We have seen and lived—and I have written about—many of the consumer purchasing shifts further stimulated by the pandemic. The larger brands are trying to understand the impact of those shifts and realign their product and packaging design and procurement and production processes to accommodate them. In the meantime, smaller and emerging brands are in a better position to cost justify and nimbly make those changes. Nowhere was it more evident than at the Luxe Pack (Luxury Packaging) show last week in New York.

During the year, this event is held in various venues around the globe, including New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Paris, and Monaco. It is the “premier trade show for creative packaging,” and it is targeted at brands producing fragrances, cosmetics, beverages, and anything else that could require luxury packaging. This was their first “live” event post-pandemic, and it was well attended and very active!

There were more than 160 exhibitors displaying a variety of packaging materials including paper, plastic, and textile substrates, boxes, tubes, bottles, and labels. There were also printing companies, converters, and embellishment solution providers in abundance. On display were many interesting technologies. One was a 3D polymer prototype printer from Stratasys. They have more than 1,400 3D printers installed worldwide addressing different requirements, including their PolyJet printer which prints in CMYKWC (white and clear), and can print a complete package and/or product together in one operation! Everything in the following picture was “completely” printed using the PolyJet (yes, even the apples).