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Speaker’s interview with Dominik Haug

Dominik Haug studied business administration with focus on marketing, logistics and controlling. In addition, he completed an Executive Master of Business Administration at the Business School of RWTH Aachen. He worked in the retail trade at Lidl, in the food industry at Lactalis and Hochland as well as in the packaging industry at SIG Combibloc. As Product, Project und Brand Manager he gained valuable experience in the Life Cycle Management and Product Development which he can use today as Director and Founder of the start-up yummypack (https://yummypack.de/) in a profitable manner.
When founding and introducing yummypack the company set new standards in the packaging industry offering individualised and sustainable packaging for B2B and B2C customers as well.

You hold a speech at the 6th European Stand-up Pouch Conference of Innoform. What is the main statement of your presentation?
The increasingly global networking and radical digitalization of our society is having a major impact on the change in our consumer behaviour. An opposite megatrend with regard to this development is the growing demand for individualization and personalization. The main feature of successful products is that customers are involved at an early stage in the product development process, and thus linking product properties, functions and services with customer requirements. Mass Customization becomes more and more a successful model, reinforced by the constantly growing technological possibilities.

Many examples of well-known brands in the consumer goods industry, such as mymüsli, Nespresso, Nutella, Coca-Cola and Nivea, show that the desire for personalised products is also finding its way into established consumer goods sectors. This is in the form of new products, services or business model innovations that can complete or even fundamentally change the respective division. All companies in the field of FMCG’s (Fast-Moving-Consumer-Goods), and even their suppliers as well as the packaging industry, are forced to face the tension field between mass production on the one hand and mass customization on the other hand.

yummypack shows with a new platform concept, combined with sustainable pouches – our yummypacks – how a new and old market can be redefined and served by new technical possibilities.

Which kind of audience do you wish and why?
The business model of yummypack does not basically compete with existing market participants. It offers the opportunity to serve existing and new customers who – for example – are unattractive due to the batch size or need deliveries at short notice, in a demand-oriented manner. With growing sales and expansion, we are also looking for partners who can be integrated into our process chain. We also wish to improve more and more our environmental performance, and are therefore looking for additional partners and suppliers.

How do you assess the development of the stand-up pouch (SUP) as a whole concerning your field of activities?

The stand-up pouch is a well-balanced multi-talent. It is price-attractive, offers advantages in the field of environment, safety and health, and moreover, it has a high degree of flexibility and consumer friendliness. In addition, the stand-up pouch is suitable for both the B2B and B2C markets. These are the best conditions for us to grow in our market.

Why did you decide upon standard stand-up pouches in your platform and what comes next?
Stand-up pouches are the absolute lightweights among packagings. They offer excellent properties, especially regarding barrier, convenience and sustainability.  yummypacks belong to the most environment-friendly packagings of their kind due to the paper compound used. Like a photo book, they can be individually designed as desired online on our platform, and filled either at home or in a medium-sized company with machines. The success factors are: Yummy quality in customized yummypacks.

We want to apply new technological possibilities and materials for more sustainability and even for more individual forms of packaging. For example, we are already working on a packaging that consists of up to 100% renewable raw materials.

What are the reasons for the continuous growth of the stand-up pouch market in your opinion?
Convenience, visibility in the shelf, flexible use, price and environment performance are the main success factors in the market as our own market research proves. Furthermore, the relatively easy production and processing contribute to the success of this packaging. Flexibility in shape and compound as well as new technical possibilities, for example the digital print, favour the constant growth of the stand-up pouch.

How do you classify the stand-up pouch regarding the demand for circular economy?
With our yummypacks we pursue a special form of sustainability and a two-track approach to circular economy.

Already today, our yummypacks consist of up to 80 % of renewable raw materials. Currently we still use PET compounds which we will soon replace by alternative layers to achieve up to 100 % of renewable raw materials. An important component – also already today – is paper. This paper is FSC® certified – that means from sustainable forestry.

Our aluminium-free paper compound is recyclable and similar to a beverage carton which – even it contains an aluminium layer – is considered to be ecologically advantageous. The leading companies of the cardboard compound industry do everything to increase the recycling rate and to minimize the ecological footprint by optimising the compound. And we would like to follow this way.
But also the percentage of a paper compound which is not recycled, but consists of 100 % of renewable raw materials, should be put in a positive light: Similar to a home with a pallet heating system, a traditional waste incineration plant (which also uses pollutant filters) suddenly becomes an ecologically balanced, sensible energy generator, doesn’t it?

Which SUP concept did impress you most? 

Last year, many suppliers launched various paper compounds almost simultaneously, including those without aluminium, for stand-up pouches for liquid and durable products. Convinced of the sustainability of the cardboard compound, we saw a reliable, that means already market-tested, paper compound as a sustainable basis for an online-based platform in combination with digital printing. Sustainability and individualization are the key features of our business model. Exciting concepts and initial tests are already underway with many customers who benefit from these advantages.

What do you recommend to a brand owner who wants to start with pouches?

Based on the latest methods of the innovation management – testing easily, but systematically. We create – independent of lot sizes – yummypacks in different packaging designs for our customers to be able to carry out for example test markets cheaply and agilely. Co-Packers can also help to postpone – or even avoid completely – investments in your own filling equipment. In addition, new technical possibilities should be used so that ideal-typical product solutions meet the customer’s needs. Thus all yummypacks have individual QR codes which allow not only to control the logistics process, but also to combine innovative product concepts with innovative marketing and sales concepts, similar to mymüsli’s recipe for success, for example.

And finally a personal question: What inspires you besides your professional activities?
My family.