It’s all in the package

I spent the week in the US last week, listening to visitors to our stand at the IDFA’s International Dairy Show say kind things such as, what a nice looking magazine, and you Europeans seem to have more innovative packages. The said that it takes a long time to get new dairy packages over in the US. Well, that may or may not be true. Often, the economics of dairy means that only value-added products can afford to package their wares in something a little more high-tech than a plastic milk bottle. European processors are not immune to this phenomenon.

That being said, the work that is being done on a standard milk bottle is amazing – lightweighting and protection from light is continuing apace, and I saw packages in the US that could easily rival those in other countries for ease of use and attractiveness. There were a few I wanted to bring over here, but didn’t because they’d be confiscated. When I went to Europe a couple of weeks ago, there were a few I did bring home with me. Yop’s mini-yogurt drinks six-pack, for example. I do like a good miniature.

As for the magazine, we work hard to make it look good. The attendees must have liked it too – we were cleaned out by the last day. A very satisfying trip.