Dr Michael Okoroafor, the opening keynote presenter at the AUSPACK Business & Industry Conference on 26-27 March 2019, talks to PKN editor Lindy Hughson about the e-commerce explosion and the industry-wide drive towards a circular economy.
If ever there was a time in the packaging industry’s history that it was in need of pioneers and innovators it is now. Enter Dr Michael Okoroafor, a polymer chemist by qualification with a passionate conviction that good packaging design is key to a sustainable future.
I caught up with him during Pack Expo International in Chicago in October, where he was among a group of distinguished packaging professionals inducted into the Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
With over 40 patents to his name, Okoroafor has been integral to the development of some world-leading consumer packages of the past two decades, including Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle, Heinz’s Dip N’ Squeeze condiment pack and McCormick’s First Choice freshness pack. He also helped develop the flexible film packaging material essential to Coca-Cola’s Freestyle carbonated soft drink dispensing system.
Over the course of his career, Okoroafor has held executive roles with leading FMCG companies like Coca-Cola and Heinz. In his current role at herbs, spices and seasonings manufacturer McCormick & Company, he is the vice president Global Sustainability & Packaging Innovation.
McCormick, he tells me, is a ‘growth story’ in the food industry and e-commerce is one of its main growth platforms.
“If you don’t embrace e-commerce, it’s at your own peril,” Okoroafor warns.
