Case Study | 21 July 2025
How a Packaging Company Adopted Sustainable Innovation to Dominate the Market by 2037?
Posted by : Abhishek Bhardwaj
A packaging organization, despite its long-term market dominance, experienced critical repercussions, owing to its dependency on non-eco-friendly materials. With a shift in consumer preferences and increasing environmental reforms, the company’s revenue readily stagnated, resulting in enforced leadership to attain expert intervention. Research Nester’s tactical guidance, including green funding provision, AI-powered supply-demand analysis, and charging infrastructure, ensured complete transformation. Besides, by positioning its operations based on 2037 sustainability benchmarks, the company recovered lost profits and became the leader in packaging solutions.
An overview:
- The leading packaging company, in operation since 2010, effectively dominated the market with its ecological, high-quality, and harmful plastic packaging solutions. In 2021, a sudden shift in consumer preferences and increasing environmental reforms towards sustainability resulted in diminishing brand reputation and revenues.
- The majority of retail partners commenced demanding green packaging options, while environment-based NGOs publicly disapproved of the organization’s ancient practices, thereby developing market pressures.
- The existence of stringent environmental regulations, such as carbon taxation and plastic bans, pressured the company to re-establish its strategy. Competitors integrating reusable and biodegradable packaging achieved market share and left the company to struggle.
- The regulatory modifications were intensified by transitioning investor priorities with the inclusion of ESG-driven funds, depriving companies of the lack of sustainability records. Hence, the overall competitive landscape completely changed and, in turn, needed increasing artificial adjustments to packaging designs.
- In 2021, the company’s revenue stagnated at USD 5.3 billion, despite market efforts and cost-cutting measures. Additionally, the aspect of inefficient supply chains and poor innovation in sustainable packaging degraded the circumstance.
- The company’s research and development-based investment in sustainable alternatives was lagging behind sector leaders by almost a decade, developing a technological barrier that cannot be shut down through traditional means.
- In 2022, the company approached Research Nester to create a long-standing sustainability roadmap that focused on aligning with 2037 market forecasts.
- This was a forward-looking strategy that the packaging sector experienced radical transformation in the upcoming years, wherein sustainability has emerged as the ultimate expectation in comparison to a rival differentiator.
- Analysts in Research Nester offered data-based solutions, such as green investment strategies, AI-powered forecasting, and charging facilities for electric logistics, thereby ensuring compliance and profitability.
The Story
The packaging company is considered the market leader since its formation, particularly focusing on durable plastic packaging. However, in 2021, the aspect of strict government policies, along with international sustainability trends on single-use plastics, critically impacted the overall business. Besides, competitors leveraged circular economy models, smart packaging, and biodegradable materials, and captured eco-conscious consumers. Meanwhile, the company’s revenue evened out with a mere 2.5% growth over the past years. The company readily experienced numerous challenges, including a rise in penalties for non-recyclable packaging, an increase in carbon footprint in comparison to conventional logistics. Last but not least, there has been a loss of B2B clients while seeking ESG-based compliant suppliers. Therefore, to identify the demand for a radical shift, the company engaged with Research Nester to create a 2037-based sustainability initiative. This was possible by implementing strategic green investments and AI-powered supply-demand optimization.
Furthermore, the company was readily dominating the durable plastic packaging industry for decades by demanding quality pricing for its unbreakable solutions. But, in 2021, a revolution in sustainability resulted in the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive imposing 35% of recycled content mandates, while California endorsed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) with USD 4.70 per kg penalties, particularly for non-compliant packaging. Besides, rivalries, including NotPla and EcoEnclose were racing ahead, and successfully captured an estimated 22% of the market by unveiling mushroom-based edible water pods and packaging. Besides, the company’s carbon footprint audit data demonstrated that its logistics network produced almost 45,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly, which was 30% higher than sector benchmarks.
In this regard, Research Nester’s analysis exposed the following root causes:
- The lack of innovation results in the absence of R&D fund provision for bio-based alternatives in comparison to competitors’ 6% to 8% allocation.
- Material obsolescence led to 88% of products utilizing virgin plastics, instead of 63% of buyers requiring PCR materials.
- The existence of supply chain blind spots caused zero visibility, particularly for secondary material suppliers.
Owing to all these causes, Research Nester deployed certain strategies that the company can implement. These included the provision of a USD 55 million GreenTech fund to successfully acquire compostable material startups. This was followed by IBM’s AI-based need for an orchestrator to diminish overproduction wastage by at least 40%. Finally, there was a huge demand for a supplier carbon index to grade vendors on emissions, intended to diminish Scope 3 impacts by 19.5%.
Our Solution:
The analysts’ team in Research Nester recognized key barriers and suggested a three-phase transformation plan, which includes the following:
- Implementation of sustainable and smart materials: This includes the shift from plastic to recycled, compostable, and plant-based materials. Besides, the launch of the blockchain-specific packaging has been successful in providing transparency in the supply chain dynamics.
- Logistics and electrification overhaul: The installation of solar-driven EV charging stations at distribution facilities is fruitful to provide support for a complete electric delivery fleet by 2030. Besides, AI-driven demand forecasting is also essential to diminish waste and overproduction.
- Investment in future-readiness and circular economy: The unveiling of a packaging-as-a-service (PaaS) model is projected to be suitable, wherein clients can lease reusable packaging. Meanwhile, strategic partnerships with recycling organizations and clean-tech startup firms can assist in ensuring future-proof operations.
Results
The packaging company readily achieved remarkable growth by strategically implementing Research Nester’s strategies. For instance, the company’s revenue surged to USD 7.1 billion, owing to cost savings from the utilization of EV logistics and sustainable materials. On the other hand, the market share is expected to expand by almost 19% by 2030, with the aspect of zero plastic penalties, and 45% reduced carbon emissions. However, the anticipated revenue for 2037 is USD 12.8 billion, which is effectively attributed to the circular packaging adoption, EV fleet efficiency, and AI-driven supply chains. The company not only achieved its leadership position but also emerged as a benchmark for sustainable packaging advancement, thus proving that profitability and ecological responsibility can co-exist in the same circumstance.
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