Kickstart: Big data, big bowls and consumer packaging

There's an interesting story from Bloomberg (which you can read at our sister paper Crain's Chicago Business) about how new data technology and e-commerce are influencing business decisions about food products and food packaging.

Food giants such as Kraft Heinz Co. and Conagra Brands Inc. are using data collected from online orders, social media and even General Mills Co.'s "Boxtops for Education" program to drive a rapid response to consumer preferences.

For Kraft Heinz, that meant creating a "big bowl" of microwaveable macaroni and cheese when it spotted trending comments from teenagers who wanted more than the standard 2.05-ounce bowls. The new 3.5-ounce product was on shelves within months. While the Bloomberg story credits Kraft Heinz with moving swiftly, obviously its packaging suppliers likewise had to adapt quickly.

"For a food brand it's really no longer about who has the biggest factory, or who has the biggest media budget," Taylor Smith, a partner at Boston Consulting Group, told Bloomberg. "It's about what data you have and how you use it."

Take the boxtops program from General Mills as an example of how big companies are accessing new data from customers. Rather than tearing off the physical boxtop, participating consumers scan their receipt. It's easier for them, and the cereal maker now can see other items purchased and use that information in product development.

Is that kind of creepy? Oh yes. But the information isn't much different from what store rewards programs already do, but in this case rather than the data going to the store for customized coupons, it's going into product development that can influence packaging produced by molders around the country.

What does it mean to be a minority-owned business?

Piston Group, a $3 billion auto supplier owned by former NBA player Vinnie Johnson, is fighting back on a ruling from the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council that stripped the company of its status as minority owned. Johnson, who is Black, owns the company, but the council members decided that it was run by white men. According to its rules, companies must be owned and operated day-to-day by minorities.

Piston's businesses work with plastics in items such as automotive visors, seat covers, arm rests and thermal management parts. It is the largest Black-owned auto supplier in the U.S.

Johnson told our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business that the company will fight the council's decision.

"I own and control 100 percent of Piston Group. I am actively engaged in all aspects of the business and have been since the business was started in 1995. My commitment to my 10,000-plus employees, our customers and the local communities that we support through our charitable contributions is unwavering. ... We are evaluating all legal options and we will not be able to decide a course of action until we see the outcome of the pending appeal."

A lot of companies want the ability to expand someday when they move into new buildings. Redline Plastics barely had time to let the dust settle from construction of a new plant in Manitowoc, Wis., before it began adding more space.

The rotomolder and vacuum molder has broken ground on a 103,000-square-foot expansion to its 117,500-square-foot building. Construction on that site began in 2019.

"We had this expansion planned since the first half of the building started construction in 2019, but we did not anticipate expanding for at least a couple of years," Nick Murray, vice president of operations, said in a news release. "We are lucky to be in the position we are in and continue our investment in the area, our employees and our customers."

Redline also knows how to treat its workers in addition to handling business growth. The company was No. 5 among processors in the latest Best Places to Work list.