The problem:
Chapel Cottage Plants – one of the UK’s largest perennial growers – sought assistance from Tri-pack to seek an alternative to their existing black plastic trays.
With external pressure to move away from using black plastic before an outright ban, Chapel Cottage Plants needed to work on an alternative before their existing trays were no longer allowed.
Being a forward thinking company, and wanting to use the opportunity to look at a more sustainable packaging solution, Chapel Cottage Plants spoke to the team at Tri-pack and worked out a plan to move their packaging forward.
Working with Tri-pack:
Working closely with Chapel Cottage Plants over a number of months, Tri-pack integrated themselves into their business to understand their processes and specific packaging needs.
Looking at their existing plant trays, in addition to moving away from black plastic trays, Tri-pack soon saw opportunities where product improvements could be made. Tri-pack’s unique, patented sealed-edge technology was a huge plus point which added a new, enhanced feature to the trays by making them a 100% waterproof product – perfect for the dirt and damp conditions of holding and transporting plants.
Having discussed other features and benefits, Tri-pack provide, it was clear that other enhancements could be made, during the product. One welcome additional feature was the ability to add their branding to their packaging – something that could really make Chapel Cottage Plants stand out in stores and garden centres across the UK.
The outcome:
The results far exceeded the initial brief of moving away from black plastic trays.
The new plant tray developed by Tri-pack enabled Chapel Cottage Plants to fit an additional 30% more product on a single Danish plant trolley. This assisted not only with storage, but transport and labour costs too, as these were also dramatically reduced.
The overall cost savings were so well received, that Chapel Cottage Plants made the decision to turn all of their packaging to Tri-pack’s 100% recyclable packaging too.
Furthermore, the final product was created to universally fit in all Danish trolley systems which are used worldwide across nurseries and garden centres meaning the product is accessible to all – and we see no reason why this cannot be replicated across all suppliers, growers, nurseries and garden centres worldwide.
