Shelf-ready cardboard circularity: DS Smith launches customizable DD Wrap
15 Jun 2023 --- DS Smith’s design team has created a multi-category shelf-ready packaging solution, DD Wrap, from a monopiece of cardboard. It can be customized for various products and comes without perforation at the front side, improving visibility and appeal at the display point.
The latest shelf-ready packaging is set to extend across a range of FMCG and F&B products and is created from one piece of packaging, which is reportedly easy to open without scissors or a sharp tool.
DD Wrap has been designed with the company’s Circular Design Principles, which allows the packaging design to be assessed through eight different indicators to minimize material and resource usage.
It also enables the designers to reduce the empty spaces and air in packaging boxes when transporting this shelf-ready packaging to utilize all space and reduce the volume of vehicles and CO2 emissions.
“Designed correctly, shelf-ready packaging has a vital part to play in the promotional mix, generating sales in-store at the crucial point of purchase,” says Francesco Barsanti, sales, marketing and innovation director at DS Smith, Italy.
“DS Smith works with marketing teams to ensure that the packaging reflects the brand positioning, achieves visual disruption in the category and helps promotions succeed.”
DD Wrap is a shelf-ready packaging made from monopiece of cardboard.Innovating for consumer demands
DS Smith shares that according to recent research by The Institute of Grocery Distribution, 53% of consumers feel that quality-designed shelf-ready packaging improves brand communication and 85% of shoppers think in-store marketing is more likely to influence their purchase decisions. Forty-two percent of consumers believe that shelf-ready packaging with clear presentation makes shopping easier.
“As leaders in the packaging industry, we know that innovation and design are essential to creating sustainable and efficient solutions that meet the needs of our customers and society, and in line with our purpose of ‘Redefining Packaging for a Changing World,’” says Barsanti.
“Our company is committed to combining market insight with innovative design and creating high-impact shelf-ready packaging. DD Wrap perfectly positions our customers’ product and gains maximum attention.”
Fiber forward
DS Smith recently released Light Wrap – a classic wraparound for bricks. “We can reduce the fiber content and, in consequence, the CO2 emissions due to the clever structural design that hides the deformation of the wraparounds in semi-self-supported primary products,” Iago Candal, design and innovation manager of Southern Europe packaging at DS Smith, told Packaging Insights.
“We created this solution to solve the problem for customers because their wraparound was not strong enough.”
In 2021, Innova Market Insights labeled “Fiber-based Frenzy,” a top packaging trend that stands true today, with “Renewable rebellion” pegged as 2023’s top trend.
Innovation in plastic-replacement fiber-based solutions is booming as brands explore plastic waste escape routes and new connections with the enlarging eco-conscious consumer base. Full-scale paper packaging conversions are occurring even in more technically challenging categories like confectionery bar wrappers and pouches.
Earlier this month, Absolut Vodka launched a pilot for a 500 mL single-mold paper bottle in the UK. Meanwhile, Mars trialed recyclable paper packaging for its candy bars in 500 Tesco stores across the UK. Mondi also advanced fiber-based packaging by launching paper bags for Holz-Bauer’s wooden pellets and substituting Silbo’s pallet wrapping from plastic stretch film to Mondi’s kraft paper Advantage StretchWrap.
Packaging Insights recently spoke with Mondi and PulPac, who are innovating in the fiber packing space, about how consumer demand drives the industry to perform enhanced R&D for fiber packaging solutions that a few years ago were not possible.
By Radhika Sikaria
