Own brand products in store are no longer simply the second best option or a cheaper alternative to established brands for consumers. The integrity and value afforded to own brand goods is growing, and not by accident. Companies recognise that investing in this product line is crucial to raising a firm's overall status in the marketplace and ensuring longeivity.

In this issue of The Packaging Professional, our reporter Eoin Redahan talks to Mark Gallen, Packaging Design and Production Manager at John Lewis, about the company's evolving own-brand pack design, which now encompasses 100 lines since its inception seven years ago. Taking a minimalistic approach to colour and print, the firm's own brand is designed to exude quality and elegance.

In this issue's news, we look at polylactic acid (PLA) - its optimisation for enhanced shelf life in food packaging, and in respect of a €1.6m EU project which seeks to make firms more familiar with the challenges and opportunities of using it. Also investigated is a transparent nanocomposite film composed of clay and polyethylenimine (PEI) used as a substitute for metal foil.

Our features focus on the process of packaging electronic components from concept to shelf, and assess the Plastics Implementing Measure, the EU legislation for food-contact plastics, as it comes to an end. We also see how a new wave of nanotechnology standardisation could have implications for industry and the development of new packaging materials.

The Starpack Industry Awards 2011 are now open for entry – details on how to enter are found in the latest issue.