Forty years ago, Kenner Products released Stretch Armstrong, an action figure that could stretch from its original 15-inch frame to four or five feet. Although not in the toy-making business, packaging materials manufacturers have had to literally stretch their capabilities to keep pace with beverage-makers seeking clean, sustainable labels that feature vivid colors, images, specialty inks and soft-touch finishes to connect with consumers.

Reston, Va.-based PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, reported that the 20th anniversary of its Pack Expo Las Vegas tradeshow not only was a milestone event, but it also was a record-breaker.

Beverage marketers know that packaging plays an important role in sales. Just as important as the bottle or can that a beverage is packaged in, is how that package is labeled. Without it, consumers couldn’t tell which brand is which.

According to business blog Bizshifts-Trends, Al Ries and Jack Trout popularized the concept of “positioning” in the retail shelf space in their 2000 book “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind.”

Although the term “flexibility” often is used to describe expectations for beverage industry equipment, in terms of labeling equipment, there still is a place for more rigid machines dedicated to specific operations, notes Raul Matos, vice president of sales and marketing at Miami-based Karlville Development LLC.