Getting “Crafty” with Material Shortages
January 30, 2014
Did you hear about the possible, potential, maybe, kinda Kraft Velveeta shortage predicted to hit parts of the country right as people are preparing for their Super Bowl parties? For their part, Velveeta maintains that this is not a publicity stunt and is a real supply chain issue.
But before you go out and empty your kid’s college savings account so you can purchase “liquid gold” off of the black market and save your Super Bowl party, consider this … there are always other solutions if you have the creativity and know-how.
It seems like every year, some food-related fill-in-the-blank-pocalypse is going down: Twinkies discontinued, bacon shortages, avocado slumps, etc. These material shortages happen in the packaging world, too, and you had better have a solution to keep your products moving forward.
Here’s an actual example …
One year there was a paper shortage that caused pricing to raise 20-30% overnight. Ernest’s answer? Redesigned alternatives including non-corrugated packaging, like mailers, that kept costs low without sacrificing customer needs.
When the market throws you a curve ball, you need a team who knows how to take challenges and engineer solutions. That’s what Ernest’s Innovation Lab does, and does quite well if we’re being honest.
Protect your supply chain with Ernest Packaging Solutions; call us today to get started.
Oh, and if you’re wanting a Velveeta-free cheese dip for some good, old-fashioned football watching, check out some of these recipes from Today.
