Peppersmith launches redesigned plastic-free chewing gum packaging
The eco-friendly design has a perforated tamper proof tab for freshness instead of a plastic wrapper and uses FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited card and plant-based sweetener xylitol.
Shelf appeal
The Peppersmith range consists of: Peppermint Mints, Extra Strong Mints, Lemon Mints, Strawberry Pastilles, Peppermint Chewing Gum & Spearmint Chewing Gum.
Designed by B&B Studio, each display box features an image of the flavor - a spearmint or peppermint leaf, lemon or strawberry - on a bold background and with wrap around lettering to stand out on shelves.
Mike Stevens, founder, Peppersmith, told ConfectioneryNews the plastic-free packaging concept to delivery has been a long work in progress.
“The concept was to have plastic free, recyclable packs that are tamperproof and don’t pop open in your bag, but this is much harder than you might think. Recyclable, FSC sourced cardboard is a bit more expensive but pretty easy nowadays, we have used FSC card for our packs and display cases in every little pack we have ever made,” he said.
“The real challenge was to make sure the packs are tamperproof without a plastic film. We went through various prototypes of different perforated seals on the little packs, but it turns out the machine we use to pack our products is quite complicated which limited our options, and buying a whole new packing machine wasn’t an option. From start to finish this has taken well over a year.”
Stevens added, in terms of visuals, the concepts and designs were originally drawn up by its long term branding agency B&B.
“They were the best people to approach about a new look as they know the brand and have been through our other packaging amendments with us,” he said.
“Their concepts showcased the products as bold and contemporary whilst retaining a natural feel, which was really important to us. We then worked together to get from the original concepts to the final designs which can be seen on shelf really soon.”
Click top boxes
The redesigns were done in the UK but the packaging comes from Europe, from experts in click top boxes.
“The R&D aspect took quite a while. We started out by asking our webshop customer base (about 5,000 people) what they really wanted to see from the new packaging. We gave them a choice between a fully resealable pack, or a plastic covered pack and an overwhelming 80% chose to have the plastic removed,” added Stevens.
“We already knew it was the move we wanted to make, but the results reinforced that we were doing the right thing. We then moved onto the design aspect with B&B and our packaging company.
“Now we are on a mission to remove all our unrecyclable plastic packaging so are delisting our larger gum pouches from our range. To replace them we will look at a more sustainably packaged multipack which we will release later in the year. This could be made from FSC card or even a biodegradable plant plastic that can be put into food waste bins.”
The Peppersmith range is available online at peppersmith.co.uk or from Morrisons, Sainsbury's Local, Ocado, BP Simply Food, Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, Whole Foods Market and various health food stores.
