79% of US Manufacturers Say Labor Is Their #1 Problem.
Your Packaging Line Is Probably the Bottleneck. The Hidden Cost of Your Labor Crisis Ask a food and beverage COO what keeps them up at night in 2026, and you’ll hear the same answer across almost every operation: we can’t find people. It’s not a perception problem. It’s a measurable, structural shift in American manufacturing, […]
Physical AI Is Coming to US Packaging Lines – Here’s What Ops Leaders Actually Need to Know.
Open any manufacturing trade publication in 2026 and you will see the same phrase repeated everywhere: Physical AI. It is on the cover of PMMI’s latest report. It was a headline theme at PACK EXPO International. And if you listen to the keynote speakers, it sounds like every packaging line in America will be run […]
Maine Led the Way. Now the Whole Map Is Changing.
On May 25, 2026, Maine will enforce a ban on PFAS in nine categories of plant-fiber food contact packaging. If your paperboard trays, molded pulp containers, paper wraps, or fiber-based bowls contain intentionally added PFAS above incidental presence, they cannot legally be sold in Maine after that date. But here is the part most food […]
Why the Hidden Costs of Vendor Sprawl Have Become Impossible to Ignore in 2026
Ask a VP of Operations how many packaging vendors their company manages and the answer is usually vague. “Seven, maybe eight. Plus a couple we use for specialty stuff.” Ask the same person how much that vendor sprawl actually costs—not in unit pricing, but in total operational burden—and the answer is almost always: “I don’t […]
Amazon’s FFP and SIOC Rules Are Getting Stricter — Here’s What That Means for Your Packaging Spec
If you sell through Amazon and you have not updated your packaging specs in the last 12 months, you are probably losing money right now. As of January 15, 2026, Amazon began charging new packaging fees for small bulky and large bulky products that are not enrolled in its Ships in Product Packaging (SIPP) program—the […]
The 2027 Barcode Deadline That’s Already Here: What GS1 Sunrise Means for Your US Packaging Line
The barcode as you know it is about to change. By December 31, 2027, every major retailer in North America is expected to scan a new generation of two-dimensional (2D) barcodes at checkout. The initiative driving this shift is called GS1 Sunrise 2027, and it represents the most significant change to product identification standards in […]
CPG’s Race Against Time: Cutting Time-to-Market with OpEx Co‑Packing
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are under more pressure than ever to move faster. In 2025, major retailers like Walmart and Target ratcheted up On-Time In-Full (OTIF) delivery standards to nearly 98%, penalizing delays with fines of about 3% of COGS (Cost of Goods Sold). At the same time, raw material prices swung unpredictably and […]
Why Operational Elasticity is the New Competitive Advantage
If 2025 was a year of consolidation, 2026 is the year of velocity. The US packaging market is shifting fundamentally—moving away from simple volume growth and toward efficiency, automation, and regulatory precision. But for mid-market brands ($35M–$200M revenue), this shift brings a “Triple Squeeze”: Labor Scarcity as a Structural Constraint: With nearly one job opening […]
The 2026 EPR Expansion Map: Why 7 States Are Just the Beginning
As of February 2026, the first wave of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is officially live. The checks have cleared for producer dues in Colorado, data reporting is active in California, and teams are scrambling for the May registration deadline in Maine. For many Food & Beverage manufacturers, the strategy so far has been containment: “We […]
Understanding Eco-Modulation: How Packaging Choices Determine Your EPR Fees
Under the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws active in 2026, not all packaging is created equal. While the base fees cover the cost of recycling, the real financial lever is “Eco-Modulation.” This is the mechanism states use to penalize “bad” design and reward “good” design. For Food & Beverage manufacturers, understanding these variables is […]