Before stepping through the doors at Parkside six weeks ago, my understanding of flexible packaging was pretty much limited to what I saw on supermarket shelves. Like most consumers, I saw packaging simply as the wrapper around my favourite snacks or everyday products. I knew next to nothing about the industry, but I was eager to learn. Looking back now, I can safely say my perspective has completely shifted. From day one, the learning curve was steep but incredibly rewarding.
A Whirlwind Tour of the Factory Floor
To give me a well-rounded and contextual view of the business, the team at Parkside gave me the incredible opportunity to rotate through almost every department. I got to trace a product’s entire lifecycle at Parkside from the very beginning.
I spent time learning about material procurement, graphics, and the meticulous colour-matching chemistry of the ink room. From there, I followed the line down to the factory floor, how multi-layer materials are printed and bonded together in lamination, and the razor-sharp precision required in the laser-scoring and slitting departments.
To top it all off, I spent the final days of my placement with Parkside’s outsourced marketing agency, which gave me an invaluable look at the commercial side of the industry—learning how brand guidelines and seasonal campaigns translate are used to put Parkside out there.
Putting Theory into Practice: “A Plus Tissues”
The absolute highlight of my placement was being given the freedom to apply everything I was learning to a real-world brief. The challenge was broad: explore the consumer market and design a functional pack.
With sustainability being a core pillar of everything Parkside stands for and also one of my key interests at university, I wanted to tackle a product heavily associated with single-use plastic waste: pocket tissues. I developed a sustainable brand identity called “A Plus Tissues” and set out to create a prototype pack made entirely of paper, featuring a traditional fin seal and a functional, resealable opening.
With help from the amazing NPD Team at Parkside and the use of the facilities in the lab, I was able to create a real, printed and formed prototype of my pocket tissue packaging!
Final Reflections
I have taken pages and pages of notes over the last six weeks, which have essentially become my personal packaging encyclopedia…but more than the technical stuff, what really stood out to me during my time here was the culture. Every single team welcomed me with open arms and took the time to answer my endless questions.
I want to say a massive thank you to everyone at Parkside for making my six weeks here so unforgettable. I came in knowing nothing about packaging, and I’m leaving with a genuine passion for the engineering and sustainable innovation that drives this industry forward!
