Macpac’s Plantpac in demand in an e-commerce-driven climate
In March there were dire prospects for the horticultural sector. The Horticultural Trades Association suggested at the time that if garden centres remained closed then the value of lost sales could reach £687m by the end of June and £1.2bn by Christmas this year. It was reported that some 650 businesses – many small, family-owned – could be affected and may never recover.
Macpac’s Plantpac a budding solution
Macpac knew they had the answer to the packaging issues faced by many nurseries and garden centres looking to enter the on-line market by being able to offer their wide range of packaging options for protecting plug plants and more established potted plants through the postal system.
The ‘Ready-to-Post’ range has been designed to work with the Royal Mail postal system. Macpac says these packs can be sent as large letter items at the reduced cost compared to a packet or parcel and is robust enough for the challenging logistical environments.
A spokesperson for Macpac reports that “moving into on-line sales has been a lifeline for many of Macpac’s new and existing customers. Growers / nurseries were always going to struggle to get their products to customers while garden centres were closed due to restrictions imposed on them be the Covid-19 crisis. For some it has meant the difference between success and failure during this difficult time, diversifying to on-line sales simply to stay afloat”.
The Plantpac range is emblematic of Macpac’s innovation, design, and development. The manufacturer says it is an easily available and proven way of delivering plants safely, securely and cost effectively through the post, direct from the growers.
Never one to stand still, Macpac continues to develop new pack formats for the up and coming seasons with a new single 9cm pot format due to launch soon. Macpac are also expanding their larger pot formats with the unique packaging system consisting of an integrated forming and carton, allowing more established plants safe transit to the customer, with a reduced amount of packaging involved.
All Macpac’s horticultural packaging is made from R-PET with at least 80% recycled content and is 100% recyclable.
