This Print Supplier Is Having Customers Print Their Own Insulation In-House

The company doing the packaging for Martha Stewart's new branded meal company has an interesting twist: The packaging is printed in its customers' facility in an effort to be more environmentally friendly by removing the transportation variable.

Environmental packaging is a hot topic right now in the branded packaging, printing, and promotional products spaces. As meal delivery services like Hello Fresh become more popular, and companies continue to use edible promotions that go directly to the end-user, there is demand for packaging that keeps products cold and also satisfies customer demands for eco-conscious products.

TemperPack, the company handling the packaging for Martha Stewart's new Marley Spoon branded meal service, is putting the machines that create the packaging insulation inside customer facilities. According to CNBC, they're essentially 3-D printers, and offset what would be up to 40 truck loads per month of insulation. If they produce the insulation on site, they only get an estimated four truck visits per month.

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"The goal is to save money at various points within supply chain," Dale Trigger, Marley Spoon's head of engineering, said to CNBC. "Obviously, because we make it within the facility, we don't have any logistics or shipping costs."

In addition to environmental concerns, sourcing and supply chain issues have plagued distributors and suppliers for years now. Any chance to eliminate that variable would likely be a welcome one, but this could take away business from print suppliers who would could have sold the product themselves.