Inside the Packaging Market: What Customers are asking for

What is changing in the packaging industry right now? We asked Kris Hanchette, Vladimir Dimitrov, Matheus Pires and Christian Theiss to share what they are hearing directly from packaging and display companies across different markets. 

Although customer needs vary by region, several priorities come up repeatedly: faster workflows, greater flexibility, tighter cost control and technology that can demonstrate clear business value. 

Speed is becoming a competitive advantage 

One message comes through particularly clearly: customers want everything faster. 

Vladimir Dimitrov, Sales Manager for EMEA at EngView, brings 18 years of experience in the print and packaging industry. He sees this pressure particularly clearly in the design department, where packaging companies are looking for ways to reduce design time, work more efficiently with problematic customer files and reuse existing designs instead of starting from scratch. 

Finding skilled packaging designers is another challenge. At the same time, many companies still rely heavily on Adobe Illustrator or older CAD systems, making compatibility with established workflows an important consideration when introducing new tools. 

Christian Theiss, Managing Director of EngView Systems GmbH, sees the same pressure from another perspective. Customers in the DACH region are operating in challenging market conditions, while their own customers continue to expect increasingly fast turnaround. 

As Christian puts it, “Their customers want everything done by yesterday.” 

Speed is therefore becoming important throughout the entire workflow, from receiving a request and preparing the structural design to production and delivery. And that demand for faster turnaround is closely connected to another shift: the growing need for shorter production runs. 

Short runs and just-in-time packaging are growing 

Kris Hanchette, President of EngView North America, has nearly 40 years of professional experience in the industry. He points to short-run and just-in-time packaging and displays as one of the strongest developments he is seeing. 

Customers increasingly need packaging for smaller product batches, special campaigns, trade shows and individual retail projects. POP displays and trade-show booth designs are also generating growing interest. 

For packaging companies, this creates a different kind of production challenge. They need to handle a wider variety of jobs without allowing setup and design time to make smaller projects unprofitable. 

For design teams, the ability to quickly import a design, clean up customer files, modify existing structures and prepare them for production is therefore becoming increasingly valuable. 

Smaller production runs are also closely connected to another customer expectation: greater customization. 

Customers want more customized solutions 

Customization is taking different forms depending on the market. 

With more than 15 years of experience in the packaging industry, Matheus Pires, CEO of EngView Latin America, sees a growing focus on high-quality, personalized service as an important way for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors. 

In the display market, he is also seeing interest in origami-style displays and demand for a broader library of ready-to-customize display projects. 

Christian sees a similar development in the DACH region, where customized production and lower quantities are becoming increasingly important. 

Together, these observations point to flexibility as an increasingly important competitive advantage. Packaging companies need to respond to unusual requests, smaller quantities and more personalized projects without adding unnecessary time to design and production. 

But greater flexibility also has to make economic sense. That brings another major concern into the conversation: cost. 

Technology has to fit the way people work 

Introducing new technology is not always simply a management decision. 

Experienced packaging designers often have workflows they have used for many years. Even when management recognizes the benefits of specialized packaging CAD software, designers may prefer to continue working with familiar tools such as Adobe Illustrator. 

Vladimir has seen this directly in customer conversations. In one recent case, a company recognized the potential benefits of dedicated packaging CAD, but its designers preferred their existing Illustrator workflow. In another, a new packaging business saw the value of specialized software but remained cautious about the initial investment and chose a monthly payment option instead. 

These examples show why training, ease of adoption and clear productivity gains are becoming almost as important as the technology itself. 

When a new tool fits naturally into the workflow, however, the impact can be immediate — particularly when it helps companies communicate ideas and get customer approval faster. 

Every investment has to prove its value 

The economic environment is having a strong influence on purchasing decisions. 

Matheus Pires points to high taxes, low margins and strong competition, particularly from larger companies that can purchase raw materials in greater quantities and therefore offer more competitive prices. 

Christian sees similar pressure in the DACH market, where high energy costs are adding to the challenge. 

As a result, companies are looking more carefully at how new technology can improve productivity and reduce costs. 

Vladimir notes that customers are increasingly focused on measurable return on investment while also becoming more price-sensitive. Showing an impressive feature is therefore only part of the conversation. 

Customers want to understand how much time a solution can save, how easily it can fit into their existing workflow and what measurable value it can bring to the business. 

This focus on ROI also influences another important factor: how easily new technology can actually be adopted by the people using it every day. 

Digital proofing can shorten the approval process 

Kris shared a recent example involving a customer with a unique display request. 

After meeting with the customer at 10:00 a.m., an augmented reality proof of the proposed design was ready by 12:30 p.m. 

Instead of waiting for a physical prototype, the customer could quickly see the concept, understand how it would look in its intended environment and provide feedback. 

For customized displays, short-run packaging and other projects where turnaround time matters, tools such as 3D visualization and augmented reality can reduce the time between the initial idea and customer approval. 

This is a good example of where technology delivers practical value: not simply by adding another feature to the design process, but by making an existing workflow faster and easier. 

What are packaging companies prioritizing? 

Looking across the experiences of Kris, Vladimir, Matheus and Christian, there is no single technology or development shaping every packaging business in the same way. 

Instead, several connected priorities are influencing customer decisions: 

• Faster design and production workflows 

• Short-run and just-in-time packaging 

• More customized packaging and displays 

• Automation with clear practical benefits 

• Better control of production and operating costs 

• Technology with measurable ROI 

• Faster digital visualization and customer approvals 

The common direction is clear: packaging companies need to become faster and more flexible without increasing costs unnecessarily. 

As customers expect quicker turnaround, greater customization and competitive pricing, companies that can simplify their workflows and respond efficiently to new requirements will be in a stronger position to compete.