Written by Emily Laughton-Hulatt | 26th July 2022

Healeys Cornish Cider advent calendar campaign boosts year-round brand awareness

At Smurfit Kappa, we take pride in our client relationships and approach each project, knowing that the best packaging results can only happen when we work with, not just for, our clients.

Our Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple site has been working with Healeys on a variety of different packaging projects over the last three years, providing support to Healeys marketing team. From concept development to project completion and beyond, we’re proud to support our clients every step of the journey.

Thanks to the capabilities of our high-quality print, and hugely talented design team, we supported Healeys with their new product development projects, including the release of their premium Cornish Cider advent pack.

The Cider advent packaging project

When Healeys wanted to increase their product range, they explored seasonal gifting ideas and, with extensive experience in gift packaging, they turned to our Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple site to take it from idea to fruition.

The team at Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple proposed a cyder advent calendar that would be fitting for the Healeys brand whilst reflecting the fun of the festivities. To create the unboxing experience of an advent calendar, each compartment was perforated enough that only one would open when ripped, helping keep the one-at-a-time tease of an advent calendar alive right up until the big day.

Two-part challenge

The Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple team worked closely with Healeys to understand the challenges they may face on the packing line. As a result, they came up with a two-part solution, which allowed the client’s operatives to build each calendar from the bottom up while providing the necessary protection for each bottle. .

When it came to the advent calendar’s perforated window openings, their in-house design team went through multiple test phases to ensure they were easy to open whilst providing adequate strength to the outer box.

Designed with consumers AND client in mind

The result was an eye-catching, bright, bold, packaging solution that could comfortably support the weight of 12 x 500ml bottles from Healeys Rattler range. For the inside of the drink advent calendar, they designed a bespoke fitment for each 500ml bottle of Cornish Cyder. This allowed individual bottles to remain hidden from the other, ensuring throughout December customers could enjoy the complete advent experience that we all enjoy at any age.

The easy to open solution for the consumer aimed to provide a more positive experience for end users, however, the packaging wasn’t only designed with their dedicated Cyder Rattler fans in mind. The advent calendar was easy-to-pack too which was welcomed by the client’s warehouse team.

The final product was an eye-catching litho laminated outer case print with quick to erect crash lock base and easy locking tab lid, which required no additional packaging material to seal.

Bright, bold and bespoke

Using their larger litho laminator allowed Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple to give the packaging its bespoke, unique Rattler look. The team added matt varnish to make sure the colours popped, while the matt finish provided additional scratch resistance, limiting the chance of spoiling the bright, vibrant print.

The reason they chose litho print, was in addition to being cost-effective for large printing qualities, litho offers a high-quality finish, with the option of matching eye-popping, vibrant colours. It can also be used on almost any type of packaging with no loss of quality.

 

Successful festive season

Healeys hoped to increase their product range while rewarding loyal Rattler fans with something special at Christmas. Building brand awareness while embracing the spirit of the season, the advent calendars helped Healeys reach their target market while also expanding their audience, with the cider advent calendar campaign being such a success, it will likely increase year-round sales and has the potential to become an annual tradition for both current and future fans of Cyder and cider.

As the drinks packaging is made of 100% sustainable cardboard, it’s completely recyclable and could be discarded via any standard recycling method, appealing to the brand’s more eco-conscious customers.

Reflections from Healeys

Lee Maidment, Marketing Manager for Healeys Cyder said: “We were really happy with the “12 days of Rattler” advent packaging and Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple was instrumental in bringing it to life. It was a challenging project because of the overall weight of the finished product and the more practical consideration of how we would manually erect and pack the box, ensuring the right bottle could be placed behind the correct window. Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple thought of everything, from how the packaging would work in our warehouse and logistics department, to making sure the bottles would be secure in the advent calendar. The quirky campaign was well received by Rattler fans, helped boost our brand exposure, and improved our sales over the festive period. Many thanks to the talented Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple team.”

Simone Mace, General Manager at Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple said: “We were ecstatic with the outcome of our advent calendar packaging, not only was it bright, resilient and sustainable but we really felt it showcased the festive spirit of the season, and the quality of the Healeys Cornish Cyder brand. I just want to thank everyone at Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple who worked on the project for creating such an excellent finished product for our valued client.”

Bursting with benefits

Easy to pack packaging can offer our drink manufacturer clients a whole host of measurable benefits in addition to a reduction in labour costs. Thanks to the packaging being 100% sustainable, it can lead to new audiences by raising brand awareness amongst increasingly environmentally conscious consumers, which go on to result in other brand purchases and customer loyalty.

For more information or to discover how our unique advent calendars packaging can boost your brand, contact the team today using the form below.