a society that values a move to more sustainable packaging options.

What we’ll cover:
  • The process of defining our focus on sustainability in the company
  • A look at how we are bringing the voice of the customer into our design process
  • A deep dive into cold chain packaging - one of the toughest challenges our industry faces every summer when it comes to improving the environmental impact of meal kit delivery

Innovation & Technologies

R3 & the Evolution of Packaging

Luis Carlos Chacón, Global Consultant / Op-Ed Columnist, BusinessCase / Forbes LatinAmerica

A strategic framework for FMCG's businesses to understand and take advantage of growth opportunities, around the initiatives for the evolution of the development and current use of packaging, understanding that all innovations will be a mixture of three processes:

Replace
Re-use
Reinvent

This presentation explains the R&D and consumption trends around each of the R's, with cases that support its benefits and, how to take advantage of it within a business strategy.

2:10 PM - 2:45 PM - Case Studies

Packaging Development

Connecting Packaging with NPD to Create a more Holistic Process

Jeffery Y Cheng, Senior Packaging and Print Production Manager, Fossil Group

  • Fashion accessories NPD and packaging development
  • Pain points (PD, Pkg, GTM, Manufacturing, Logistic, Custom, Sustainability)
  • Key engagement points in NPD for brand experience

Innovation & Technologies

Road to Innovation

Rebekah Valberg, Vice President of Growth, MassChallenge

  • Full session abstract TBC

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

3:45 PM - 4:20 PM - Keynote

Innovation & Technologies

The Pack Mule’s Secret. How Packaging Takes You to the Top!

Chris Cornyn, Chief Innovation Officer, SpoonfulOne

This session is inspired by the tales of packaging successes that have jettisoned start-ups to great heights. The guidelines to winning are simple, getting there is hard. You will need the focus and fortitude to trust what will define success, how consumers will react, and what it takes to fight every step of the way until you get there. Whether you are at a big company or a sole proprietor, this session will help you discover the ultimate vision for great packaging. Beware the trip will be fraught with road blocks from venture capitalists, board of directors, vendors and dumb bosses that want to block your ideas and success.

  • Discover how to jettison your packaging to new heights—Silicon Valley style
  • Discover how to overcome crappy objections to great ideas
  • Discover the key to getting hard-ass consumers to pick up your package
  • Discover how to become a packaging leader that people trust forever

4:20 PM - 5:05 PM - Panel Discussion

Packaging Development

How can we Overcome the Issue of Single-Use Plastic?

Christopher Costa, Director of Product Management and Packaging North America, Victorinox Swiss Army

Lindsey McCoy, CEO, Plaine Products

Luis Arévalo, Design & Packaging Director Latin-American Business, Colgate-Palmolive

Anu Gadhiraju, Packaging Development Manager in R&D Respiratory Category, GSK Consumer Healthcare

An estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic waste enters our world’s oceans each year harming animals and the ecosystem.

  • How can companies work together with their local governments to find a solution to the ongoing plastic waste problem?
  • What alternatives can we explore to replace plastic packaging; a man-made invention?
  • By replacing plastic how do you meet your consumer needs?
  • What is the future of packaging in the next 5 years? Could we ever live in a 100% plastic-free world?

5:10 PM - 6:10 PM

Evening Drinks Reception

8:00 AM - 8:55 AM

Registration & Refreshments

8:55 AM - 9:00 AM

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Christopher Costa, Director of Product Management and Packaging North America, Victorinox Swiss Army

Introductory remarks by the Chair in the plenary room

9:00 AM - 9:35 AM - Keynote

Packaging Development

Ending Single Use

Benjamin Weir, Business Development Manager, Loop

  • What makes a product or packaging waste?
  • How breakthroughs in polymer science ushered in the age of disposability
  • Looking to the not so distant past and changing ownership
  • Convenience, luxury, and no waste

9:35 AM - 10:10 AM - Keynote

Innovation & Technologies

What got You Here, Will not Take You to (e-Commerce) Nirvana

Melissa Dandy, Associate Director of R&D e-Commerce and New Business Initiatives, Johnson & Johnson

Laszlo Moharita, Global Director of R&D e-Commerce and New Business Initiatives, Johnson & Johnson

With iconic retail giants filing bankruptcies and closing doors at record speed and unprecedented category disruption from the likes of Amazon, Alibaba, and JD, as well as smaller digital, e-commerce only startups and unconventional partnerships forming daily, retail as we know it is in turmoil.   However, the shopper is not!  They have more control and choice than ever before.  The shopper of today is looking for more variety and a more customized experience.  In our talk, we’ll share the key things we consider as we start developing Packaging solutions for the Next Level Innovation to win the hearts and minds of the consumer starting with the pillars:  Digital, Development, and Delight.

10:10 AM - 10:45 AM - Keynote

Branding & Design

Digital Design for Automation

Paul Redwood, R&D Engineering Manager, Church & Dwight

Session abstract: 

1.     Smart package designs - Digital Twins
2.     Machine Learning
3.     Virtual Commissioning
4.     Tech Transfer

10:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Networking Refreshments & Meet the Speaker

Benjamin Weir, Business Development Manager, Loop

11:45 AM - 12:20 PM - Case Studies

Innovation & Technologies

Branding & Design

HiBAR. Inspiring a Movement Away from Plastic

Dion Hughes, Creative Director, Founder, HiBAR

Sharing the story of the development of HiBAR, a brand of salon-quality shampoos and conditioners that skip the need for plastic packaging. How we learned that a packaging problem, isn’t just a packaging problem, it’s an overall product design flaw.

12:25 PM - 1:00 PM - Case Studies

Innovation & Technologies

2019 Food & Drink Trends, and What They Mean for Packaging

Lynn Dornblaser, Director, Innovation & Insight, Mintel

  • Elevated convenience: With the growth of e-commerce, convenience is more than grab-and-go. Packaging plays a key role
  • Evergreen consumption: Consumers are more aware of the circular nature of sustainability. Do your part, and tell them about it
  • Through the ages: Optimizing health is important for consumers of all ages. Packaging's role is simple, yet essential

Innovation & Technologies

How Packaging can take Traceability to the Next Level

Natasha Vandenhurk, CEO, Three Farmers Foods Inc.

  • Who is Three Farmers
  • Why does Traceability Matter
  • How can we utilize packaging to tell our story

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Networking Lunch

2:00 PM - 2:35 PM - Keynote

Packaging Development

Effective Ecommerce Packaging Solutions / Fulfilling the Promise of the Brand / Packaging that Ships then Sells

Christopher Costa, Director of Product Management and Packaging North America, Victorinox Swiss Army

  • Increasing brand identification 
  • Improving customer satisfaction 
  • Lowering the return rates by preventing shipping damages
  • Reducing shipping costs by getting lighter and smaller 
  • Value added service,  AMAZON frustration free and SIOC (ships in own container) design considerations
  • Romancing the Inside of the box, creating a memorable unpacking experience

2:35 PM - 3:10 PM - Keynote

Branding & Design

The Role of ‘Design thinking’ in Meeting the Future Packaging needs of Brands

Jos Harrison, Global Head – Design Strategy, Reckitt Benckiser Plc

  • One of the greatest opportunities for brands in the next 10 years is the enrichment of peoples’ experience of using their products or services – as we demand more from the brands we invite into our lives, more value, more content, more transparency and more meaning – packaging will play a crucial role in constantly improving that experience
  • Most organizations are not set up to maximize this opportunity, as it requires a company-wide application of creative problem-solving that typically exists in creative agency partners but only in isolated groups within client organizations
  • I will outline a plan for multi-functional implementation of ‘Design thinking’ as a transformational tool in FMCG/CPG organizations to deliver product/packaging innovation