GPI’s “Pantry Vendor” Is Key to Rapid Club Store Response for Bush’s Baked Beans
In today’s demanding retail marketplace, the ability of a food manufacturer to innovate and respond to retailers’ requests is constantly challenged. The pressure often falls to both the food manufacturer and its suppliers to rapidly develop and implement solutions.
For Bush Brothers & Company, the solution identified for its club store multi-packs of baked beans was the Pantry Vendor™ dispenser from Graphic Packaging International. This package provides a powerful in-store billboard, which retailers have indicated can play a critical role in store display selections, and to consumer recognition of displayed products.
“The challenge posed to us by Bush Brothers & Company was to create a multi-pack that would gain more premium display space in club stores while stimulating both planned and impulse buying,” explained Andrew Johnson, senior marketing manager for Graphic Packaging International (GPI).
“Our answer was the Pantry Vendor, which is similar to GPI’s patented Fridge Vendor® package. It’s a fully enclosed paperboard container that features a dispenser-style opening, permits interlocked stacking, and has plenty of exterior surface for attractive wrap-around graphics.”
Bush Brothers introduced the Pantry Vendor dispenser in October in eight-packs. The company replaced plastic rings in a low-wall, shrink-wrapped corrugated tray.
“Response from club stores has been very positive,” added Johnson.
To accommodate the strong interest, Bush Brothers is using an integrated packaging system from GPI that includes a Quikflex® 200 packaging machine, SUS® coated unbleached kraft paperboard from the company’s West Monroe (Louisiana) Mill, and converted cartons from its Fort Smith (Arkansas) carton plant.
“We didn’t have a carton in our packaging mix nor did we have cartoning ability in-house,” said Robby Martin, process and packaging engineer for Bush Brothers, which has its headquarters in Knoxville. “Graphic Packaging developed a package for us, and provided us with a very efficient and affordable machine that’s a much more desirable solution for us than co-packing.”
Added Martin, “Today, Graphic Packaging is our single source for board, for converting board to cartons, and for filling those cartons. That means we benefit from clearer accountability, economies of scale, and production efficiencies.”
In fact, Bush Brothers is achieving 96 percent production efficiency on its first machine, and has ordered a second Quikflex 200 unit to fully support its club store volume requirements.
“By running GPI board on a GPI machine, our packs are tighter and our board is lighter in weight,” added Martin. “We were able to reduce start-up time and operating costs, while increasing through-put. The Quikflex 200 is very easy to operate – you basically plug it in and it starts running product.”
Graphic Packaging International (GPI) is a provider of paperboard packaging solutions to the beverage, food and other consumer products industries. For more information, visit www.graphicpkg.com.
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