Sonoco’s colorful cardboard cans propel Just Spices to on-shelf fame

14 May 2020 --- Sonoco Europe and Just Spices have shared insights into their long-standing collaboration, which now sees the cardboard can specialist supply over 260 different designs to the creative spice mixture start-up. In 2015, the three Just Spices founders Florian Falk, Ole Strohschnieder and Bela Seebach were looking for a packaging supplier who could meet high design demands and deliver large product quantities reliably. In Sonoco, Just Spices found the ideal partner to empower its packaging with environmentally-sustainable and brand-enhancing paper cans in a market dominated by plastic packs.

Whether it’s the “Pasta Allrounder,” a Guacamole spice or “Cherry Kiss” for desserts and muesli, the Just Spices range has fans among cooking beginners, hobby chefs and professionals. When it was founded in 2012, the start-up set out to revolutionize the traditional but also “outdated” spice market.

Right from the start, Just Spice identified a modern brand image with a focus on social media and characteristically designed, high-quality packaging as key ingredients for success. Each spice boasts its own individually-drawn human face, which is enhanced further with a colorful background for high recognition value.

“We have very high standards and high-quality requirements for our packaging. For our customers, the design and appearance of our can are extremely important and has become a key factor for our brand memorability,” Seebach tells PackagingInsights.Sonoco suppliers over 260 different cardboard can designs to Just Spices.

Paper for brand differentiation
The three founders knew early on that cardboard cans would be the packaging of choice for them. “Packaging for spices must protect its content from both air and light to ensure a consistent aroma,” explains Seebach. “The paper feel that matches our brand was also important to us when it came to packaging.” Just Spices also saw the packaging format as an opportunity to stand out from the competition, which was mostly packaged in plastic containers.

Just Spices grew rapidly and became a cult brand. With the company's growth, additional requirements were placed on the spice packaging. Especially at the beginning, it was a challenge for the start-up to predict when and how many spices and consequently cans would be needed due to fluctuating order quantities from retail chains and consumers via the online shop. The packaging supplier therefore had to be able to react flexibly to order quantities and produce large volumes at peak times such as Christmas.

Sonoco supports fast-growing companies
Meanwhile, Sonoco had become aware of the attractive start-up. “I noticed Just Spices products for the first time via a Facebook competition in 2015,” recalls Dirk Karbach, Sales Manager at Sonoco. “Just Spices was already using cardboard cans – I contacted one of the three founders to see how we could make the packaging even better together.” The start-up was particularly interesting for Sonoco because of its enormous growth potential. “We recognized the potential of Just Spices early on and saw where we could support the team concretely.”Just Spices grew rapidly to become a cult brand, making it a challenge to predict fluctuating consumer purchasing patterns.

A visit to the Sonoco site in Lübeck and an insight into the R&D opportunities at the market leader convinced the three founders of Just Spices. “Start-ups need a partner who has both the necessary packaging know-how and the corresponding production capacities to be able to keep up with growth leaps at all times,” says Karbach. “With our expertise in technology and product development and our Europe-wide network of production sites, we are the ideal partner in that situation.” 

This also applies to Just Spices. Since 2016, increasing quantities of colored cans have been leaving the Sonoco plant in Lübeck, Germany. For production, Sonoco expanded its lines so that they can now apply a narrow strip of adhesive to the lower edge of the cardboard tubes fully automatically. The bottom of the can is then attached to these during filling on site. “Sonoco has always been very interested in winning us as a customer and supported us in the early days. The cooperation is very straightforward and professional,” notes Seebach.

Emotionalizing the spice market
Just Spices cardboard cans stand out on supermarket shelves. For the brand look, sheet labels made of uncoated paper are printed in two colors: one signature color for each type and a face and information in black. A snap-on lid with grip edge allows hobby chefs to easily open and securely reseal the cans. An inlaid paper label ensures that the respective product type is immediately recognizable even in drawers.

A freshness seal protects delicate contents and prevents oils from penetrating the packaging.“Right from the start, Just Spices' vision was to emotionalize the spice market and bring color to the kitchen. We achieved this through the design and the especially colorful cans,” says Seebach. A glance at Instagram shows that the cardboard cans meet the taste of the young target audience. Under the name justspices, you will find more than 60,000 pictures, many of them with the packaging as a natural design element.

If the exterior of the can is completely geared to design, the interior is dedicated to preserving the high-quality flavors. A freshness seal protects delicate contents and prevents oils from penetrating the packaging. Before the first use, the contents are additionally protected by a membrane. “Hobby and professional chefs can rely on the high-quality of every single Just Spices can - even when exposed to light or humidity,” adds Seebach.

Flexible production for further growth
The large range of Just Spices’ varieties and therefore labels require great care. “From the delivery of the labels through storage to the final palletizing of the cans, we make sure that the batches of different sizes are sorted,” Karbach tells PackagingInsights. Flexibility and diligence are one of Sonoco’s biggest assets. “In Sonoco we have found a flexible and reliable partner for scaling our supply chain,” reiterates Seebach.

Just Spices has more than 70 employees and supplies customers in Germany and throughout Europe. “When the next Christmas season arrives, or Just Spices continues to expand – the spice specialist can always supply its customers thanks to its close cooperation with Sonoco,” Karbach concludes. 

By Joshua Poole