As we are beginning the last quarter of 2022 and the holiday season, it is a good time to reflect on trends we are seeing in our industry:
State of the Label Industry
- Demand for labels is up
- As customers are able to solve supply chain issues and hire more personnel, they are producing more products that require labels
- Flexible packaging demand continues to be strong
- Continued growth in “Grab and Go” products which are a good fit for wraps
- Many consumer facing companies are switching to or emphasizing flexible packaging to reduce landfill space
- As inflation hits consumers, more are shifting focus to buying food at groceries stores rather than restaurants
- Alcohol packaged for retail sales rather than kegs or bulk for restaurants
- Produce packaged for grocery channel rather than food service similar to what we saw in early 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic
- Delivery services to home has peaked
- We are seeing more packaging being designed for retail channels rather than specifically for delivery via services such as InstaCart
- Delivery vs Price
- Although price is always a consideration, purchasing decisions are currently being driven by ability to deliver by needed date
- Supply chain Issues are present for our customers in a lot of areas other than labels. An example is food grade CO2 for beer
- Reshoring
- As large manufacturers deploy capital to shorten supply chains, opportunities for label converters emerge.
- Hiring is easier
- Labor markets are beginning to loosen up in a lot of areas, including the Upstate
- Supply chain has returned to pre-pandemic levels for many supplies
- We are able to purchase most items at pre-pandemic lead times
- Paper continues to be a challenge. The Supply Chain is still not recovered from the UPM Raflatac strike yet, and may not before the middle of 2023.
- Freight/Transportation continues to be a challenge
- Delivery lead times continue to be longer than pre-pandemic
- Costs much higher
- Lead times expected to extend as we move into the holiday season
- Digital Print is increasingly a good fit for a larger variety of jobs
- Able to run multiple skus for brand owner without plate changeover
- Small runs for seasonal/cost, cost specials
What sets us apart from our competitors is our commitment to the success of our clients. We view each customer relationship as a partnership, and want to leverage our 25+ years of experience to help solve labeling and packaging challenges.
Century Printing and Packaging is still a family business, locally owned and operated that believes in building relationships with customers in order to meet or exceed their expectations by focussing on customer support and service while implementing the most innovative and creative printing and packaging technology available.
“Enjoy our website and know that we are a value-driven company that works hard every day to earn the respect and trust of our customers.” Ben Waldrop, President