Synergy Between The Pharma And Food Industry

In an interview at Pharma EXPO/Pack EXPO 2014 Kate Achelpohl, Director, Member Communications, PMMI, the association for packaging and process technologies, Achelpohl talks about how anyone along the supply chain in the packaging industry can get the most from the show and the opportunities for people to convene and collaborate on solutions for operational challenges. Achelpohl uses the term cross-pollination to describe the show, stating that it gives inspiration from looking at something outside of your normal realm of experience with the synergy between food and pharma solutions. 

Interview Transcript:

Todd S:            Alright. Good morning. Todd and Todd live in Chicago, Life Science Connect Radio’s day 3 coverage from this grand event. Todd, you and I have had the real pleasure of getting to know this next organization pretty well at the show and they’re doing an amazing work – amazing people doing amazing things.

Todd Y:            I for one can’t get enough of PMMI. The more I learn about what they’re doing, the more impressed I am by the organization and how they get things done.

Todd S:            I agree. Let’s get to our next guest. Her name is Kate Achelpohl. She’s Director of Member Communications for PMMI. Kate, welcome to the show.

Kate:                Well, thank you very much.

Todd S:            A pleasure to have you. Thanks for stopping by and giving us your valuable time. I imagine you’re quite busy as we’re here in Chicago. Before we get into our conversation, inform the audience a bit about you and your background.

Kate:                I’ve been kicking around PMMI for about 7 years in the member communications area talking to members, working on press materials, running our press room here at the show and getting to know this industry and the people, and there’s a lot of layers. There’s a lot of layers.

Todd S:            I bet. Well, it would be fun to explore that. Alright. PMMI, just remind the audience about your mission and purpose.

Kate:                Okay. PMMI is the association for packaging and processing technologies. In a nutshell, what we’re here to do is to convene the industry all along the supply chain, getting everybody together to collaborate on solutions for their operational challenges, talk about issues that are mutual, come to solutions, buy and sell, get answers.

Todd Y:            Talk a little bit about the so-called cross pollination effect.

Kate:                It’s a funny word, isn’t it?

Todd Y:            I enjoyed saying it.

Kate:                again, in a nutshell, what we’re talking about is the inspiration that you get looking at something that’s outside your normal realm of experience. So you may look at product A and say “Oh, dang, I can use that.” That’s the cross pollination effect where we see that really being helpful, terrific, available option. A great example is between pharma and food.

                        So the food producers are walking on getting their heads around what the food safety modernization act may or may not be. They’ve got to look at track and trace, they’ve got to look at serialization, they’ve got to look at hygienic design.

                        They’ve got to look at sterilization in different ways than they ever had to be fought. Well, pharma, they’ve been doing that. So they can come here and talk to some of the pharmaceutical exhibitors and perhaps they get some ideas, perhaps they can contact for a different solutions provider.

                        On the flipside, the pharma guys are looking at refrigeration, speed to market, energy efficiency, really can’t do any better than to go look at the food manufacturers and some of the other people in the CPG world because that’s what they’re doing. They have to do that and their experts at it. So it’s this symbiotic cross pollination, synergy. I don’t know what the right real word is but I think…

Todd S:            I have a degree in biology so I’m right with you.

Kate:                There we go.

Todd S:            That’s why you come to this event, right? That’s the whole point of this thing of having PACK Expo and PHARMA Expo together. Todd and I have had, gosh, dozens and dozens of conversations at this show talking to an organization, let’s say a large global company that plays in a lot of different sandboxes and when we asked what differentiates you in the marketplace, they say, “Well, gosh, we have an active presence in this industry and we learn things that we can apply to this.”

                        That’s just one organization. But the rising tide lifts all boats kind of mentality of this industry and you walk around and you go to your (0:03:46) what people are doing there. That’s the whole point of doing this thing. The show ought to be called “The Cross Pollination Show”. That’s really what this is all about, right?

Kate:                Well, exactly. We have 2400 exhibitors here at McCormick Place, 1.2 million net square feet of exhibit space. That’s 1.2 million, that’s square feet of booths. That’s a lot of people and a lot of space. It’s all full of different ideas and solutions, and it’s hard to walk all of it but if you can do.

Todd Y:            I keep thinking the cliché if you can lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink. The opportunity to cross pollinate idea is just rampant. It’s everywhere all around us. What kind of hints and tips can you give to folks to more actively go out and pick up ideas? What kind of questions might they ask and how can they get the most out of this show in terms of picking up new thoughts?

Kate:                I think one of the things would be to be willing to go into an area of the show floor that you’re not necessarily saying “oh, that’s me”. So if you’re not a brand manager perhaps, go and check the brands on anyway. Look at the containers, look at the material.

                        See what that gives you as “oh look, I could put my widget into this box” or what-have-you. So that would be one thing. It’s an open mind, it’s being a little imaginative. Use PackExpo.com and your My Pack Expo Portal to do keyword searches and to find the types of products you’re looking for because it may be that an exhibitor in the pharma side is not over in the PACK Expo side and has what you need, so walk out across the bridge.

Todd S:            We’re about 2 ½ days into the exhibition. Give us an update. How was the debut of PHARMA Expo contributing to that spread of ideas? What’s the pulse of the press that you’re paying attention to? Are they picking up the key messaging? What are they reporting? What’s their feedback?

Kate:                The press are loving it. I work in the press room and I can tell you that yes, they’re all very excited about this show. They’re seeing very interesting trends and new products.

                        There was somebody with a new child-resistant zip pack I think. They’re looking at things like 3D Printing to see where that might be going. You know, serialization, sterilization. Sustainability of course is always huge. Everybody they’re talking to has reported back to me is happy exhibitors which of course makes us very, very happy. Almost as happy as a happy attendee.

Todd Y:            Talk a little bit about what you’ve seen speaking of cross pollination. What have you picked up here that you didn’t expect or that was just kind of particularly interesting for you?

Kate:                I think I’m very intrigued by this idea of the internet of things which is something that I want to be learning about more while I’m here. I do spend a lot of my work time tied to a room. So I never wander around much. But that’s something that’s definitely a trend. We have a trends reporting team going around for member report. And that’s one of their hot topics.

Todd S:            Any ideas on what you will add to this experience in 2015? I imagine you go through this experience and identify some… you get some feedback from attendees and they’re saying, “Boy, it would be great if we had X.” What are some of those things? What do you think you will begin to integrate into future shoes?

Kate:                Oh boy, we’ve got a lot. Actually, there’s a lot going on in 2015. So we’re not waiting until Las Vegas, and we’ll all be in Las Vegas. We’re going to start off in Philadelphia with PACK Expo East where we’re in the middle of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical life science land and serving that regional audience so that we’ve got New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania.

                        Again, all the good things at PACK Expo, the free education, the innovation stage, the top tier exhibitors all in one place. But on a local scale, to make it easier for a company to bring a couple of guys or gals to the show instead of just sending one person hoping that they can see everything and report back.

Todd Y:            You partially answered my next question. I mean, this is obviously the mecca. You get to PACK Expo, PHARMA Expo. I mean, everybody that’s anybody is already here and the ability to pick up new thoughts is there.

                        The PACK Expo East is a smaller version of that that extends this ability to pick up new ideas. What else can I do? I want to get new ideas more than twice a year at the major events. What else can I do to pick up new ideas during the course of the rest of the year?

Kate:                Well, there’s always trade publications, reading books like yours in packaging world, and all of the trade magazines that are out there. That’s always an important way to go. Of course, online. But you know, PMMI has a ton of material that is also available in one form or another to the end user as well as the supplier on the supply chain.

                        We do a lot of business intelligence reports. For example, we’ve looked into retail ready packaging and secondary packaging recently, and secondary packaging in many instances is becoming retail ready as stores want to go from the pallet right to the shelf.          

                        We’ve done a food safety modernization report. We’ve worked on confectionary studies, personal care report is coming out in short order. So there’s a lot going on. That’s all on our website, PMMI.org.

Todd S:            I’ve been a keen observer of the industry for 7 years and I heard you quickly at the top of the show. I’d be curious to know some quick thoughts on what’s really changed over that time and more importantly, the next 3-5 years, what do you see as the big trends that we all ought to be really paying attention to?

Kate:                I think what I’ve seen change is the dynamism. I came into a very dynamic industry and the pace is going faster and faster and faster. I don’t think that’s just my office. That’s a kind of interesting thing. I think that it’s going to be very important to keep an eye on what other people are doing. Everything seems to conglomerate.

                        Things seem to come together and more things are becoming the same almost. Not homogenized but coming in, kind of the cross pollination hybridizing to make something new. I think that’s something worth looking at. Again, I always think it is looking at the cross pollination, I think it’s always important to do. It keeps your mind going and I think it’s going to be where you need to go.

Todd S:            I’m with you on that. Alright. Kate, we’re about out of time. Before we let you go, how can people get in touch with you, learn about these great events and most importantly, where can I get information from PMMI?

Kate:                Okay. PACK Expo shows are online at PackExpo.com. You pick your show and you get the number of the portfolio. It’s a very big portfolio. PMMI’s information is at PMMI.org.

Todd S:            Alright. Kate Achelpohl, Director of Member Communications from PMMI. Kate, it was a pleasure to have you. Thanks for stopping by and joining us.

Kate:                Likewise. Thank you.

Todd Y:            Thank you, Kate.

Todd S:            Alright. That wraps this segment. This has been Life Science Connect Radio. Todd and Todd signing off from Chicago. Our live coverage will be right back.