Pot and Plant Combo for IKEA

IKEA cacti enjoy a great deal of interest. The only drawback: they are prickly, and difficult to combine with suitable ceramic pots. IKEA asked its supplier Edelcactus to think of a solution for the problem. Voges solved the problem. A carry pack, holding a cactus, complete with pot and soil all in one go, yet without being pricked by its spines.

The problem
Customers choose the wrong combination of pot and cactus
In the IKEA plant department you could pick up a cactus and a pot to go with it, but from time to time that went wrong. As well as the risk of being pricked by the cactus spines, people also often chose the wrong pot. And ultimately that led to a decline in customer satisfaction. Edelcactus BV, IKEA's cactus supplier, was asked to upgrade the existing product to a carrypack within the same look and feel.

Our solution
All-in-one carrypack
We decided to design the packaging again from scratch. This included every aspect of its appearance, functionality and its original prerequisites. We ended up with a solution that allowed customers to pick up a cactus in its packaging and try it for size in the range of pots located nearby. This is the ideal combination for customers, because the high-quality transparent material allows them to see exactly what they are buying and to choose the most suitable ceramic pot straight away.

The result
This combination has been a positive impulse for ceramics sales
The carrypack makes the same visual impression as the old packaging, preserving its identity and functionality, but with the difference that the cactus can be sold more easily with a pot that suits it. The costs were also kept down to a minimum by optimising the production process, and by offering the cactus and pot combination, IKEA uncovered a positive impulse for sales of ceramics. The consumer can now buy it all in one go and can carry the cactus home without being pricked by its spines.

Herb Packaging from NatureWorks PLA

Swangolt herbs are known for their high quality. Their packaging has to match this quality too, of course. Consumers demand more and more of packaging, and that is why the herb supplier Swangolt commissioned Voges to come up with a modern, sustainable solution. This not only resulted in higher quality, but also lower prices.

The problem
Improving the packaging
The packaging used by the German herb supplier Swangolt no longer performed up to the latest standards. It was clear what they needed: packaging that was better in several ways. 

The solution
A comprehensive upgrade
For an upgrade like this the best idea is to start again from scratch. Voges worked towards the original prerequisites and looked at all aspects of visual appearance and functionality. They also took a close look at product engineering considerations to ensure optimum production efficiency. So the mould was made with a modular design to allow various different configurations to be easily applied within the main design. The mould also underwent advanced development to allow the use of PLA, a material that is notoriously difficult to handle. This was the starting point from which Voges developed a clamshell pack that offered improved ventilation, user-friendly euro hook and a substantially upgraded look and feel. By using sustainable PLA packaging, Swangolt has now gone on to be a market leader in modern herb packaging. 

The result
A rise in quality and a fall in price
The product’s clear appearance and improved quality allowed Swangolt to more strongly position itself in the market and offer added value to its customers. Voges also optimised the mould to improve output and further reduce the price.

Syngenta's sprouting trays made to fit the client's business

Syngenta Seeds, one of the world's biggest seed suppliers, was wanting to put an end to its reliance on injection-moulded trays for the sprouting of seeds of some of its crops, including the cabbage family, barleys and tomatoes. This was a material that had seen its best days. Working with Voges, Syngenta Seeds came up with new sprouting trays that were a perfect fit with their business.

The Challenge
Has to match the client's business model
Apart from the risk of toxicity from the rinsing of this material, the dimensions of trays simply didn't match those of the sprouting cabinets. Even worse, the trays were attracting condensation — not conducive to sprouting. So Syngenta Seeds asked us for an alternative.

Our Solution
Single-use recyclable trays
After a thorough fact-finding stage, we developed a thermally-formed sprouting tray, coated in anti-fog foil to prevent condensation. Syngenta Seeds sends these trays back for recycling after each individual use. This affords maximum respect to the environment and means that the trays don't have to be rinsed or stored: a boost to hygiene.

The result
Sprouting trays that are not just green but efficient
Using our trays, Syngenta Seeds has significantly increased the efficiency of how it does business. The trays are an exact fit in the company's sprouting cabinets and there is no condensation. The single-use, recyclable design means little storage space is needed and removes the risk of toxicity.

For more information about Syngenta Seeds, please visit:
www.syngenta.com Website Syngenta Seeds

New growing trays and transport trays for Butters Group 

We developed new polystyrene growing trays and transport trays for Butters Group within the space of four weeks. To save time, we mutually agreed to skip the prototyping phase — a testament to the degree of trust the client placed in us. And we didn't let them down! We delivered the trays within a very tight production time frame.

The Challenge
Find an alternative to EPS
Butters Group, a market leader in plants and bulbs in the UK, delivers predominantly to supermarkets. They had been using EPS trays for transport, but these are non-stackable and so take up a lot of space. It had got to the point where they couldn't store the 260,000 trays they needed. What's more, EPS is inflammable, giving them headaches with their fire insurance. Butters Group asked us whether it would be possible to deliver them an alternative within four weeks.

The Solution
Skip the prototype phase
When you're asked to deliver on the double, this calls for good judgement of which corners it is safe to cut. This did not at all mean we were incurring major risks, because we have since produced transport trays in all shapes and sizes. But even so, clients — justifiably — do mostly have more confidence if they can lay eyes on a prototype before giving the go-ahead for production. Butters didn't feel this was necessary, as they knew what we were capable of delivering and had real trust in our quality and our methods. By removing the prototype phase from the planning, we were able to slash production time considerably. 

The Result
Production within four weeks
So we managed to go from design right through to production of our thermally-formed, stackable growing and transport trays in just four weeks. The first production run has been in polystyrene but in time we will be making the move to 100% recyclable PET. These trays are easier to use, both for Butters Group and for the supermarkets they deliver to. The perforations mean that the trays can also be split up into smaller units.

For more information about Butters Group, please visit:
www.butters.co.uk Website Butters Group Limited

Buzzy Seeds grow kits top quality once again

It is as true for packaging as for anything else: if it’s from far away, it probably isn’t the best. That was the experience of our client Buzzy Seeds of manufacturing its grow kits in China. Originally the arrangement looked promising, especially for the price, but as more and more orders came in the discrepancies in quality and even colour became too large to tolerate. Buzzy Seeds asked Voges to bring its packaging range back up to the top of the market.

The problem
Low quality and unreliable deliveries
Production in China may well be cheap, but the quality is almost always dodgy. Because it emerged that their grow kit packaging was being made by hand by many different suppliers, and therefore no two examples of the packaging were ever the same. But what was even worse was that the quality of all the packaging left much to be desired. And what’s more, their deliveries were unreliable. 

Our solution
High production output
Voges looked at all aspects of visual appearance and functionality, They also took a close look at product engineering considerations to ensure optimum production efficiency. Equipped with these findings, and with the latest technology used in its energy efficient factory, Voges was able to achieve a very high production output, which allowed its prices to compete with China.

The result
An outstanding visual appearance in the shops
The high level of production quality ensured that all the packaging had the same outstanding visual appearance for a very good price. Buzzy Seeds grow kits once again became the leading product in their category in the shops, and not a moment too soon.

Plants through the letterbox

Strong mail order packaging for plug plants. Suttons is a company that supplies plants and other products by mail order The most challenging part of which is the letterbox. How can you get plants through it? Voges came up with an inventive packaging solution and made savings on production costs to reduce the price.

The challenge
Devise packaging that could be used to put plants through the letterbox
Suttons asked Voges to come up with packaging that would be flat enough and yet strong enough to allow plug plants to be sent to individuals by post. The plants needed to be held inside their plug compartments, but still needed to be able to breathe too. And, of course, the packaging also had to be made for a good price.

The solution
Ingenious Production
Voges looked at the options for its visual appearance and functionality with a production engineering perspective in mind. Because optimum production efficiency is the top priority for ensuring the concept is achievable. Voges developed a trial version which could be used to test whether it would be strong enough and ‘letterbox-functional’. Furthermore, ingenious ventilation slits were added to let in sufficient air, as well as resulting in substantial savings on production costs because the topfoil no longer needed to be perforated.

The result
Safely in the post
Suttons plug plants could now be sent in the post with ample ventilation. The strong packaging solution that Voges came up with offered optimum protection for the plant, allowing it to be effortlessly popped through the letterbox. Thanks to its inventive production process, with ventilation slits instead of performing, the costs were kept down as well.