Smurfit Kappa has completed a significant investment in its new Design2Market Factory, a facility creating a fast and seamless development process from packaging design through to market launch. The first Design2Market Factory, which is based in the Netherlands, has been fully operational since January.
The investment, which includes a digital printer and die-cutter, provides rapid prototyping for pilot production, packaging performance analysis and field lab facilities under one roof.
The Design2Market Factory is well placed to cater to two of the biggest trends within the packaging industry, sustainability and e-commerce, with customer data, cutting-edge machinery and long-term expertise being utilised to enhance customers’ competitive advantage.
Starting from the initial design brief, a multidisciplinary team supports the organic and collaborative design process with customers, resulting in customised prototypes which are rapidly produced in industrial pilot production. This production run gives the flexibility to quickly test, refine and adapt the packaging innovations on a smaller scale, building confidence and eliminating risk before market launch.
The team in the Design2Market Factory has so far created and tested innovative solutions including Frustration Free Packaging for wine, Shelf Ready Packaging for detergent and several of Smurfit Kappa’s ‘Better Planet Packaging’ products including a replacement for shrink wrap.
Arco Berkenbosch, Vice President of Innovation and Development, Smurfit Kappa, said, “The Design2Market Factory provides our customers with the fastest way to launch their new packaging solutions and has revolutionised the development process. It’s set up to provide them with a tangible prototype that can be tested with consumers and subsequently refined and honed before moving to large-scale production.”
