Source to shelf can cut product and packaging update timelines to just 48 hours

Packaging Solutions

TraceGains and Esko have demonstrated how a connected ‘source to shelf’ approach can dramatically accelerate product and packaging updates, successfully taking a product from concept change to finished, shelf ready packaging in just 48 hours.

The proof came through ‘The Big Easy’ project, a highlight at the recent Esko World event in New Orleans, where the companies took on an everyday challenge that many brands face – updating a product to meet current consumer and packaging trends. After adding a new ingredient to provide a flavour kick, the fictional product’s packaging was redesigned, label and nutritional information was updated and finished pouches were delivered to event attendees, all inside just two days. More importantly, the initiative showed how brands can connect product development, compliance, packaging and production processes to respond rapidly to real world business challenges.

‘For food and beverage manufacturers, reformulation and packaging change have become strategic necessities,’ said Paul Bradley Sr, director of product marketing at TraceGains. ‘Companies regularly adjust recipes to address changing consumer preferences, evolving regulations, sustainability commitments, ingredient shortages and cost pressures. These projects can often become trapped in fragmented workflows, with teams working across disconnected systems and datasets.’

Adding further urgency is the approaching implementation of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will require many manufacturers to review packaging formats, materials, labelling requirements and sustainability claims over the coming years. ‘For many brands, compliance will extend beyond packaging design alone,’ said Paul. ‘Changes to pack formats, material choices, product claims and ingredient declarations may trigger broader reformulation and packaging update projects, placing additional pressure on teams already managing complex portfolios.’

‘Regulatory change has always been a catalyst for innovation, but it can also expose inefficiencies in disconnected processes,’ he said. ‘As organisations prepare for requirements such as PPWR, they need the ability to assess impacts quickly, update product and packaging information accurately, and execute those changes across multiple markets without introducing additional risk. By linking product data, compliance information, packaging content and production workflows, a source to shelf approach helps organisations adapt faster while maintaining confidence in every pack they produce.’

Jan De Roeck, Esko marketing director, explained that the pace of change facing brands continues to increase. ‘Whether the driver is new regulation, sustainability commitments, supply chain disruption or changing consumer expectations, companies need packaging processes that can keep up,’ he said. ‘The Big Easy demonstrated how rapidly brands can move from change to execution when packaging workflows are connected to trusted product and compliance data.’

Combining the TraceGains network with Esko packaging and artwork management solutions creates an ecosystem where organisations can maintain a continuous flow of trusted information from ingredient sourcing and product specifications through to packaging execution and production.

‘The industry has spent years talking about digital transformation, but many companies still manage product and packaging updates through disconnected processes,’ said Paul Bradley. ‘When a product changes, ingredients, nutritional values, supplier documentation, claims, labels, artwork and approvals must all stay aligned. We have shown that brands no longer need to address these activities separately.’

Using AI powered capabilities and connected workflows, the ‘Big Easy’ project moved rapidly through reformulation, artwork creation, review, approval and production. The connected ecosystem maintained a single source of truth throughout the process, keeping product and packaging information synchronised from start to finish.

‘Packaging is often the most visible part of a product change, but it is rarely where the process begins,’ said Jan De Roeck. ‘Every packaging update depends on accurate product information, approved specifications and trusted data. The real value of source to shelf comes when product data, packaging content and production workflows operate as one ecosystem, enabling brands to execute change at a speed that simply wasn’t possible before.’

While the 48 hour timeline attracted attention, TraceGains and Esko believe the broader lesson matters more. ‘Obviously the goal isn’t to complete every project in two days, but to remove the friction that prevents organisations from responding to market opportunities,’ said Greg. ‘Whether a company is reformulating because of consumer demand, regulatory changes or supply chain disruption, it needs the ability to act decisively and confidently.’

Jan added that The Big Easy provided tangible evidence that the source to shelf vision is already delivering results. ‘This wasn’t a simulation or a theoretical use case,’ he said. ‘We connected people, processes, data and technology to solve a realistic business challenge in real time.’

‘By bringing together TraceGains and Esko, we are helping organisations eliminate silos, simplify complexity and accelerate innovation,’ he said. ‘The Big Easy showed what is possible when the entire journey from source to shelf operates as one connected process.’