THE IDEA:
With 30 years of food packaging experience and an in-depth knowledge of a wide-range of product areas such as produce, meat, fish, ready meals, etc, it became apparent that there were no specialist companies providing the diverse packaging requirements to the cheese packaging industry in the UK and Ireland. After researching the issue further, I found that there was an interest in the ma
rket for an industry experienced cheese packaging manufacturer / distributor / sourcing capable company… henceforth À la Carte Packaging Solutions was born! THE STARTING POINT:
The initial starting point of vacuum pouches and barrier shrink bags moved swiftly info custom-sized, back sealed, side gusseted vacuum wedge bags (as seen in Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and others) in varying substrates from clear to paper-look and paper laminations, labelled or full 10 colour prints. These pouches are produced at Packaging 4 Limited in Wigan, a BRC and supermarket audited manufacturer of food packaging, in which I have a 30 percent share-holding. From these beginnings there are now over 40 lines of packaging available through À la Carte Packaging Solutions. Please see product listing pages for further information. THE MISCONCEPTION:
“Cheaper to go direct”… in most cases, not so! This is for the simple reason that nobody has my running costs. No salary, no company car, no expense account – therefore these overheads are not added to the product costs. I get a better costing from the manufacturer; hence you get a better purchase price from me. THE SERVICE AVAILABLE:
The service offered to my customers varies from one-product, sporadic orders to the in-depth management of the majority of customers’ requirements – from pallet wrap to presentation tins. My major customers will typically send me weekly emails with their packaging requirements and the rest is done by À la Carte. Fully understanding the ‘just in time, but never run out’ requirements of the industry, my customers’ requirements are sourced or manufactured, stocked as required, and delivered to suit. PROBLEM SOLVING:
Solutions by name, solutions by nature! I offer a free, no obligation consultancy service; listening to customers’ packaging conundrums with the hope of finding the answer to the problem, and then supplying the ongoing product that has solved the issue. There are several testimonies to my efficient problem solving, which can be available upon request. WORLDWIDE SOURCING:
Through a small but highly competent group of sourcing partners, there is yet to be anything that could not be sourced as required. We employ and use quality assurance personnel in the country of origin, so the customer always has peace of mind when importing from anywhere in the world.
