Companies that manufacture food and nutritional products must be especially careful. The packaging they use to store products makes a difference. It often helps to work with a company that specializes in safe and secure materials. ePac Flexible Packaging offers food manufacturers the needed assurances.
The company serves businesses throughout parts of Texas. ePac works specifically with food and nutritional businesses. Learn more in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
What the Business Does
Provides flexible packaging for small and medium-sized businesses in the Austin-San Antonio markets.
Co-founder Carl Joachim tells Small Business Trends about the company’s market. “The markets we serve include food manufacturers, pet food, and nutritional products.
“ePac is a full-service packaging provider,” Joachim says. The company produces finished stand-up and lay-flat pouches. They also manufacture roll stock used by co-packers of food products.
Business Niche
Providing fast and efficient service.
Joachim says the company’s business model is built around the latest digital printing technology. Use of the HP Indigo 20000 gives the company its competitive edge. “This eliminates the need for printing plates, requires minimal set-up time and waste, and prints in true high definition quality,” Joachim says.
How the Business Got Started
By studying market trends.
Joachim explains how his company came to be. “ePac started by assessing market trends,” he says. Founders understood the importance of emerging digital printing technology. They also understood how to apply it. The company conducted primary market research in 2014. Research took place in conjunction with the California Polytechnic University’s Graphic Communication Institute and Packaging World. Founders created an investment thesis in 2015. They then recruited investors. The first ePac location opened in May 2016. The company now operates four ePac locations. Meanwhile three more plants prepare to go online. Additional sites include a total of 15 U.S. plants planned by the end of 2019.
Biggest Win
Genuinely helping clients.
Joachim says, “ePac focuses on small and medium-sized businesses, so we have many examples of customers we have partnered with to help them go to market with great packaging. We have thousands of customers, so pointing to one would be difficult, Having said that the Skratch Labs case study on our website is an excellent example of how we work with our customers.”
Biggest Risk
Getting started without customers.
Joachim says, “ePac was created as a Greenfield company, so we literally started with no customers and had to prove our business model. However, between the market research we had conducted, and the extensive experience the 3 founders had in digital printing and flexible packaging, we were confident from the start we had a model which would be highly disruptive to the conventional flexible packaging market. As we embarked on our journey, our main concern was not if our model would work, but how long it would take to gain market traction.”
How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000
Add it to their growth strategy.
Joachim adds, “$100,000 is not enough to register, but our focus in on growth and adding capacity across the country is our primary investment focus.”
Team Makeup
A pretty even mixture.
Joachim explains, “We are a blend of seasoned industry veterans and Millennials, so we are all learning how to communicate with each other.”
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Image: ePac Flexible Packaging