FoodGrads Podcast Ep 60: Why you don’t have to rush into a career if you are unsure with Lisa Cove, Founder, Packaging & Food Safety Consultant of Co-Motion Packaging Solutions

On episode 60 of the FoodGrads Podcast we interviewed Lisa Cove, Founder, Packaging & Food Safety Consultant for Co-Motion Packaging Solutions. Co-Motion Packaging Solutions guides food entrepreneurs through scaling their business with packaging industry and food safety expertise. Lisa Cove is passionate about all things food and packaging. Throughout her career she has worked with brands like Ferrero, Kinder, Nutella and Tic Tac, all leaders in packaging development. Her experience with private labels includes Sobeys, Loblaws, Nestle, Food Lion, Kroger and more.

On this episode Lisa told Veronica more about Co-Motion Packaging Solutions and what a few days look in her life as a founder. Lisa shared her story about how she got into the packaging industry despite having a degree in Criminology from Wilfrid Laurier University. Lisa shows that you don’t have to rush into a career if you are not sure if you will like it or not. You can find ways to mitigate the “risk” of not being sure what you want to do but in the end still find something that you are passionate about doing. Lisa also shared with us what “sustainable” packaging is and things you need to consider when designing the product. We rounded the episode by talking about the process of becoming a Certified Packaging Professional and some food brands that she would like to promote.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Youtube, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show Notes

Timestamps

[2:14] Lisa talks about Co-Motion Packaging Solutions

[5:30] Lisa talks about how she became a packaging designer

[11:33] Skills Erica picked up from being a paralegal

[12:58]How Erica reviews her knowledge “equity”

[17:08] Helping small businesses with their packaging process

[22:20] What does sustainable packaging look like

[27:03] How Erica learn more about the packaging space

[29:34] The process of becoming a Certified Packaging Professional

[32:05] Benefit of becoming a Certified Packaging Professional

[36:05] Awesome food brands that Lisa knows about

[41:06] Advice for students looking to go into packaging design

[45:09] Recommendations about how a student can network

Links

Lisa Cove’s LinkedIn

Co-Motion Packaging Solutions

Contemporary Studies Wilfred Laurier

Notion

Obsidian

PA plastic

Institute of Packaging Professionals

Certified Packaging Professional Designation

Made in Ontario

Chinchin

Lisa Cove Quotes from the interview

We have a huge ecosystem of food manufacturing in Ontario but we don’t have a lot of the support systems in every place that we need them, and packaging is one of those areas.

So clients could typically come to me with question. Specific to their packaging, like “where do I get it from? How do I save some money?” My background is in purchasing, so I do have some tips and tricks to sourcing, some good costs for packaging.

– Lisa Cove

Every little thing that you learn is building upon each other as you grow and learn. But you don’t really know that. You don’t know what you have to offer unless you sit down and think about it

– Lisa Cove

Every skill you learn, whether it’s research or just working collaboratively, hitting deadlines, there’s so much you take out of that post-secondary education that you can use with, if you take the opportunity to evaluate what you’ve learned and review it and put it into good use in the future.

– Lisa Cove

There’s something to be learned everywhere you turn. Don’t discount it and always take the opportunity to review what you’ve learned and try to apply it to what you’re doing today. No matter what the job, you can find a connection.

– Lisa Cove

Practice that gratitude. Be thankful for those opportunities and look out for everything that you’re learning. Reflect on what you’re learning from each stage and just take it to the next level every single time. Everybody’s eager to just get a job and start paying back these student loans so you have to kind of look at it from what you have something to offer.

– Lisa Cove