A24 The Last Word A n i n te r v i ew w i th A n d rew M a n l y, c o m m u n i c a ti o n s d i re c to r o f th e Ac ti ve & I n te l l i g e n t P a c k a g i n g I n d u s tr y A s s o c i a ti o n WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE KEY LANDMARKS ON THE ACTIVE & INTELLIGENT PACKAGING JOURNEY SO FAR? We have come a long way from the QR codes that appeared on packs in Japan in the early 21st century. There has been such rapid development of the various technologies that it is difficult to identify one single event. But the recognition that the active and intelligent packaging (A&IP) developers had to achieve certain thresholds was critical. For example, we now strive not to develop "bits" of technology in isolation so more than one A&IP idea could be molded into a solution. Another milestone was to be able to produce elements at scale, e.g., printed electronics (PE), tags and smart labels. Yet another is to meet necessary performance levels to make it an indispensable part of the landscape. We see this with RFID in the apparel sector as it's seen as essential these days. MAY/JUNE 2019 | BRAND EXPERIENCE