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Sonoco Institute Announces New Partnership with Digimarc

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The Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics welcomed worldwide content identification company Digimarc Corp. as a new corporate member. Digimarc supports research and development activities, stimulates educational opportunities and ensures cutting-edge laboratory infrastructure at the Sonoco Institute.

“Digimarc is proud to be a member of the Sonoco Institute,” said Scott Wilcox, vice president of client services at Digimarc. “We believe Digimarc Barcode will soon become an integral part of how consumer product packaging is conceived and designed, and we’re excited to be involved with a university where packaging innovation is the core focus.”

The membership program is a three-year commitment that includes benefits such as discounts on industry-aligned seminars and workshops, print testing and evaluation services, and an invitation to an annual members-only symposium. Member support allows the institute to provide professionally staffed and equipped research, development and demonstration facilities at Clemson; ensure top-quality seminars and workshops; host interdisciplinary networking and business development events; stimulate cutting-edge graduate student talent; and continually enhance student experiences.

“Digimarc Barcode is a transformational technology in retail and the consumer-packaged goods industry, and we’re excited to have Digimarc join us as a new member,” said Bobby Congdon, assistant director of the Sonoco Institute. “We know this partnership will bring unique value to our area of printing and packaging research and education as Digimarc continues to enhance methods for secure and efficient packaging.”

Sonoco Partnership to Develop New Technologies, Package Formats

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Every year, billions of dollars worth of packaged food is lost due to spoilage. Sonoco, one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, has announced a new research partnership with Clemson to address that packaging challenge.

“Sonoco is committed to serving fresh brands, using packaging to tackle the challenges they face,” said Sonoco President and CEO Jack Sanders. “Optimizing fresh food packaging to extend shelf life and maintain quality makes fresh produce more accessible to communities, and helps brands and retailers extend sales opportunities and eliminate food waste.”

The Sonoco FRESH (Food Research Excellence for Safety and Health) initiative will develop new technologies and new forms of packaging to optimize the fresh food lifecycle. Sonoco will contribute $1.725 million over five years to establish the multi-disciplinary hub for innovation and research. The company also will sponsor business-driven research projects totaling $1 million over that period. Sonoco FRESH is an extension of the partnership that created the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics at Clemson.

“Working with outstanding industry partners like Sonoco allows us to do more to develop solutions for the grand challenges facing the world, and it helps us to prepare our students to become future leaders,” said President Clements. “Leveraging the expertise of our faculty, Sonoco FRESH will play a key role in exposing our undergraduate and graduate students to issues related to the crisis of food waste and sustainability so that they will be informed and responsible decision makers as they enter the workforce.”

“We are honored to be working with Clemson, as reducing food waste is central to our combined efforts — and finding ways to extend freshness through new technology is key,” said Vicki Arthur, Sonoco’s senior vice president of plastic packaging and protective solutions. “We believe this partnership will deliver breakthroughs to help the entire packaging industry and will have a major impact on the distribution of fresh food across the country and around the world.”