A small Hawaiian honey company finds AFFORDABLE, PROTECTIVE packaging to match its quality and eco-friendly standards.
Bettina Chang, Contributing Editor -- Packaging Digest, 11/1/2009 1:00:00 AM
Being green isn't easy, and no one knows it better than Volcano Island Honey Co. (VIHC), a small family-owned Hawaiian company that has been shipping rare organic white honey in glass jars to different parts of the nation for 25 years. While the jars are made with recycled-content, the Honokaa, HI-based company has always lamented its use of foam and protective bubble cushioning to protect the jars in shipment—until now. After testing endless packaging prototypes, Salazar Packaging created an affordable, eco-friendly, smash-test-approved shipping package for VIHC's products.
“We have looked for years to be environmentally appropriate and yet not have broken glass in our honey, but it's been enormously difficult to find the right packaging,” admits VIHC owner Richard Spiegel.
A small company, VIHC didn't have the money to spend on developing custom shipping containers or importing bulk loose fill from the mainland to the Big Island. However, with high-end clients such as Neiman Marcus, VIHC couldn't afford using sub par packaging.
The company chose to use different types of cushioning materials in its shipping cases to ensure the jars of high-density honey didn't shatter in-transit. VIHC also included a letter with the shipments, urging customers to recycle the inner packing whenever possible. It developed packaging solutions for the smaller shipments of honey using only paperboard, but faced a bigger challenge with cases of mixed shipments of 8- and 20-oz jars.
“With a combination of different-size products, there's a likelihood that they will shift around in the package and get damaged or damage the box,” says Dennis Salazar, president of Salazar Packaging. “You can imagine what happens to a case of honey when one jar breaks.”
After more than a year and a half of back-and-forth between the two companies, Salazar designed an effective box at minimal cost for VIHC. The package consists of a heavy-duty carton with partitions to separate the jars into cells. Ecoflex, a molded-pulp sheet designed to absorb shock, lines the top and bottom of the case. It also surrounds the jars that don't fit snugly in the cells. The final package is standardized so as to avoid costs from custom tooling charges.
Simple and attractive
The inner packing is simple and esthetically pleasing, which is important to VIHC because of the high-end stores at which it sells the rare honey. The packaging will cost about 15 percent more than the former cushioning VIHC used, but Spiegel insists that it's worth it. “It's a long time and a lot of money for a little company to spend on research,” he says. “But we're trying to live up to what people are talking about: Green.” Spiegel was excited about the eco-friendly cushioning, but was adamant to perfect the products while staying true to an environmentally conscious philosophy.
Teledyne DALSA is a world leader in the design, manufacture and deployment of digital imaging components for the machine vision market. Teledyne DALSA image sensors, cameras, smart cameras, frame grabbers, software, and vision solutions are used...
more
SATO is a pioneer and leading global provider of integrated Automatic Identification and Data Collection solutions that leverage barcode and RFID technologies. SATO manufactures innovative, reliable auto-identification systems and offers complete...
more
ECONOCORP, INC. is a leading worldwide manufacturer of ECONOSEAL cartoning, trayforming, and casepacking caters to moderate volume users and features simplicity in design, operation, and maintenance. ECONOSEALS handle paperboard and corrugated...
more
QuickLabel Systems makes and sells digital color label printers and barcode label printers for use by manufacturers of foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and more...
more
Bosch Packaging Technology, Inc. is one of the world's leading suppliers of packaging machinery. Our diverse portfolio of packaging machines, including the well known Doboy brand, includes robotic automation with pick & place robots (delta robots)...
more
Hitachi America Ltd., Industrial Components & Equipment Division, supplies a broad range of industrial products and services. The division supplies sophisticated industrial equipment, components and services for application in pharmaceutical...
more
Markem-Imaje is a trusted world manufacturer of product identification and traceability solutions, offering a full line of reliable and innovative inkjet, thermal transfer, laser, print and apply label systems and RFID-based systems. Markem-Imaje...
more
Videojet is a world-leading manufacturer of marking systems, fluids, and accessories for the product identification industry. Videojet printers apply high-quality alphanumeric codes, logos and graphics to nearly any surface at virtually any line...
more
Fogg is a world leader in the design and manufacture of rotary filling, rinsing, capping and enclosure systems for free flowing and viscous liquids. Fogg serves a growing number of dairy, spirits, water, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and...
more
Markem-Imaje is a trusted world manufacturer of product identification and traceability solutions, offering a full line of reliable and innovative inkjet, thermal transfer, laser, print and apply label systems and RFID-based systems. Markem-Imaje...
more
Microscan develops barcode and machine vision products that help manufacturers reduce costs, increase yields, improve product quality, and comply with regulations. Designed for precision applications, Microscan's line of 1D and 2D barcode readers...
more
National Bulk Equipment dry material handling systems for packaging and processing operations, include: bulk bag fillers, bulk bag unloaders, bulk container dumpers, bulk container fillers, and bulk mixing, weighing, and conveyance systems. NBE...
more
Plastic Ingenuity is the national leader in providing the best solutions in thermoformed packaging, tooling and extrusion services. A member of the Thermoforming Institute, and a multi-plant manufacturing operation with facilities across North...
more
Thermo Scientific Product Inspection and Processing equipment protects your brands by ensuring the quality, accuracy, efficiency and safety of your products. With more than 50 years of making sure little things don't turn into big problems, we know...
more
DOMINO is one of the world's largest manufacturers of digital printing solutions and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Our products are used for date coding, product marking, serialization and variable printing. Among our customers...
more
Being green isn't easy, and no one knows it better than Volcano Island Honey Co. (VIHC), a small family-owned Hawaiian company that has been shipping rare organic white honey in glass jars to different parts of the nation for 25 years. While the jars are made with recycled-content, the Honokaa, HI-based company has always lamented its use of foam and protective bubble cushioning to protect the jars in shipment—until now. After testing endless packaging prototypes, Salazar Packaging created an affordable, eco-friendly, smash-test-approved shipping package for VIHC's products.
After more than a year and a half of back-and-forth between the two companies, Salazar designed an effective box at minimal cost for VIHC. The package consists of a heavy-duty carton with partitions to separate the jars into cells. Ecoflex, a molded-pulp sheet designed to absorb shock, lines the top and bottom of the case. It also surrounds the jars that don't fit snugly in the cells. The final package is standardized so as to avoid costs from custom tooling charges.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
