Editor’s note: The following profile is from the 2025 Packer 25, our annual tribute to 25 leaders, innovators and agents of change across the fresh produce supply chain. (You can view all honorees here.) This feature has been edited for length and clarity.
Kevin Kelly — CEO, Emerald Packaging
In 2002, Kevin Kelly became CEO of Emerald Packaging, a Union City, Calif.-based company that has been reinventing produce packaging for over 60 years. For over two decades, Kelly and Emerald Packaging have led the industry in addressing plastic waste, most recently helping shape legislation in California that addresses the need for a better recycling infrastructure.
Emerald Packaging was founded by your father in 1963. What has been the key to your longevity and what does it mean to you to be the company’s CEO more than six decades after its founding?
Sticking around 63 years in manufacturing is no small feat. I think we’ve kept a relentless focus on our customers, down to how we overthrow the factory schedule to meet rush or panicked orders. We don’t say we can’t do it. We get it done. There’s the advantage of being a family-owned business without the pressures of huge debt introduced by private equity, pressure that often begets bad decision-making, including neglect of the customer.
And we’ve always made it clear, that in addition to our customers, our people are to be treasured. We really do help folks when they’re in need and listen when they have ideas. We don’t have high turnover, which means we have experienced people who know what to do in a pinch. We’ve been lucky over the years to land a set of senior managers who have added a professional edge while keeping the family culture. And, finally, no honest businessperson should boast of success without mentioning they’ve gotten lucky as well.
Sustainability and innovation are integral to Emerald Packaging. Of which initiatives or new product introductions are you most proud and why?
I’m really happy with the work we’ve done to teach the produce industry about sustainable packaging, and not just materials, but the stumbling blocks introduced by product cost and government regulations. I think we’ve pushed commonsense solutions, interim obviously, like using post-consumer recycled plastics to achieve some circularity. We push the edge as well, with our recent flirtations with paper being an example.
Finally, I’ve really been proud of the work we’ve done to help the produce industry where we can on regulatory and legislative issues. I’ve really come to admire the work done by groups like the Western Growers Association, and I’ve pitched in as I can.
Looking ahead, how do you see the packaging industry continuing to evolve to meet the needs of fresh produce retailers and consumers?
I think that you’ll see whole new materials come into play over the next few years, like paper and recyclable materials. Technology will move to meet the environmental demands being put on packaging, just not at the insane pace regulators want. I also think we will get to that day where the tech world intersects with our industry, making possible communication between the package and consumers in extraordinary ways, including warnings that produce in the fridge might be on the verge of spoiling.
What inspires you outside of produce and packaging? Is there a passion project, hobby or pursuit that most restores you?
I’m not sure anything really grabs my attention like produce and packaging, which may be a character flaw. My kids joke that my hobby is working on Catholic high school boards, which means I really do have no hobbies. I’m a former journalist, so in truth I like to write when I can grab the time. For me there’s nothing quite like the high that comes when constructing a good sentence.
