DS Smith, leading global manufacturer of fibre-based sustainable packaging solutions, has helped global snacking company pladis to reduce plastic in its iconic orange Jacob’s Cream Crackers box by 78% while still delivering a tamperproof pack with impactful branding.
With plastic reduction increasingly becoming front of mind for retailers and demanded by consumers, pladis approached DS Smith about creating new packaging for the iconic Jacob’s Crackers Selection pack, which minimised the amount of plastic waste in the shell of the packaging, while retaining the tamper proof seal. After rigorous testing by DS Smith designers, the finished product featured 78% less plastic per pack, saving over 373,248kg of CO2 so far. All the while incorporating high quality print to the same standard as the previous solution.
Over a third of Brits (33%) consider Father’s Day as a proper calendar moment that needs to be celebrated[1]; however, Dads can be notoriously tricky to buy for. With food and drink coming out as the most popular gift category for Father’s Day[2], Jacob’s crackers are a great accompaniment to any Father’s Day cheese-based gift – and now they’re a perfect choice for the sustainability-conscious Dad too.
The new packaging is already on-shelf and as well as reducing plastic it retains the iconic design associated with Jacob’s. Not only does it make for the perfect gift for Dad this Father’s Day, but families will be able to enjoy their Jacob’s crackers safe in the knowledge that they’ll be able to recycle the packaging.
Paul Bridge at DS Smith said: “Now more than ever, consumers are concerned about the amount of plastic in their packaging.
“We were delighted to work with pladis on new packaging for their iconic Jacob’s Cream Crackers. The challenge with attempting to cut plastic out of packaging often means it can compromise the design. By applying our unique Circular Design Metrics, we came up with a solution that ensured that we ended up with a finished product that had 78% less plastic, while retaining the same high-quality print as the previous packaging.
“The new design is already on-shelf, and we’ve taken the learnings from the project to see how we can apply them to future solutions we work on.”
David Guy, Packaging Director at pladis UK&I said: “Redesigning our packaging was a big moment for us, especially as Jacob’s is such an iconic brand which customers know and love. We were delighted to work with DS Smith, and they really hit our brief, finding a solution which worked with our current manufacturing set up without compromising on branding.”
In line with its Now and Next strategy and purpose to Redefine Packaging for a Changing World, DS Smith uses its unique Circular Design Metrics to rate and compare the circularity of packaging designs across eight different indicators.
Since their creation in 2019, the DS Smith Circular Design Metrics have supported thousands of design projects with around 3,000 circular-ready projects presented to customers every month.
Alongside applying the Circular Design Metrics into their work with Jacob’s, DS Smith has helped several other pladis brands to make their packaging more sustainable. This includes designing new display packaging to publicise McVitie’s ‘Golden Buzzer’ competition in store.
www.dssmith.com www.pladisglobal.com
[1] YouGov, survey of international attitudes to Father’s Day, 18th January - 14th February 2022
[2] https://www.creategiftlove.co.uk/blogs/research/fathers-day-buyers-survey-results-2023#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20gift%20for,choosing%20them%20for%20Father's%20Day.