As the last President’s Message I will pen for FlexPack VOICE® and the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), I can reflect on my eight years with FPA with pride, enjoyment, and success. I am grateful for being given the opportunity to lead an innovative industry and a growing association, and I know I will leave my successor with an organization that will continue to thrive.
Since becoming president and CEO in 2016, the industry has grown from a 19% market share at $30 billion to a 20.41% market share at close to $43 billion. The association has grown in membership by 10% and increased revenue by 65%, according to 2023 data. Flexible packaging is now almost tied with corrugated cardboard for the No. 1 type of packaging used in the United States. This pioneering and lifesaving packaging segment is poised for more growth. And FPA will grow with it.
I am proud of the sustainable packaging that is being produced by the industry, as firms have worked to continue to save on energy, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions from the production and transportation sides. I enjoyed seeing the new packaging types and formats over the years, particularly the transformative packaging from rigid, glass, and metal containers to flexibles. And we have been successful in continuing the journey of circularity by supporting well-crafted extended producer responsibility programs and advanced recycling.
With our new strategic plan in place until 2027 and the ongoing work of our members—whether it be through the Circularity and Product Stewardship committees, the Emerging Leadership Council, or the board and board-level membership and meetings reimagined committees—I know I will leave FPA in committed and capable hands.
FPA will continue to advocate for the interests of the flexible packaging industry and protect its growth and success. FPA will also continue to develop industry data and market information to educate and inform internal and external audiences.
Also, as it enters its 75th year in 2025, FPA will position itself as the organization that the industry depends upon and values with continued relevance and expansion.
While I will no longer be a part of FPA, I will watch from the sidelines and enjoy as a consumer all of the inventive and novel packaging that will be created.
It has truly been my pleasure to be a part of this industry if only for a snapshot of its evolution. To the incredible staff of FPA and the membership, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Alison Keane, Esq., IOM, CAE
Former President and CEO
Flexible Packaging Association