Flexibility of UK Contract Packers Attracts Personal Care Industry

The flexibility offered by local contract packers has been attracting packing operations back to the UK.  Chris Jones, of A E Adams, says that this is particularly important in the personal care sector, which requires assured quality and a swift reaction to consumer demands.

In order to put a greater focus on core business and to enhance efficiency, many personal care brands choose to delegate their manufacturing and packing operations to an outside expert, such as A E Adams, that is skilled in delivering a complete packing solution, from sourcing raw materials and blending, to filling, packing and distribution.

“As one of the largest consumer sectors, the personal care market is constantly growing and developing, according to current trends” says Chris Jones, of Adams. “Outsourcing enables a company to focus on product development, sales and other areas and respond quickly to change”.

Outsourcing is advisable for smaller companies, start-up companies, or companies with a strong product idea that want to focus on marketing and retail. 

“In the current economic climate, companies of any size may not be in a position to invest in an in-house manufacturing and packing operation, including packaging equipment and additional staff” Chris says.  “Outsourcing to a co-packer that delivers a complete solution is a cost effective and prompt way around that.”

Following the recession, many retailers and other areas of the supply chain have minimised their stock, adding pressure on brand owners to cope with unexpected peak demands, which is where the flexibility of an experienced UK co-packer becomes vital. 

Adams’ proven technical capability in managing the design and build development process on packaging machines and on tooling in-house enables the company to build and maintain its equipment and develop customised solutions for its customers’ products.  

Continued investment in its onsite engineering facilities and technical team, and planned process maintenance schedules, help Adams to minimise changeover and maintenance downtime to deliver a fast, efficient and reliable service.

An experienced co-packer, skilled in delivering a complete packing solution, Adams can also advise and assist with the development of a product, including the packaging design.  This can be crucial to the product’s success, particularly within the personal care sector, which employs such a wide range of packaging solutions, from bottles, jars, sachets, pouches and more specialist types of packaging.

“While the aesthetic of the packaging is key, its primary purpose is to contain and protect the product” says Chris, explaining that products containing specialist ingredients, such as essential oils, require specialist packaging solutions to ensure the product is contained.

With more businesses taking an active interest in environmental issues, it is also important to acknowledge the current focus on reducing the amount of packaging required for individual products.

“We strongly believe that the responsibility of minimising packaging lies with everybody within the industry” says Chris.  “We are therefore constantly looking for new methods of manufacturing and packing products that will help our customers to minimise the amount of packaging required.”