International business opportunities for SMEs provided by Packbridge and Enterprise Europe Network

Did you know that the packaging sector in Sweden has grown more than 20% during the last 5 years, where the 10 biggest companies together have more than 57% of total turnover? While the big companies keep growing, different SMEs are scattered within the rest of the market share. With more emerging EU-policy, SMEs within the packaging industry are pressured towards more circular-economy thinking and sustainable packaging solutions.

More sustainable packaging solutions for SMEs

Svetlana Eskebaek, business development manager at Packbridge Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster., says that for SMEs with limited resources, it is a challenge to create a business model that truly embrace sustainability. Innovation is a key factor to productivity and long-term growth. In accordance with statistics, unfortunately, SMEs are, in average, less innovative than large enterprises. However, there are always exceptions.

“Lately we’ve seen that lots of material innovations is coming from SMEs and even the recycling area and recycling challenges have been tackled by smaller companies and Start Ups.”

Internationalization of SMEs within the packaging industry

Svetlana also says that the challenges SMEs face in the internationalization process can be summarized as lack of internal competencies and knowledge about new markets, lack of managerial commitment to internationalization, lack of ownership of marketed products, lack of knowledge on marketing and fostering networks on the international stage.

European Packaging talks 22-26 mars

Packbridge and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) has joined forces to support the development of internationalisation and innovation in SMEs by creating an open environment, helping SMEs to develop and use their internal strategic resources effectively, and building an innovation system that is effective. One of our joint events are the matchmaking event European Packaging talks. An international marketplace for ideas which brings together the European industry to talk about food packaging and to find solutions for more sustainable and innovative products and services.

Which are the strongest arguments for SMEs within the packaging industry to attend the European Packaging Talks and the connected matchmaking event?

“This is a chance to meet your future business or research partner in virtual face to face talks. The event gives you a possibility to publish and showcase your products, projects, services, or business needs and generate fresh leads and new business contacts in a time and cost-efficient way. SMEs can take part of an interactive European Packaging Talk where they can hear from experts in the field about the latest trends on food packaging and to find solutions for more sustainable and innovative products and services.”

Come and join us at European Packaging Talks and the connected matchmaking!

For more information and how to sign up for the matchmaking, please contact our EEN-adviser Dajana Kazazic.

About Packbridge

Packbridge Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster. curates a collaborative hub where business, academia, and society co-create for inclusive, sustainable, and research-driven innovations. For this model to function successfully, we gather parties from within the entire packaging value chain. Our focus is sustainability, digitalisation and AI, innovation, and technology. One of Packbridge goals is to invigorate the entrepreneurs and Start Ups within the entire packaging value chain to facilitate innovation and present new ideas to the industry.