This year we have helped design and produce a large selection of beautiful advent calendars for our customers. We have sourced and produced designs in both rigid and folding box board and worked with multiple contents including cheeses, chocolates, speciality teas, hot chocolate, coffee and other premium drinks and foods.
Rigid box board is made by wrapping a printed paper around a stiff rigid board and is normally used for premium and luxury products, hence suitable for advent calendars. The boxes are sturdy in many different shapes and sizes, and printing techniques and finishing touches can be added to the wrapping paper to add a touch of class.
The rigid box board used for this advent calendar gives the pack a sturdy feel whilst adding gravitas to the offering. The unusual aspect of this calendar is that the drawer sizes all vary, enabling it to hold different products of different sizes. The asymmetrical look adds interest and the drawers hold the best of Italian products like Prosecco and Grissini.
Instead of focusing purely on chocolate, restaurant and deli chain Carluccio’s is going down the luxury goods route for its 2021 calendar. Each drawer contains an “impeccably sourced” Italian product, from treats like bottled cocktails and biscuits to cupboard staples such as olive oil and pesto.
Gear yourself up for a buon natale with Carluccio’s Italian delicatessen-style advent calendar, filled with sweets, treats, aperitivos and spirits.
Taste credentials As well as sweet treats and boozy tipples to see you through December, behind certain doors, Carluccio’s have also delivered some store cupboard essentials such as olive oil or pesto sauce – perfect for those rushed evenings during the busiest month of the year.
Best thing In an order to avoid waste, the calendar can be kept and recycled each year. We love that you could refill it and regift it to a friend or loved one next Christmas.
Whilst the rigid box advent calendars are impressive, they are not always suitable for some brands. Using folding box board has many benefits for the brand owner that rigid box materials do not offer. There is a great deal of flexibility in the board that allows for larger sizes with premium print finishes. The calendars can also be manufactured here in the UK, reducing carbon footprint and meeting certain price points.
The Grand Advent Calendar from Hotel Chocolat is the perfect example of a premium and spectacular ‘larger than life’ luxury gift. The sheer size of the calendar was made possible by designing the left and right panels and the spine on 2 separate sheets of board. Precision colour-management was key as effectively it became 2 jobs through production.
The brand team at Hotel Chocolat opted for a 590um Incada Exel board which gave it rigidity as well as a perfect coated finish to showcase the 6 print colours and 2 varnishes (1 matt and 1 spot UV). To add to the complexity the giant silver snowflake across the centre fold of the calendar required the foil blockers to maintain minimal movement on the sheets, so that the design lined up perfectly every time. This was also the case when the components returned to the factory and went through the die-cutting and gluing processes.
Prior to completion, the production team made a manufacturing tool to assemble the 3 components and produce the complete calendar.
The whole project was overseen by a member of the QA team to ensure ultimate quality at each stage and to highlight any issues that arose during the process.
Jaws will hit the FLOOR when eyes clock this enormous chocolate feast. Chocolate kings Hotel Chocolat know how to get you excited in the build-up to Christmas and this spectacular advent contains a variety of generous gifts behind each door. Think mini crackers, gin liqueurs and luxury truffles.
Taste credentials The assortment of chocolates, liqueurs and nibbles vary from vegan options to milk, white and dark confections. There’s a whole range of flavours to look forward to; from cinnamon roll to chocolate orange.
Best thing The treats inside are such a generous size that you can afford to give one to a friend or family member every couple of days. ‘Tis the season of giving and all that…
Finally, we designed and produced this advent calendar for one of our customers who sell into Woolworth’s in Australia. There are 12 portions of cheese, made up of six varieties from the UK, including Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and Cheddar.
The platform behind the 12 windows was cleverly constructed to securely hold the tablets of cheese whilst making it easy for the customer to take out every day.
The striking pine green and white design is finished off with beautiful gold foiling, giving the pack a truly seasonal feel.
Advent calendars have come a long way since the stale chocolate boxes of our childhood. These days, you can find them in all kinds of adult varieties, including beer, wine and gin, and now, finally, the greatest incarnation of them all, cheese.
That’s right, you can now pick up a Thomas Dux 12 Days of Cheese Advent Calendar from Woolworths, allowing you to count down the days ’til Cheesemas with all your favourite curds. That is, if you don’t end up scoffing the lot on day one.
You can come and see all of these advent calendars at the Packaging Innovations Show in London, Olympia on 1-2 December. We will be on stand E46 and you can register to attend by clicking here.
We look forward to seeing you there.
