# 31 - Karen Aranha - Chocolate Packaging and growing up in India

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2020-07-30
- Length: 53m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-125

## Summary

Karen Aranha, a packaging engineer at PCA on-site at Hershey's, shares her journey from growing up in Mumbai, India, to working in the packaging industry. She discusses her educational path, including a pivotal moment in college that led her to packaging engineering, and her early career at Unilever working on personal care products like Vaseline. Aranha details her transition to corrugated packaging for chocolate at Hershey's and offers advice to companies on hiring international students navigating complex US visa processes like OPT and H1B.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=6) Introduction and Background
- [2:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=162) Growing Up in India and Choosing Engineering
- [12:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=733) Discovering Packaging and Early Career at Unilever
- [27:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=1669) Transition to Hershey's and Corrugated Packaging
- [39:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=2354) Hiring International Students and Visa Challenges
- [49:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2020-07-30-31-karen-aranha-chocolate-packaging-and-growing-up-in-india#t=2998) Sustainability and Future of Packaging

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- PCA (company)
- Hershey's (company)
- Unilever (company)
- Vaseline (product)
- Fair and Lovely (product)
- RIT (company)
- Adapt Packaging (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Founder Feature: Cynthia Duran of Xinca Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-05-16-founder-feature-cynthia-duran-of-xinca-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Kartik Das of Doosra](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-02-06-founder-feature-kartik-das-of-doosra) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Keya Wingfield of Keya's Snacks](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-03-13-founder-feature-keya-wingfield-of-keyas-snacks) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Sahithya Wintrich of Chutni Punch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-11-08-founder-feature-sahithya-wintrich-of-chutni-punch) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [How I Built Resilience: Kara Goldin of Hint](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-01-how-i-built-resilience-kara-goldin-of-hint) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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