ePac Flexible Packaging

ePac Flexible Packaging is based on the premise that emerging digital technology will significantly disrupt the service and manufacturing models that have served the flex pack industry for decades. Founded in 2016, with a mission to serve small and medium-size businesses, ePac is technology-driven and built to provide our customers with a fast and easy way to buy custom flexible packaging.

Offering competitively priced short to medium run-length orders, and 10-15 business day turnaround, ePac is the first supplier built entirely on the latest wide-web digital printing technology – the HP Indigo 20000. With our manufacturing platform optimized to provide industry-leading customer service, ePac offers true high-definition custom printing with variable imaging and the elimination of plate fees, while enabling customers to print to demand and avoid inventory and obsolescence costs.

ePac currently has locations in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Indonesia with additional geographic expansion underway.

History

The vision for ePac began in 2013 when our co-founders, Jack Knott, Carl Joachim, and Virag Patel, came to a similar conclusion:  SKU proliferation, demand for shorter lead times, and low minimum order quantities were increasing, and showing no signs of letting up. Not only that, but the flexible packaging industry could not meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Meanwhile, flexible packaging converters were continuously adding capacity with new equipment to lower unit pricing and meet the demands of large CPGs, and in the process, they increased minimum order quantities while turn-times remained at 6-8 weeks. The trio was intrigued by what was happening in the market and began to hypothesize that digital printing could solve some of these problems.

In 2014, Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication department offered to assist Jack, Carl, and Virag with conducting brand focus groups and market research on how technology innovation will impact packaging. It was the learning from these activities that convinced the trio that there was an increasing demand in the market for the capabilities that digital printing could provide. 

It just so happened that during this same timeframe, HP was beta testing their newest digital press, the Indigo 20000. Our founders, in partnership with Emerald Packaging, explored a variety of approaches and settled on a business model to narrow the focus and break ground. From the beginning, ePac was viewed as having the potential to be highly disruptive to the conventional flexible packaging market.

In 2015, ePac was formed, and in April of 2016 ePac’s first location in Madison, Wisconsin opened for business. In a few short months, market demand for ePac’s quick-turn, low minimum services started to unfold as the group had predicted. It wasn’t long before additional press capacity was added to Madison, and the US expansion began with Boulder, Colorado as the next manufacturing location. 

Today, ePac is partnering with brands of all sizes to help them achieve big brand presence. Our locations around the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Asia Pacific allow us to connect with and serve our customers in their communities.