Looking to stand out among custom packaging manufacturers? Spectrum Custom Packaging has found a way to craft innovative and inspired custom packaging solutions by believing that what’s on the outside is just as important as what’s on the inside.
A global leader in custom package design, manufacturing, and distribution services since 1981, Spectrum has helped many customers develop products, from concept to consumer, with manufacturing facilities throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, using a single source to achieve manufacturing and distribution goals.
Starting with a fold
“We started as a folding carton manufacturer, but over the decades we’ve grown into a fully integrated custom packaging partner serving industries like food and beverage, health and beauty, medical, and consumer products,” says CEO Shawn Pereira. “What’s allowed us to stay relevant for 45 years is our ability to evolve with the market—whether that’s investing in advanced digital prepress, expanding rigid carton capabilities, implementing FSC-certified processes, or strengthening ISO-driven quality systems.”
This impressive longevity comes down to three things, says Pereira: relentless focus on quality, customer-first responsiveness, and long-term relationship building instead of transactional selling. “In an industry where pricing pressure is constant, we’ve built a reputation for being dependable, proactive, and solution-oriented,” he says. “That consistency has carried us through economic shifts, supply chain disruptions, and major changes in packaging technology.”
Being family-owned is one of the company’s greatest strengths, he adds, affecting both its day-to-day and long-term vision. Daily, it means faster decision-making, direct access to leadership, flexibility when customers need solutions quickly, and a culture of accountability and ownership. “There’s no corporate red tape or layers of bureaucracy,” Pereira explains. “When a customer needs something solved, we can act.”
It also means building generational value—not quarterly results—by thinking long-term and investing in equipment, people, certifications, and relationships that will strengthen the company for decades to come. Creating a culture where employees feel connected to the mission has resulted in many team members locking in at Spectrum for years and even decades, which translates directly into quality and service consistency for customers.
“Being family-owned gives us a different perspective on how we operate the business,” Pereira says. “We treat our people like family, and running it that way, we take great pride in building a company where future generations will have an opportunity to make a career, which has been a big component of our success.”
Investing in people
This means not only investing in the company itself, but in the employees too, he stresses, which allows them to continue to grow and contribute to Spectrum’s success.
“A lot of companies don’t invest in their people, so they become stagnant, and ultimately the company becomes stagnant. Quality is at the forefront in everything we do. There are a lot of companies out there that are price-driven, but you get what you pay for. We’re a competitive company, but if we got the opportunity for a cheap price while delivering a poor product, we’d also have a poor reputation.”
Because of this commitment to quality, Spectrum has maintained loyal customers for many years. Striving to be more proactive than reactive, Spectrum understands that “communication is everything. “I tell everybody, ‘we’re not perfect, but we’re pretty darn good,’” Pereira says. “If something happens, if a machine goes down and it’s going to jeopardize the delivery date, we’re not afraid to talk to the customer proactively. It’s always good to communicate with them ahead of time.”
Spectrum’s clients appreciate the dedication to service and response time, he adds, along with superior quality and turnaround. “Our customers expect that and we really do deliver.”
This commitment has been a priority since the beginning, and is at the forefront of the company’s ongoing success, starting with dad Dino in 1981, and mom Fernanda, who has played a vital role as CFO, handling both finances and Human Resources.
“The company absolutely wouldn’t be where it is today without them,” Pereira says. “And then my wife, Kim Pereira, has played a very supportive role in building the company for growth and success. As Vice President of Finance, Kim has helped with foundational components we need to grow and scale as we get set up for growth here in the next five to 10 years. We have a pretty big vision.”
That vision includes becoming a billion-dollar business in 10 years, he adds, and in order to do that, Spectrum needs to ensure its standard operating procedures and training systems will support that level of growth.
Strategy in partnerships
Spectrum has established strategic partnerships, with many partners and resellers having regional offices located strategically throughout the country. “The idea is to set up some manufacturing plants localized to their regional offices to support them as part of our growth strategy, as well as expanding into new technology and equipment to offer new products and services,” Pereira explains.
On the leadership side, Spectrum partners with Cardone Ventures, a company that aids in setting up for growth and scaling to help with operations, finance, marketing, HR, and sales, ensuring Spectrum has its foundation dialed in. “Along with that, they offer many workshops where we can send our employees for leadership and operational training, monitoring KPIs and metrics, and incentivizing your team up to the level of impact they can provide for the growth of the company,” Pereira says.
Spectrum also brings in equipment manufacturers to spend time helping employees be more efficient in their daily processes; on the flip side, employees are encouraged to attend industry association events to participate in networking and see what’s new out there, because it sparks ideas.
“I can’t be the only one with the ideas, so I lean into my team, and I empower them to speak up if they have ideas,” Pereira says. “Good leaders empower their people to speak their ideas. A lot of people don’t want to say anything to their leaders, because sometimes leaders aren’t open to hearing other people’s ideas; they think they’re above everybody else. I don’t like to have that kind of environment. I want my people to speak up.”
Fitting rewards
This commitment to satisfying both clients and employees has led to a recent impressive accolade, receiving the 2025 Quality Plant of the Year, one of Spectrum’s proudest achievements. The award validates the company’s process controls, its ISO-driven systems, its continuous improvement mindset, and its ongoing commitment to exceeding customer expectations. “That award reflects what we already knew internally: quality isn’t a department at Spectrum—it’s embedded in our culture,” Pereira asserts.
While there are always challenges in growing a business, Pereira says some of the biggest include accessing a skilled talent pool along with navigating and investing in new, innovative technology. Tariffs have also had a big impact, as a lot of the equipment Spectrum purchases isn’t made domestically, but while these challenges have all created some obstacles, Spectrum remains determined to put its clients’ needs first.
“We like to look at our relationships with our customers as partnerships, not transactional,” Pereira stresses. “We want to be solution-oriented manufacturers. We’re the first point of interaction for a customer’s product selling off the shelf. The packaging is just as important as what the product is inside.”
Spectrum’s goal is to support its clients, to help their products stand out, and to provide unique printing effects, whether that’s a foil or a tactile feel for the packaging. “Packaging helps [customers] truly believe and trust that they’re buying an elevated product.”
Packaging and more
Working closely with customers, he says, is vital on the structural side, but it’s more than just helping them create a “really cool looking package.” Spectrum also helps solve problems. “We don’t mind giving you a price on 10,000, but what does your order frequency look like? How are you warehousing this? We look for ways that we can help them save money by ordering differently,” he says. “We bring a lot more to the table than just a price.”
That includes embracing sustainability, especially when moving from plastic to paper with sustainable inks and coatings while still maintaining functionality.
To support sustainability, Spectrum is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, allowing customers to put the FSC logo on their packaging. FSC paper mills are audited annually, providing a chain of custody. “When consumers see that logo, they know this package was made with paperboard that came from a paper mill where, for every tree cut down, they replant a new tree as well as allow animals a habitat to live in,” Pereira says.
The standout factor
What else sets Spectrum apart? Pereira emphasizes several details, including speed and structure.
“We’re nimble like a small company but operate with the discipline of a larger one,” he says, which includes building long-term relationships, especially with resellers and procurement teams who need reliability and top-quality product and culture.
“The 2025 Quality Plant recognition isn’t marketing—it’s operational reality,” he stresses. “From incoming inspection to AQL standards to final production checks, quality is systemic.”
Not a company to rest on its accomplishments, Spectrum also looks to expand its strategic reseller relationships, enhance internal SOPs and training systems, improve quote turnaround times and communication flow, and invest in leadership development and operational clarity, all while continuing to value how it treats employees and how it serves customers.
“At 45 years, we’re not just celebrating longevity; we’re celebrating evolution,” says Pereira. “Spectrum has stayed relevant by investing in quality, people, and partnerships. And the next 45 years will be about scaling that excellence without losing the family-owned values that built this company in the first place.”
