LK® Packaging recently introduced its SimplyFreshTM brand, marking another exciting and innovative product line in the packaging and containerization space. This is just the latest example of the company’s decades-long commitment to redefine its core capabilities, perfect customer engagement, and infuse the packaging supply chain with on trend, in demand and readily available products.

While our product line has been continually expanding over the years to include more than plastics products, it was February 2020 that Elkay Plastics became LK Packaging to reflect the company’s long-time strategy of energizing the packaging supply chain with a wide range of readily available, state-of-the-art packaging solutions. LK has grown and adapted over the last 50+ years and we felt the company name change showcased our growth.

When a company has been around for 60 years, undergoing a rebrand isn’t a decision taken lightly. There has to be a powerful driving force and sharp vision behind such a monumental shift. For LK Packaging, that force manifests in an unwavering commitment to:

• Continual improvement
• Distinctive products
• Industry leading customer support
• Leadership by example in the food, healthcare, and industrial packaging sectors

While plastic products will always be a core part of LK Packaging’s business, they simply no longer tell the full story of the company’s extensive capabilities and progressive orientation. The rebrand to LK Packaging better reflects the organization’s expansive product catalog encompassing films, rigid containers, lids, foam trays, and more crafted from a wide array of futuristic materials – all designed to improve product protection, extend shelf life, minimize environmental impact, and enhance unboxing experiences.

Trusted Leadership & Continual Reinvention

While the rebrand signifies an exciting new era, LK Packaging’s record of successful transformation traces back to 2013. That’s when the company launched a large-scale initiative to dramatically grow their food packaging product line based on deep insights into the unique challenges facing product manufacturers, co-packers, processors, and retailers. This marked a strategic shift toward becoming a true full-service packaging partner providing total supply chain infrastructure.

Just a few years later in 2018, the acquisition of Red Rock Packaging, a premier supplier of high-performance overwrap films, strengthened LK Packaging’s value proposition to food companies. This significant investment complemented existing company offerings with a comprehensive selection of flexible packaging formats designed for applications as varied as bakery items, produce, proteins, and prepared meals. The transaction reinforced LK’s position as a national leader in vertically integrated flexible packaging while enhancing their abilities to manage inventory, reduce freight costs, and provide just-in-time product availability.

A year later, the company doubled down on a data-driven approach to deeply understand food manufacturers’ biggest obstacles and map out fail-proof ways to solve them through optimized packaging formats, materials, and processes. The result was another product line expansion and the creation of detailed playbooks and training tools to set its distribution partners up for success in bringing these resources to end customers.

LK Packaging’s relentless march accelerated further in 2020. The launch of LK’s first-ever compostable packaging line made from vegetable starches and wood pulp provided the final impetus for the company’s rebranding. This bold, sustainable offering placed the business at the forefront of the environmentally conscious packaging movement years before it became a universal mandate. Plans are in place to augment the compostable product range while actively exploring other bio-based alternatives to traditional petroleum plastics across all their major product lines.

Rooted in History; Focused on the Future

The LK Packaging name maintains founder Lou Kestenbaum’s initials. Lou launched the business in his Los Angeles garage in 1968 with just a plastic bag machine. Over the past half-century, his labor of love has evolved into a respected industry titan defined by consistent quality, responsive service, and a steadfast commitment to investing in the tools and resources that keep customers ahead of the curve.

That formula for success is embodied in LK’s latest product line, SimplyFresh™ lidding and sealing films for food packaging applications. This innovative line reduces environmental impact by minimizing material usage while improving production efficiencies for food manufacturers. It’s just one recent example of how LK is employing their comprehensive packaging mastery and material science expertise to benefit their partners on both sides of the supply chain.

Throughout its upward journey, LK has remained grounded in the principles Lou established so many decades ago:

• Listen to the market
• Empower employees to find smart applications
• Always look for the next opportunity to add value through new products and services

True to its namesake, the LK Packaging name reflects a keen pride in the quality, craftsmanship, and longstanding relationships the business has cultivated over generations of steady growth and geographic expansion.

Boundless Packaging Solutions

Over the past few years, LK Packaging has channeled its vast packaging engineering experience into making groundbreaking strides in unexpected new verticals as well. Demonstrating nimbleness and industry savvy, the company quickly pivoted to develop high-quality personal protective equipment at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring healthcare heroes access to high-quality disposable supplies.

More recently, LK’s industrial packaging team has launched new high-performance stretch wrapping, bagging, and other protective shipping materials to help businesses streamline operations and protect goods during transport.

No matter what packaging challenge gets thrown our way, LK Packaging’s cross-functional teams of packaging scientists, industrial engineers, manufacturing experts, and supply chain professionals meet industries’ needs for fresh approaches through a comprehensive arsenal of polymers, film formulations, and eco-friendly material alternatives.

Through it all, LK Packaging has remained rooted in its mission to drive packaging breakthroughs using inspired product design that boosts product protection, extends shelf life, reduces material costs, and minimizes environmental footprints. With a desire to challenge the status quo and find better ways to create value across diverse industries, the pioneering mindset reflected in the LK Packaging rebrand will only accelerate. The new name encapsulates the vast capabilities the company has carefully cultivated for over half a century, while symbolizing its vision to continually reimagine what’s possible in the ever-evolving packaging ecosystem. Thanks to sustained investments, unrelenting curiosity, and a boundless spirit of reinvention, LK Packaging is packaging’s future – built on a proud past and laser-focused on finding smarter solutions for years to come.