When Wensleydale Creamery set about looking for a new packaging format to launch both its white and blue cheeses into the premium retail market, they turned to Smurfit Kappa Composites for advice on how to maximise consumer appeal.
Working in partnership with the award-winning cheese manufacturer, Smurfit Kappa developed a composite tube container with a strong rustic feel and appearance, to reflect the heritage of the Wensleydale Creamery cheeses. The sophisticated looking packs were six and seven colour litho printed and clearly positioned the cheese as a premium quality product. Sold in retail outlets such as Waitrose and Booths, the innovative pack style helped gain the consumer’s attention in an ever increasingly competitive retail environment.
Holding a 500g cheese truckle, the composite tube needed to not only create impact at the point of purchase, but also provide safe transit across the supply chain. The pack was designed to include two small holes in the body of the container, so the cheese could breathe and continue to mature throughout its journey to the consumer’s fridge.
The composite container, comprising of a body, base and lid, offers clear environmental benefits over other forms of packaging as it is 100% recyclable. Alternatively, the attractive pack can be reused after use as a storage container within the home.
The body is biodegradable and is manufactured from 100% recycled fibres with the inner liner and outer label containing a mix of recycled and virgin fibres. The tinplate lid and base is sourced from within Europe and contains at least 54% recycled steel.
Sandra Bell, Marketing Manager at Wensleydale Creamery commented “We are delighted with the work of Smurfit Kappa Composites, they have delivered a practical pack with real on-shelf presence. Both the Wensleydale Creamery and our customers are extremely happy with the success of the product and look forward to continued sales for the forthcoming year.”
Smurfit Kappa Composites is ideally poised to capture gift, promotional and premium products in a diverse range of markets. Tubes can be manufactured in a wide variety of diameters and innovative shaped (non round) products can be developed and produced to meet customers bespoke requirements. With the ability to utilise a vast range of paper substrates and embellishment techniques on the body of the tube, eye catching and attention grabbing packaging can be created.