From plastic to cardboard!
Our vision at AHV International is to establish a high quality and healthy food supply chain, built on our own groundbreaking technology. We improve animal health and productivity globally, by impacting the global footprint and social understanding of animal-based food production. Part of our sustainable mission for a greener future, led to the need for a more eco-friendly and functional packaging solution.
Less plastic on farms
AHV International faced a complex challenge regarding their packaging process. Previously, we shipped our solutions in plastic tubs. However, we were determined to say goodbye to plastic, with sustainability and environmental awareness in mind. As AHV, we like to speak and listen to our customers, the dairy farmers. Over the past year, we have received increasing feedback from our customers that they wanted less plastic on their farms. So this was the main reason for us to immediately start working on this challenge to change to cardboard packaging!
Quality is the most important thing for AHV!
Our first goal was to determine the right packaging format. To create more uniformity worldwide and create less confusion, a standard 10-pack box was chosen. We chose packaging that is process efficient and time-saving. In addition, the quality had to be the quality farmers expect from AHV. Therefore, there should be no chance of delivering a broken product. This was a big challenge when going from plastic to cardboard, but we solved this challenge too!
Next, we were advised to choose offset printing for the box. This made it possible to place the extensive product information (in several languages) on the box, with flawless printing for optimal readability. Moreover, it allowed our complete corporate identity to be presented on the box.
New refreshing and straightforward design
The move from plastic to cardboard allowed us to immediately implement a refreshed design. AHV wants to be seen in the market as a frontrunner in animal health solutions. We believe this should be reflected in our designs. In addition, we believe that packaging should be clear and above all clear to you as a farmer. We have therefore opted for a straightforward and easy-to-understand design, which makes it immediately clear which product you are dealing with. Our recognizable colours for the various products are even more prominent than before to make it even easier for you as a farmer and for your employees. We hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about the design and can’t wait to see the different colours in your barn!
Strengths of the new packaging
One more quick summary on the change of our packaging from plastic to cardboard
- Efficiency: the box with 4-point glued corners and adhesive strip makes packing and shipping quick and easy, saving valuable time as the packing process is done manually at AHV. This box ensures that it folds completely in 2 steps;
- Sturdy and strong: most boxes take a long journey to our farmers, as the solutions are used on livestock farms worldwide. Thus, the box is not only on the road for a long time, but subject to different weather conditions and diverse transport, and must therefore be able to withstand a ‘rough ride’ while at the same time properly protecting its valuable contents.
- Clear printing: thanks to offset printing, all product information is clearly legible in several languages.
- Branding: the packaging provides space for our full branding. By doing so, we hope to increase the recognition of AHV and our various products and make it easier for you to understand the difference between the products
- Sustainable: the desire was to switch from plastic tubs to cardboard, as this fits better with our sustainable mission. A cardboard box tailored to the size of the products was therefore a logical choice.
- Uniformity worldwide: With our new packaging, we hope to achieve more uniformity worldwide. We have also chosen to switch to only 10-piece boxes or a 100-piece outer box. This is to make it easier for you as a farmer.
The new packaging is currently in production and will be rolled out worldwide in 2024. We hope to see the beautiful colours of AHV and its products reflected in your barn. If you have any comments or points of improvement, we would also like to hear them.