A vegan brand order in a burger brand bag
The packer has five sets of branded packaging on the shelves: kraft boxes with one logo, black boxes with another, printed bags, stickers and little thank-you cards. At peak, orders arrive faster than the packer can check each ticket's brand. A vegan brand order goes out in the burger brand's bag, with a sticker that says the name of a brand the customer has never heard of. The customer posts a photo and asks whether their food was really vegan.
Later that week, the dessert brand runs out of its printed boxes. Plain boxes with a sticker go out for a fortnight while the printer does a reprint, and nobody noticed they were running low until the last sleeve was opened.
Why packaging goes wrong in multi-brand kitchens
The whole illusion of a virtual brand rests on the packaging. The food may come from shared stations, but the bag, box and sticker tell the customer which restaurant they ordered from. Yet packaging is usually the least organised part of the kitchen. The ticket shows the brand name in small print, the packer relies on memory, and there is no signal when a brand's packaging is running out.
Printed packaging has long lead times and minimum order quantities, so it needs ordering well before it runs out. Generic stock from the cash and carry can be bought on the day. Treating both the same means the printed items always run out first.
Space adds to it. Dark kitchen units are rarely generous, so packaging for five brands is squeezed onto the same few shelves, often behind the pass, with the most used brand in front and the rest stacked wherever they fit.
The cost of packaging errors
| Error | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wrong brand's bag | Confused customers, complaints and awkward reviews |
| Missing inserts or stickers | Brand looks unprofessional |
| Printed boxes run out | Plain packaging for weeks while reprints arrive |
| Overstock of slow brands' packaging | Shelves full of boxes for a brand you may drop |
| Packaging cost not tracked | Brand margins look better than they are |
Wrong packaging is also a trust issue. Customers who realise their vegan or halal brand order came from a shared kitchen may worry about what else was mixed up, even if the food was prepared correctly. Your own procedures govern the food. The packaging needs to support them, not undermine them.
Packing instructions and packaging stock
- Each menu item and brand has its packaging recorded: which box, bag, sticker, insert and cutlery pack.
- When an order is ready, the pack screen shows the brand in large type with its logo and colour, and lists exactly which packaging to use.
- Packing stations can be laid out by brand, with the screen pointing to the right shelf.
- Packaging use is subtracted from stock with every order, and a weekly count on a phone corrects the figures.
- Each packaging item has a reorder point based on its lead time, so printed items warn you weeks ahead and generic ones a few days ahead.
- Packaging cost per order feeds into the brand margin view, so each brand carries its true cost.
We set the reorder points with you using the lead times your printers and suppliers actually give. The tool suggests when to order, and you place the order.
Packing on a busy night afterwards
Each order appears on the pack screen with the brand's logo filling the top and the packaging listed underneath. The packer picks the right bag without thinking. On Monday, the reorder list shows the dessert brand's printed boxes need ordering now to arrive before they run out, and the vegan brand's slow-moving bags do not need reordering for months.
- The right brand's packaging on every order
- Printed packaging reordered with enough lead time
- Less money tied up in slow brands' packaging
- Packaging cost included in brand margins
Is packaging a problem in your kitchen?
- Orders have gone out in the wrong brand's packaging.
- A brand's printed boxes have run out without warning.
- Packers rely on memory to match brands to packaging.
- You have shelves of packaging for brands that barely sell.
- Packaging cost is not counted in each brand's figures.