Think of all the attributes a packaging solution has to have to make it onto a retailer’s shelf. It has to look great, in order to attract consumers. It has to protect and preserve its contents through today’s fast-paced supply chain. It has to meet the sustainability needs of brands, retailers, and consumers. And then there are hygiene considerations, functionality requirements, opening and closing mechanisms, and more.
Creating a solution that ticks all of those boxes at once doesn’t just happen by accident, it’s the result of an intensive creative design and testing process, where ideas are refined and developed until they can be made a reality.
At Parkside, we’re firm believers in the power of creativity. Our market-leading suite of technology wouldn’t be market-leading if we didn’t have the vision and passion to make the most out of it. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the place where the magic happens – our creative suite.
A hub of creativity
Our creative suite is a unique space where we support our customers’ and partners’ new product development processes, turning aspiration into creation.
It’s designed to inspire and enable our customers to work with our team of technical experts to quickly lay out the requirements of the job. No two packaging projects are the same, so we consider our customers’ needs and weigh them up against our Sustainable 7 pillars. This helps us create a solution that helps our customers meet their specific sustainability goals, whether those goals involve plastic replacement, waste reduction, recyclability, and more.
Many other features can be incorporated into the design at this stage, focusing on convenience, frustration-free opening and reclosing, smart features, and premiumisation, creating the best balance of attributes that delivers on every need.
From there, our team will use their vast knowledge of packaging materials and formats to quickly create concepts that meet the brief. These concepts can be refined in partnership with the customer, tweaking details until a final concept is ready. From there, we can create a functional prototype or a digitally-printed mock-up.
In many cases, these can be produced the same day, meaning customers can go hands-on with their prototypes right away. This allows for any potential issues to be spotted and ironed out quickly – prototyping doesn’t get more responsive than this.
Rigorous testing regime
As part of the development and prototyping process, each packaging solution is put through a rigorous series of tests to ensure it meets the customer’s requirements before it heads into production.
Every aspect of the pack is tested, including its substrate, ink, adhesives and coatings. If, for example, the brief involves creating a freezerproof pack, we can test the durability and wet strength of the substrate to reduce the risk of tearing when the product is packed. We would also test the ink and print quality to ensure the design does not run or fade even when exposed to moisture for long periods, ensuring the brand’s personality still shines through from within the freezer. And we’d also provide examples of coated materials that could be used in the final pack to let customers experience what their consumers will feel when they hold the pack in their hands.
In addition to testing each pack, we also submit many of our material innovations for some of the strictest testing in the world. One example is our home compostable Park2Nature™ material, which has been certified to meet the highest standards of compostability by TÜV, earning OK Compost Home accreditation. This means many of our compostable packaging solutions break down within 26 weeks in domestic compost heaps, and within 13 weeks in an industrial facility.
We ensure our customers stay in the loop throughout the testing process, and we always keep material and technology samples on hand to ensure we can provide accurate insights and information every step of the way.
To learn more about how our experts can help you realise your packaging vision, just get in touch today.
