How far can we Take Sustainable Packaging?

Will you eat your Packaging?
Yes that’s right…. Edible packaging. Now that is sustainable packaging. We’ve already seen this concept grab headlines last year, with PepsiCo reportedly considering edible packaging. Harvard professor David Edwards, developed self-contained edible packaging in an effort to reduce plastic and paper waste.  Interesting and headline-worthy, its implementation is confronted with many challenges.  The risk of this packaging material being broken up was one major issue. Marketing challenges was another major factor. The consumer’s impression is that such packaging is unhygienic.

Many, so Many Questions?
Would you go into your favourite fast food restaurant and eat your packaging?
What would it taste like?
What nutritional value would it have?
Would you Eat a recycled product?
What would you package the edible packaging in? And would that also be edible?
All these questions and much more…

Who will start this and will it be a trend?
McDonald’s rolled out its new packaging this month along with a pledge to source 100 percent of all fiber-based packaging from recycled or certified sources by 2020.This follows the fast-food chain’s November 2015 announcement that it’s centrally purchased packaging in Europe is 100 percent sustainably sourced. This is for the entire European stores. Cartons, cups, bags, napkins and tray liners, all made with wood fiber from recycled sources or forests certified products. Will they now be moving into edible packaging or have they already started? But for me, the biggest questions remain. How will the consumer react? Would you eat something you have already thrown in the trash?

Author: George Boutros, General Manager at Hoxton Industries. Caring about what tomorrow will bring us in sustainable packaging.

Shelf ready packaging is growing in Australia

Be Shelf Ready

Shelf ready packaging is growing in Australia, in fact has overtaken. Retailers continue to push into this area. All the large big retailer’s insist that all packaging be shelf ready. Packaging provides their business with benefits such as better on shelf availability through better stock rotation and reduced waste. Shelf ready packaging in sydney has become a standard and design teams from several Australian packaging Companies specifically design new ways to display these products. As more and more products are being introduced to the market every year, displaying and marketing the products on the shelves is fast becoming a nightmare not just for the retailers but also for manufacturers therefore to address this issue various Australian packaging companies have turned to shelf ready packaging. 

Advantages of SRP

Various Australian packaging manufacturers also cited that shelf ready packaging is easy to dispose, easy to open and provides easy identification especially for products with numerous stock keeping units (SKU), not to mention how easy it is for outlets to rotate and replenish the display. Other benefits that shelf friendly packaging gives as is it requires no additional corrugated case and being fully recyclable this greatly reduces carbon footprints and lesser waste to landfills which is beneficial to the environment. Three major ones are time saved in stocking shelves and warehousing costs (which help retailers) and more colourful displays (benefiting both retailers and manufacturers), or point of sale displays.

Who, How & Where?

When considering retail ready packaging for your products, it is beneficial to refer to the established notes, rules and regulations from retailers for shelf ready packaging. These are factors as, are they easy to identify? Is it easy to open? Is it easy to put on the shelves? Does it dispose easily? If this is too much to take in, partner with a company like Hoxton Industries who have dealt with shelf ready packaging since 2005, when SRP all began. Hoxton Industries is located in Sydney South West. Specialising in maximising all your needs, offering a solution to all your packaging, rework and manufacturing.

Author:

George Boutros; Marketing and Business Development at Hoxton Industries.

Helping companies maximise efficiency in packaging solutions with shelf ready packaging.

What is Kitting?

What is Kitting ?

Kitting is the gathering of components and parts needed for the manufacture of a particular assembly or product. Individual components are gathered together, as a kit, and issued to the point of use. Kitting Process in which individually separate but related items are grouped, packaged, and supplied together as one unit.  The supplier then creates a customised kit that is assembled and shipped as one unit.  The term “kitting” is order fulfilment jargon for preassembly of individual items into ready-to-ship kits instead of picking and packing those individual items as orders are received. If you ship similar orders in quantity, the savings potential of fulfilment kitting can be huge.

What Can you Kit?

These options are endless. We have all seen them in our supermarkets, Hardware stores and in all retail outlets. When you buy a mixed box of soft drinks, or a box set of books, or a tool box with all the tools you need and even a mixed shampoo conditioner these are all examples of kitting. The retail sector loves kitting. Why? It shows value for an item whilst increasing the average dollar ticket.  Research in 2015 shows 73% of consumers see kitting as a complete item rather than individual. What this tells manufactures if they don’t kit they will be left behind. 

Author: George Boutros from Hoxton Industries; Looking after all Sydney’s kitting’s headaches. 

Specialised Security Shredding

Shred it All!
Federally mandated Privacy Legislation requires businesses to destroy sensitive data rather than simply discard information. The privacy laws present organisations with an obligation and responsibility to dispose of sensitive data without improper disclosure. Organisations are vulnerable to litigation when personal records are not properly maintained and destroyed.

Paper VS Digital
Studies in 2015 show 1 in 5 breaches are still in fact paper, with 73% in house shredding. So Specialised security shredding is being neglected. Paper recycling is a service offered to those organisations that have non-sensitive office waste paper and are conscientious about the environmentally friendly removal of this product. All clean office waste paper collected is transported to our manufacturing plant for processing and recycling, but always recommend specialised security destruction.

The 2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index concluded that 95% of all security incidents involve human error. Partnering with a professional document destruction company with specialised security destruction helps to establish good document management processes. For example, locked consoles are supplied for confidential information that is no longer needed. Implementing a Shred-it all policy further reduces the risk of employee error because all documents must be securely shredded... and employees never have to decide what is or isn’t confidential.

Rather than stockpiling electronics or throwing them into the garbage, old hard drives and e-media must be permanently destroyed. A professional document destruction company should provide these destruction services. A study showed that while 51% of companies have a policy for secure destruction of confidential documents, the policy doesn't cover specialised security destruction.

Author: George Boutros; Keeping your business secure.

Sydney’s Packaging Headaches.

Forming a Partnership

At one point or another if a company wants to sell products to its consumers it must look at ways, designs and a partnership with a packaging. Contract packaging companies are equipped with the tools, skills, and knowledge to meet special regulations that ensure producers are in compliance and sell a consistent product.

They sometimes can be expensive so shopping around Sydney might take up valuable time.

Whether it’s a big, established brand that needs to get massive quantities of product packaged and out on retail shelves quickly, or it’s a small team of entrepreneurs that lacks the manpower and resources to get their new item in proper packaging, a co-packer’s job is to fulfil those needs and more. 

Finding, evaluating, and hiring the right contract packager to work with your team can be a challenge. There are numerous co-packing operations out there, but determining which company will view your team as a strategic partner, and is willing to create a working relationship built on trust, can be a daunting task.

So who can you trust? An Australian Disability Enterprises are located all across Sydney. Hoxton Industries are located conveniently in south west Sydney, off the M7. They can advise your company of the best solution for all your products.

3 Big guns lead the way with Sustainable Packaging?

Who is leading the way?
Coca-Cola, Nestle and Nike set in collaboration together aimed at setting standards for the guiding and developing of plant-based plastics derived from feedstocks like corn and sugarcane in 2013. Bio-based plastics and product manufacturing trends show a lot of potential. While I’m excited to see where the growth of bioplastics, where will it end up taking us, I also hope leaders in the sustainable packaging world agree with my concerns moving forward through 2016.

This may help prove that our dependence on petroleum-derived plastics, that it isn’t as hard-set as we once thought. We have a few of these facilities that are even equipped to process these bioplastics. Biodegradable and supposedly compostable plastics often have to be processed in an industrial facility to fully decompose. So who will step up and help us save what is most important. Is Sustainable packaging and Bio based plastics here to stay for good?

Lightweight packaging
The benefits of lightweight packaging seem clear enough: reduced material and manufacturing costs reduced environmental impacts from transportation and potentially less waste bound for landfills. Retail giants are reducing consumables consistently. Consumers see this as paying more for fewer products….. Are these giants really trying to save us or just pocketing more money into the bank? Sustainable Packaging has to be on the number 1 priority moving forward to help us save the environment, lives and dollars.

Author: George Boutros, Marketing and Business Development at Hoxton Industries. Caring about what tomorrow will bring us in sustainable packaging.

Is Secure Paper destruction Over?

40% of small business owners have no protocols in place for securing data - does your company?

Fines, reputation damage and loss of sales could cost your business millions. It seems that all you hear about these days is the risk of cyber data breaches. But the paperless office has yet to come, and there’s still a lot of sensitive information on paper in the workplace. Studies in 2015 show 1 in 5 breaches are still in fact paper, with 73% in house shredding. With companies that lack document security policies, employees lack direction and commitment for protecting confidential data. Tossing confidential data into open bins increases the risk of theft by information thieves – in and outside of the workplace. Shredding paper in house is not a reliable solution. With all these facts and figures, improper document management is a big problem.

What Is the Solution?

The solution is easy: Partner with a document destruction company like Hoxton Industries in the south west of Sydney. Hoxton Industries offers all secure paper cabinets, maintained regularly scheduled off site shredding.  At Hoxton Industries, secure document destruction is carried out by our professional and skilled employees, who take the utmost care to meet your confidential document destruction needs. You can view your document destruction at our secure site.

So whatever you call it – document shredding, record destruction, media destruction, confidential shredding or secure document shredding – we offer a prompt, secure, confidential, efficient and professional solution; with the capability to process up to 2 tonnes of material per day.

If you’re looking for efficient and secure document destruction, call us on (02) 9607 6159 today. For more info: www.hoxtonindustries.com.au.

Author: Nicole Bruce is the General Manager of Hoxton Industries. She has over 14 years’ experience in product packaging and shrink wrap.

Sydney’s Packaging is Stunning, Creative & Insane!

The purpose of packaging, ultimately what sells your product! It draws attention, sends a message, and makes consumers feel a certain way, boldly screams out and always catches your eye first.

The packaging cost, is in the billions per year.” Sustainable packaging”,” environmentally friendly” the package says. Does the consumer really care? Research has shown that this is added value to the product but not the main sell point. Yearly creative competitions are held in Packaging. From Sustainable packaging to Creative designs, from environment friendly to graphic designs. The competitions are fierce, competitive and never ending year after year.

What are consumers buying?

The facts and figures are in! Colours, patterns, space, simple, playful, bold, style, modern, texture and bright. Other major factors are multiple purpose and sneak- peak.

Sneak Peak? Yes the consumers are more likely to be attracted to the product that they can feel, pick up and see. Not the old plastic stuff you are thinking about but SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING.

We have all seen it on TV, mostly for food and “sous vide” cooking at a Michelin star restaurant. This Sydney skin packaging is a little bit different. Any item placed on a cardboard and vacuum sealed to show off your item.

Where in Sydney can I do this Packaging?

Not many places at all offer this service in Australia. It has always been done offshore. The name you can trust is Hoxton Industries. Located conveniently in south west Sydney. Cheap, affordable but yet Bold, and convenient on the retail shelf.

Author: George Boutros; Looking after all Sydney’s Packaging headaches

Corporate Social Responsibility and Discovering the Modern Sheltered Workshop

We are not supposed to call it a sheltered workshop anymore… it’s not politically correct. But if you are searching for a sub-contracting partner that’s probably the term you are going to search. The modern sheltered workshop is now known as an ADE (Australian Disability Enterprise) and the reasons for choosing to partner with an ADE have evolved just as much as the ADE’s themselves.

Smart Business

ADEs offer a wide variety of services that are often in high demand for businesses looking to outsource part of their workload. These services are often not part of your core business so it makes sense to sub contract them, freeing up your staffs valuable time for critical matters. These are things that ADEs specialise in like co packing, kitting, contract manufacturing and packaging, shrink wrapping, specialised security shredding and third party warehousing. And because there local business they are not only faster than an offshore option but also a lot more flexible.

Competitive Edge

Many businesses looking for a competitive edge choose to search for an ADE partner, but not for the reasons they used to. Business’ today use ADEs for a competitive edge that fits in with their corporate social responsibility. Using an ADE means you are providing a job to a person with disability, contributing to a great social cause and that’s worth bragging rights.  

So while the term sheltered workshop may be old hat, the idea behind it isn’t and the value in the model is there for business to benefit from for their triple bottom line.

To discuss your outsourcing needs contact us on 02 9607 6159 or visit our website for more information www.hoxtonindustries.com.au

Nicole Bruce is the General Manager of Hoxton Industries. She has over 14 years’ experience in product packaging and shrink wrap.

Save In More ways with Sustainable Packaging

Plant-based plastics 

Plant-based plastics lead the way in showing the industry that efficient production of plastics from renewable sources is possible. Coca-Cola, Nestle and Nike set in collaboration together aimed at setting standards for the guiding and developing of plant-based plastics derived from feedstocks like corn and sugarcane in 2013. Bio-based plastics and product manufacturing trends show a lot of potential. While I’m excited to see where the growth of bioplastics, where will it end up taking us, I also hope leaders in the sustainable packaging world agree with my concerns moving forward through 2016.

This may help prove that our dependence on petroleum-derived plastics, that it isn’t as hard-set as we once thought.  We have a few of these facilities that are even equipped to process these bioplastics. Biodegradable and supposedly compostable plastics often have to be processed in an industrial facility to fully decompose.  So who will step up and help us save what is most important. Is Sustainable packaging and Bio based plastics here to stay for good?

Lightweight packaging

The benefits of lightweight packaging seem clear enough: reduced material and manufacturing costs, reduced environmental impacts from transportation and potentially less waste bound for landfills. Retail giants are reducing consumables consistently. Consumers see this as paying more for less product….. Are these giants really trying to save us or just pocketing more money into the bank? Sustainable Packaging has to be on the number 1 priority moving forward to help us save the environment, lives and dollars.

George Boutros, Marketing and Business Development at Hoxton Industries. Caring about what tomorrow will bring us with sustainable packaging.