How easy is to do the right thing? - our packaging journey

Being newbies to the world of food & drink, Juliette and I have definitely learnt the hard way about the ‘hidden barriers to entry’ and why the seamless dream of taking a product from your kitchen to a supermarket shelf, is not an easy road to navigate.

No doubt one of the hardest lessons for us has been the minefield that is sustainable packaging and how difficult it is to stand proud from the crowd and ‘do the right thing’. After all, only a few years earlier my MBA had clearly highlighted to me countless examples of bold brands that had gone out on a limb to weave a wider social purpose into their brand by adopting a caring, ‘wider environment’ perspective.

Selling a brand whose primary purpose is to make a positive difference to people’s health and welfare was a ‘no brainer’ for us, so it felt counter-intuitive to sell our healthier snacking range in a ‘grab and go’ bag made from single use plastic waste. Juliette is certainly very diligent about recycling (me I have to confess less good but improving!).  That said, whatever one’s recycling pedigree, who could watch Blue Planet and not fail to be moved!

So armed with our fantastical NEW recipes, we strode with purpose to the Packaging show at NEC, confident that we’d both be blown away by the wealth of state-of-the-art packaging innovation that would be wafted in front of our noses. The dearth of sincere or viable ‘environmentally-friendly’ packaging certainly took the wind out of our sails, so we both stomped home more than a little despondent.

After much research, discussion and inevitable soul searching with a number of ‘first mover’ brands whose opinions we greatly admired we decided to get behind the wondrous ‘earth pouch.’ This after all, according to all the upbeat blurb, was an award-winning material and packaging game-changer that would soon make our snacking pouches the talk of the healthier living food fraternity. 

The material was fully recyclable and home compostable so ticked many boxes. Buyers were delighted with our find and it opened the door to many forward-thinking retail operations like Planet Organic. This was our first big investment as we had to buy plates and commit to significant volumes of packaging even though brand enthusiasm was only at a tentative few stores stage.  This was a pack that was considerably more expensive than its planet-friendly peers. Naively, we believed that consumers would really care and support what we were seeking to do.

I was beyond excited and counted the days until the first bags would be delivered to my door. But to my horror, the colours that I had selected and approved on my computer were a million miles from the muted colours on the packaging. Far worse was the fact that you were unable to read the ingredients on the BOP. It soon became apparent that this innovative material absorbed the ink much more than the printers had believed. I learnt my first important lesson: ALWAYS APPROVE THE COLOUR AT THE PRINTERS BEFORE YOU APPROVE YOUR FIRST PRINT RUN

A horrible dispute then started between the packaging company, the printers and me as to who was to blame, a real baptism of fire that I would recommend avoiding at all costs.

Although these ‘earth pouches’ served us well as we started to grow, we realised that we needed a longer shelf life for our seed snacks and this paper material had its limitations. So we decided to look around again. We did not want to incur the massive cost of plates and we were recommended a new innovative material that could be printed digitally, was compostable and came with its own inbuilt moisture barrier. The downside for us was that it was expensive, (and by then it had all too clear that progressive packaging was not a cost that could be passed on to consumers).

Consumers may care about the packaging but are actually not prepared to pay for it. Our confidence was dented but we remained resolute because an unwavering commitment to do the ‘right thing’ was surely the best option for a brand with our limited resources.

Once again, we were one of the first to use this innovative material and we thought that it was important to support the sector of sustainable packaging and show how small brands could lead from the front. Looking back, it was all too clear to see that once again we were leading with the heart not the head!

The salesperson was very responsive, and we were thrilled with our new material that was winning lots of awards, but the moment we signed on the dotted line and requested delivery we realised there was a problem. Although we bought directly from the manufacturer of the material they outsourced, the printing and the printers that they outsourced to were incredibly busy. This meant that our order was continually getting bounced, so much so that they had to do a plastic run just so that we had some packaging. I think that the first order took nearly 5 months to come through, which meant we had to put in our next order before we got our first order. Paying pro forma this was not an ideal situation and a disaster for cashflow. So our next important lesson was: ALWAYS ENSURE THAT THE PACKAGING COMPANY DOES THE PRINTING IN HOUSE SO CAN KEEP TO THE TIMELINES AGREED  

Unfortunately, there was still another lesson to be learnt with our compostable packaging which was even more devasting than the first.

When we got our trial in a major supermarket it was apparent that compostable packaging crumples and needs a lot of ‘tlc’. This had not been a major issue in the small stores that we were in, but with COVID and staff shortages, our crumpled bags were a complete mess in their SRPs and not unsurprisingly lacking in appetite appeal.  Lesson Three: AS YOUR BUSINESS GROWS AND YOUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS CHANGE YOU MAY NEED TO ADAPT YOUR PACKAGING. ALSO ALWAYS CHECK HOW ROBUST YOUR PACKAGING IS ALONG THE SUPPLY CHAIN

So once again we were back to the drawing board. Faced with competing demands to drop our price to increase sales and ‘do the right thing’. When we switched to flow wrap we realised that the best option was a fully recyclable flow wrap. In truth more people recycle than compost and much of the compostable material which gives you better shelf life is industrial rather than home compostable. Once again this was digitally printed (so we could check the colour and incur no massive plate costs).  The printing was not outsourced (tick), and the material did not crease (tick). Although we were switching to plastic with a heavy heart, this was the best we could do, and would also mean that we could drop our price, which was fulfilling our mission of making nutritious food mainstream.

We ordered a trial reel and our kitchen said that all was well but when I ordered the bags from Ocado, they looked great, but almost impossible to open. This meant that when we released our revamped snacks with new recipes and new branding the almost overwhelming response from buyers was love the snacks, but bags need changing. Lesson Four: THERE IS CURRENTLY NO FULLY RECYCLABLE MATERIAL IN THE UK THAT TEARS EASILY AND EVERYONE IN THE INDUSTRY KNOWS IT!

So, as I am writing to you today because we have once again ordered new packaging. I do not feel the excitement that I did about all the other new materials as it is only fully recyclable in continental Europe (our local authorities have not properly invested in their recycling), but we have chosen the right moisture barrier to ensure it is compliant (metallised barriers will not comply).  It will be widely recycling approved in the UK by the end of the year and accepted by certain supermarkets for recycling. It is the best that I can do with the materials that are available to me, in the volumes that I need, and with the current facilities in the UK.

I will order in small volumes so I can switch to better materials as they become available, and this will avoid any needless waste. Apologies to all those customers that only care about the environmental angle but at the end of the day it is fundamental for a ‘grab and go’ bag that it is easy to open.

Who knew that it would be so difficult to ‘do the right thing’ but I hope that my trials and tribulations will at least serve as a useful guide to others!  I appreciate that some of my decisions have been led by the heart rather than the head, but as our business grows, and materials improve, I am definitely better placed than ever to make the switch once better options come onstream.

Susan Gafsen
Co-founder and director of Pep & Lekker