A significant proportion of our projects require us to design corrugated packaging with the purpose of solving multiple problems. From saving money, to creating efficiencies and upscaling production lines, it’s our job to take a challenge and create the ideal solution with customer pain points in mind.
We were approached by a mid-sized food manufacturing business specialising in food service vegan meals. Each meal is packed in a corrugated tray ready for distribution to major restaurant chains.
The brand’s pre-existing packaging process used corrugated trays which needed to be assembled manually, with each tray taking an estimated 20-30 seconds to construct.
This lengthy process required additional labour to keep production lines moving and prevented the business from scaling up due to limited throughput in peak periods.
With the challenges in firm focus, our team set to work redesigning the tray. We proposed a pre-glued pop-up style base which removed the need for folding or tuck-in flaps. This idea ensured the packaging remained leakproof and rigid, while reducing assembly labour costs. Our idea was also compatible with the brand’s existing filling and sealing machinery, avoiding costly changes to production and fulfillment processes.
As a result of the change, packaging assembly time has reduced by 80% from 25 seconds to 5 seconds per tray, with the capacity to now assemble over 600 trays per hour, compared to 150-200 previously. The business has also been able to redirect two full-time roles into higher value tasks, maximising overall productivity and return on investment.
Tray assembly is no longer a bottleneck, and line speed has increased by 30%. The business has also enjoyed an annual saving of £40,000 on labour costs while reducing training time for new employees.
The move from manually assembled trays, to pop-up leakproof corrugated equivalents, has paid for itself within 6 months of implementation, offering a scalable solution for future product lines.
If your business operates within the food service sector and is exploring how it can find efficiencies with its packaging and fulfillment processes, then speak to our team of experts for the right packaging advice.
