{"id":115983,"date":"2026-05-12T04:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?post_type=vimeo-video&#038;p=115983"},"modified":"2026-05-12T06:26:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:26:51","slug":"co-packing-is-becoming-a-strategic-solution-for-knipscheer-ecpa-at-interpack-2026","status":"publish","type":"vimeo-video","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/vimeo-video\/co-packing-is-becoming-a-strategic-solution-ton-knipscheer-ecpa-interpack-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-packing is becoming a strategic solution: Ton Knipscheer, ECPA | interpack 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The role of co-packing in the European packaging industry has fundamentally shifted. Ton Knipscheer, representing the European Co-Packers Association (ECPA), explains at interpack 2026 what this strategic shift means for brand owners and retailers.<\/p>\n<h3>Market dynamics push brands toward co-packing<\/h3>\n<p>The drivers behind the growth of the co-packing market are clear. \u201cTime-to-market is constantly shrinking, the number of SKUs doubles every two years, and legislation is becoming more complex,\u201d Knipscheer explains. Those forces overwhelm many brand owners whose core competency is not production agility.<\/p>\n<p>A striking example is the lifestyle brand Rituals: \u201cThey are a brand marketing organisation with a strong brand. Everything between brand conception and retail is done by contract packers and contract manufacturers,\u201d Knipscheer says. The model lets companies concentrate on what they\u2019re actually good at \u2014 building the brand \u2014 while specialists handle the execution.<\/p><div class=\"packa-in-post-alle packa-entity-placement\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"packa-1696298412\"><div id=\"packa-3397929721\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/newsletter\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"PJ Self-promotion English 03\"><!--noptimize--><img src=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03.png 840w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-768x192.png 768w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-18x5.png 18w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-332x83.png 332w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-664x166.png 664w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-688x172.png 688w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" width=\"840\" height=\"210\"  style=\" max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" \/><!--\/noptimize--><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<h3>Flexibility beats raw speed<\/h3>\n<p>The ECPA, founded in 2009, now brings together around 100 members across Europe. \u201cOur members have machines that don\u2019t run at 1,000 units a minute, but can be changed over in five minutes,\u201d Knipscheer emphasises. As product variety rises and batch sizes shrink, that flexibility becomes more valuable than sheer throughput.<\/p>\n<p>The industry is also responding to sustainability requirements. ECPA members increasingly offer value-added services, from in-house packaging development to dedicated R&amp;D centres for custom machine solutions \u2014 turning the traditional co-packer into a strategic partner rather than a pure execution vendor.<\/p><div id=\"packa-2829359572\" class=\"packa-inhalt packa-entity-placement\"><!--noptimize--><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2686439340972671\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;text-align:center\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2686439340972671\" data-ad-slot=\"6171251825\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><!--\/noptimize--><\/div>\n<h3>Long-term partnerships, not procurement contests<\/h3>\n<p>Knipscheer's advice to brand owners choosing a co-packing partner is unambiguous: \u201cBuild long-term relationships. If all you want to do is compare prices, you'll never build a relationship and you'll never succeed.\u201d The shift to co-packing only works if both sides treat it as a real partnership.<\/p>\n<p>The ECPA is deliberately expanding into previously hard-to-reach markets such as France and Spain, and supports its members through lead generation without commission models \u2014 a clear signal of the growth potential of the European co-packing market, and of how seriously the association takes its role as both market builder and gatekeeper of quality.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The number of SKUs doubles every two years \u2014 a challenge brand owners increasingly hand to specialised co-packing partners. Ton Knipscheer (ECPA) explains at interpack 2026 why flexibility now beats raw speed, what successful partnerships look like, and why price comparisons alone fail.","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":115985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":{"title":0,"byline":0,"portrait":0,"loop":0,"autoplay":0,"color":"24A27F","dnt":0,"aspect_ratio":"16x9","width":1200,"max_height":0,"video_position":"below-content","video_align":"align-left","lazy_load":false,"play_icon_color":"#FF0000","volume":25,"playlist_loop":0,"aspect_override":false,"start_time":0,"muted":false,"background":false,"transparent":false,"allow_override":false},"__cvm_video_id":"1191407309","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"vimeo-videos":[60527],"vimeo-tag":[61241,61240,61193,61225,60092],"class_list":{"0":"post-115983","1":"vimeo-video","2":"type-vimeo-video","3":"status-publish","4":"format-video","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"vimeo-videos-packaging-trends","8":"vimeo-tag-co-packing","9":"vimeo-tag-ecpa","10":"vimeo-tag-interpack-tv-2026","11":"vimeo-tag-markt","12":"vimeo-tag-english","13":"cs-entry","14":"cs-video-wrap"},"acf":[],"vimeo_video":{"video_id":"1191407309","uploader":"packaging journal","uploader_uri":"\/users\/109467054","published":"2026-05-12T04:20:30+00:00","_published":"May 12th, 2026","updated":"2026-05-12T04:23:21+00:00","title":"Co-packing is becoming a strategic solution: Ton Knipscheer, ECPA | interpack 2026","description":"Ton Knipscheer from the European Co-Packers Association (ECPA) explains the growing importance of co-packing in today's packaging industry. With time-to-market pressures increasing and SKU numbers doubling every two years, brand owners are increasingly relying on flexible co-packing partners. Knipscheer discusses how companies like Rituals focus purely on branding while outsourcing all production to contract packers. He highlights the challenges of finding reliable partners and explains how ECPA's 100+ member network supports collaboration across Europe. The association addresses sustainability through value-added services and helps members stay current with automation trends. Key success factors include building long-term relationships, ensuring flexibility, and providing scalable solutions for the rapidly changing market demands. #interpack #copackaging #ECPA #contractmanufacturing #packaging #brandowners #flexibility #sustainability #automation","tags":[],"duration":974,"_duration":"16:14","thumbnails":["https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_100x75?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_200x150?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_295x166?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_640x360?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_960x540?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_1280x720?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2156408643-854090f4a744b27b5979c7a4018afa3ec7863ec0333ff54f3b960002800dfb7e-d_1920x1080?&r=pad&region=us"],"stats":{"comments":0,"likes":0,"views":0},"privacy":"public","view_privacy":"anybody","embed_privacy":"public","size":{"width":1920,"height":1080,"ratio":1.7800000000000000266453525910037569701671600341796875},"type":"video","uri":"\/videos\/1191407309","link":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1191407309","embed_url":"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1191407309?h=947da4b631"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/115983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vimeo-video"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115983"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/115983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115989,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/115983\/revisions\/115989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vimeo-videos","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-videos?post=115983"},{"taxonomy":"vimeo-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-tag?post=115983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}