Navigating Layoffs, Data, and EPR: How Jessie Schwartz Built Strategic Packaging Partners

Twenty years ago, Jessie Schwartz stumbled into packaging at General Mills and never looked back. After mastering the technical side of food and beverage packaging, she traded the safety of a Fortune 500 for a one-plant tortilla maker, then pivoted again when a layoff forced her to rethink what “career security” really means. Those hard pivots became the blueprint for Jessie’s current venture, Strategic Packaging Partners, where she and a fractional team now help mid-market and enterprise brands wrangle everything from packaging specifications to procurement strategy.

On this week’s Packaging Speaks, Jessie explains why networking (even a simple Facebook post) still beats cold applications, how contracting revealed massive blind-spots in brands’ packaging data, and why Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is turning “nice-to-have” data hygiene into a board-level compliance mandate. She walks us through the real math of corralling hundreds of specs, highlights the power of fractional expertise for companies chasing variable cost structures, and shares her vision of expanding stateside lessons to the European market, where EPR is years ahead.

Whether you’re an engineer eyeing consultancy, a hiring manager wondering how to tap fractional talent, or a brand scrambling to prep for EPR reporting, Jessie’s playbook is packed with pragmatic advice and a healthy dose of candor. Hit Play to learn how data discipline and cross-functional empathy can turn packaging chaos into competitive leverage.

—The PackStaff Team