FibreCycle - Whistler & Breeder's Choice

FibreCycle came to Zipform Packaging first for their Whistler avian intelligence bird food pack in the non-round format.  

With 'People, Pet, Planet' as their guiding principle, Fibrecycle recognises that environmental sustainability is rapidly becoming the #1 issue for many companies globally and it was clear that a sustainable packaging solution was required for their updated Whistler bird food range. 

FibreCycle engaged a design agency Point 3 to identify packaging with a sustainability focus. Zipform Packaging's innovative non-round shaped rigid composite pack provided not only a sustainable solution but also an innovative storage cannister for bird food.  This is the first time a linear formed composite pack has been used in this category. 

Point 3 Design completed a significant design evolution for Whistler's relaunch. They identified the strategic opportunity to shift the brand into ‘Avian Intelligence’, establishing credibility as experts in the field and inspiring current and new bird appreciators. 

The new design is a celebration of the brilliance of birds. Their noise, movement and song are captured through a dynamic radial illustration of leaves, seeds and musical notes that burst from the brandmark. The mid-blue range colour references nature and sky, but also grounds the design by cueing authority and trust. Nutritional information is in a gridded layout at the bottom of the pack which helps to counterbalance the freedom and deliver certainty (see attachment: Whistler Redesign).

The new Whistler range has over 25 SKUs across all formats which will be ranged in pet specialty and grocery stores in the coming months. 

Traditionally in "bag in box" and flexibles, the brand took the opportunity to use the advantages of flexographic printing to incorporate some spot gloss varnish to highlight the brand name and some photographic images of the product.

With the unique non round shape Point 3 leveraged the landscape and panelling effectively to ensure that all the callouts were covered off. A QR code was also integrated onto the back of pack to direct consumers to the Whistler Website.

The Zipform Packaging pack utilised for this range consists of over 90% fibre content, including >60% post consumer recycled content which in conjunction with a water-based adhesive and paperboard base creates a primary pack which is curbside recyclable as assessed by the PREP tool with an exemption letter provided by APCO (attached) due to  Zipform Packaging having conducted pulpability testing of the material with high fibre recovery being achieved (OPAL pulpability testing report attached).

As the brand owner is a member of APCO the ARL has been used on pack to reflect the curbside recyclability of the pack and the fibre overcap.  The non round overcap provides an excellent close/reclose system for the pack.  The lidding film that is used for sealing post filling is also recyclable and the ARL reflecting this is "check locally".

 In terms of functionality, the non-round shape provides not just more consumer facing graphics than a round equivalent (99mm diameter) it is also much easier to handle with the "holding" dimension being 88mm.  The shape also provides an improved inbound and outbound logistics outcome versus the round equivalent, delivering more than 10% savings due to packing efficiency.The rigid composite pack is very strong, being able to withstand greater than 90kg of axial load and Zipform Packaging has had positive outcomes with customers who have filled product in Australia and exported filled product to New Zealand, Asia and even the UK.

The sealing membrane is easy to peel for consumers; it is a standard lidding film and is applied with a conduction heat sealer which is an industry standard for example in the ready meal and dairy space.  The filling and sealing operation is therefore reasonably straightforward and Zipform Packaging has had tens of millions of packs already filled and sealed in the market across multiple product categories.

 Zipform Packaging are only 1 of 2 manufacturers globally utlising the linear formed composite technology for food or beverage applications; the other being in Italy and even that being for only 1 product with 1 customer.

As a further product extension FibreCYcle have launched Breeder's Choice cat treats in a 73mm diameter linear formed composite pack with a stackable 2 piece fibre overcap.  The pet food / pet treat market is huge globally so we hope that these packs are the first of many in this space.