Graphic Packaging Completes Acquisition of Carton Craft Corporation

Sam’s Club China has launched label-free Member’s Mark drinking water, reducing plastic, ink, and energy use, and making recycling easier as part of its sustainable packaging efforts. Sam’s Club China is updating packaging across multiple Member’s Mark products, removing unnecessary plastics and using more recyclable materials, supporting Walmart’s larger sustainability and Project Gigaton goals. The only thing more punk rock than being well-hydrated is a steadfast refusal to be labeled. Now, Sam’s Club members in China can do both. Under the private brand Member’s Mark, Sam’s Club just launched a label-free drinking water, an innovative solution in the company’s journey toward more sustainable packaging. The choice to strip labels from its bottles means Sam’s Club reduces plastic use during manufacturing, leaving just one material to recycle at the end of the bottle’s use. The lack of a label also reduces ink and energy consumption. But fear not: a case of water is the minimum selling unit, so you still get nutrition facts on the outer packaging of the case. Customer response to the new, label-less water bottle will be a key outcome of this trial effort. Sourced from nature, and designed to help protect it, the label-less bottles reflect the cleanliness and quality of their contents.

Smurfit Kappa’s eFlower portfolio is helping customers to capitalise on the growth in demand for eCommerce flower orders which emerged during the pandemic. The customisable portfolio includes nine sustainable packaging solutions ideal for shipping bouquets and potted plants. One of the eFlower portfolio’s stand-out products is the WOW Bloom Box which creates a positive unboxing experience, alongside increased brand perception, making it the perfect eCommerce solution for online flower gifts. The Letterboxable is, as the name suggests, a flower box that is slender enough to go through the letterbox. This, like the entire range of solutions, supports fast product delivery through increased packing efficiency whether the process is handled internally or outsourced to a third party.

Highlights: *Net Sales were $2,392 million, an increase of 1% versus the prior year quarter. *Net Income was $150 million, an increase of 127% versus the prior year quarter. *Earnings per Diluted Share were $0.49, an increase of 133% versus the prior year quarter. *Announcing definitive agreement to acquire Bell Incorporated, a well-capitalized U.S. packaging provider. *Board of Directors approved $500 million increase to share repurchase authorization.