The Alexir Partnership has been selected as finalists in two categories in the UK Packaging Awards with one other winner to be announced on the night!
On July 23rd UK Packaging News announced the shortlist of finalists for all the categories in the UK Packaging Awards 2018– the event that celebrates the very best companies packs and individuals in the industry. The winners will be revealed at a glittering gala dinner on Tuesday 30th October at the Grosvenor House on London’s Park Lane, which will host the biggest night in the packaging industry’s calendar.
Another strong line-up of judges were bought together for this year and judging day took place on Friday 13th July at the Grosvenor House in London, with representatives from major brands and retailers including: Sainsbury’s, Müller, Mars, Heineken, Wilko, M&S, RB, Mondelez and Nestlé.
The judging process is strictly impartial and the categories reward a broad range of areas including packaging quality, business strategy and personal achievement.
The Alexir Partnership is delighted to have been shortlisted for the Cartonboard Pack of the Year category with the Simply Cook Meal kit and for the Rigid Plastic Pack of the Year category with the Saxa Seasoning Pot.
Tantalisingly, there will also be announcements on the night for the Rising Star of the Year Award and our trainee manager Jacob Cook is in the running for this award!
The concept of the meal kit allows the consumer to create a restaurant quality meal at home with an easy-to-follow recipe and relevant spices. The concept encourages the consumer to purchase and cook using fresh ingredients and ultimately contributes to the reduction of the black plastic trays containing ready meal options.
Each stage of the user experience has been considered in the design, from positioning the disruptive stands in the fresh food aisles to sit alongside key ingredients, through multi-layered packaging that unfolds like a recipe book.
The design of the pack needed to be vibrant and modern but in keeping with the well-known e-commerce brand. The design challenge was to bring the experience to life through packaging. The structural solution stands upright and confident, delivering shelf impact and a post-purchase experience that takes the consumers on a journey of discovery.
Alexir received a brief from Premier Foods who wanted to launch a new style rigid Pot to hold their new flavours of seasoning. They wanted a pot that was rigid, had a premium feel and was visible, tamper evident and was resealable. It was also requested that the consumer needed to be able to easily take a pinch of seasoning when using the product.
After some market research into competitor products, the design team at Alexir put some initial ideas and CAD drawings together to show to Premier Foods. Following a few amendments to meet the customers approval, and using the latest innovative technology, 3D printed models were produced. This enabled the customer to trial the product, check the size and style of the pot, and ultimately provided them with a sample to show their customer prior to store listings.
After 6 months from receiving the brief, the Saxa Seasoning Pot was launched.
Jacob Cook first joined Alexir at our sister site Alexir Co-Packers after several days of work experience to understand more about the business. He moved to Edenbridge in May 2015 and started his full-time career under the Alexir Partnership apprenticeship scheme.
Jacob started his role in customer services for our newly-created Digital Division. In this demanding role he demonstrated great skill in juggling customer, supplier and internal demands. With the small team around him, Jacob found himself transferring skills on a regular basis, from estimating a new job for one customer, to ordering materials for another, to then sitting down with our accounts team to keep-up-to date financial records. From here he then spent time on the factory floor on the litho printing presses, then onto cut and crease and the gluing machines.
Jacob has now completed his apprenticeship and is an Account Manager within Alexir. He has been very fortunate to have had the experience of a multitude of different opportunities. He has been included in some top-level meetings at the head offices of major retailers such as Tesco, Waitrose and Costco as well as managing some very important accounts to Alexir.
