54

CONTRACT MANUFACTURING

Soft Drinks International – Oct/Nov/Dec 2020

The dreammakers
supporting entrepreneurs
through challenging times

2
Outsourcing iscontinuing tohelp new andestablished softdrink companies
innovate andgrow with new
brand launches,
even in these
unprecedented
times, says
Rodney Steel,chief executiveof the BCMPA.

020 will be remembered for all the wrong
reasons, but 20 years down the line, whenthe question is asked of parents and grandparents “What did you do during lockdown?”, it
may well be that the owner of a leading beveragecompany stares out of the window of his or her
global HQ (or possibly home office) and says
wistfully, “Ah, that was when I first came up
with the idea for Brand X.”

Inspiration during lockdown
According to some BCMPA (the Association forContract Manufacturing, Packing, Fulfilment &Logistics) members, the furlough scheme in theUK provided the ideal opportunity for would-beentrepreneurs to create the next big thing in softdrinks.
“During early lockdown enquiry levels werenot surprisingly very low, but then July was ourbusiest enquiry month for two years,” explains
Rachel Collins, managing director of David
Berryman. “It appears that some people usedtheir extended absence from work to follow
their dreams.”
Not that ideas and inspiration were limited to
the very unique circumstances of this year. As
far back as 2018 a market report from Technavio
highlighted the increasing demand for craft softdrinks – which offer premium and natural ingredients and unique flavours, often in unconventional packaging – as one of the key trends in thesector.

Of course, dreams and reality are two very different things, and this is why the contract manufacturing and packing industry plays animportant role in the development process ofmany new drink products.
“We have the expertise and experience tohelp guide customers through the early stages ofa project,” says Mark Nicolson, head of internalsales at Blends. “This ranges from our own
buying power to knowledge of ingredients,
including how to put them in the right order –because that really does make a difference!”“We are able to assess whether a recipe idea iscommercially possible,” confirms Collins; andas Anthony May, head of commercial (contractpackaging) at Framptons observes, this experience in the manufacture and delivery of softdrinks “can be a priceless commodity, particularly in the more specialised areas.”
Such knowledge and expertise are of benefit
to businesses of all sizes, points out Jeff Parry,business development manager at Complete CoPacking Services. “Outsourcing allows a company to focus on growing the brand rather than
the goods,” he says.
“It insulates brand owners from the significant investment costs of creating and maintaining their own manufacturing capability,” agrees
May, and this, says Collins, enables companies
to “put a foot in the market”.

End to end service
The ability of outsourcing companies to provide
a complete ‘end to end’ service covering everything from product development and sourcingof packaging to filling and onward dispatch arealso in high demand. Rachel Collins says thatnearly all of David Berryman’s project briefs
each month are for this type of ‘one-stop’ offering, while Jeff Parry reports a particular growthin demand for B2C (business to consumer) fulfilment requirements, no doubt driven in part by
the Covid-19 situation and the increase in
online sales.
The pandemic has also had some influence on
NPD work as it began to ramp up again afterSoft Drinks International – Oct/Nov/Dec 2020
lockdown, with one notable result of thisenforced layoff being how it has made many
consumers much more aware of the benefits of ahealthier diet and lifestyle. Nevertheless, forsoft drinks manufacturers, the requirement for
healthier drink options was something that had
already been identified.
“We have seen demand for more naturalingredients and clean label products,” confirms
Parry, while Anthony May reports “a dramaticincrease in plant based dairy alternatives.”
The UK Sugar Tax was also introduced as ameans of cutting obesity and encouraging thedevelopment of healthier drinks. While it initially presented a challenge in the reformulationof products already on the market, it has not had
an adverse effect on new developments withBCMPA members confirming that it is now
simply one of the factors to take into consideration.
The fact that people are spending more time
at home has also led to an increase in popularity
for drinks that can be considered something of
an indulgence or treat to compensate for thereduction in socialising. Blends, for example,
has seen a significant increase for people wanting to develop coffee based drinks in a can,while the company has also had great successwith a range of flavouring syrups as people
replace their store-bought coffee with anenhanced homemade drink.
The coronavirus crisis may have taken theheadlines away from both Brexit and the sustainability debate, but these are still very muchon companies’ agendas, and outsourcing organisations can provide the support and expertise tohelp customers deal with these challenges. Certainly, we have seen a significant increase in theuse of our search facility and online enquiry
form on the BCMPA website.
When it comes to sustainability, top of the list
for most companies has been a reduction inplastic. For Framptons, initiatives haveincluded moving away from plastic shrink, andthe planned introduction next year of paper
straws for its small format 200ml and 250ml
Tetra Pak prisma line. The desire of many of its
customers to switch from plastic bottles intocans has led Blends to invest in a 12-head canning line; David Berryman is likewise seeing alot of interest in its canning facilities. Complete
Co-Packing has reported an upturn in glass
usage and is investigating the potential for
reusable bottles for products such as concentrates.
Nevertheless, as Anthony May points out, forthe effective development of any long term sustainable packaging, the “packaging needs to beeasier and simpler to recycle fully and we therefore need the right facilities in place across allareas of the UK.”

Uncertainty in the UK
Uncertainty remains the dominant theme of any
Brexit discussions at the moment. A big concern
is the possibility of tariffs and duties on key
ingredients and the corresponding need to passon any increase in costs. This is an area where
all BCMPA members continue to work to mitigate risks for themselves and their customers
ahead of a hoped-for deal and some final clarity.

THE DREAM MAKERS

Jeff Parry remains positive: “There is an obvious element of risk, dependent on duty charges.
However, most of our customers are upbeat about
trading with Europe going forward,” he states.

Good reasons to remain upbeat
Indeed, optimism remains high among the membership with many companies having made orplanning significant investment to continue togrow their operations and provide the highest
levels of support for customers.
Since the turn of the year, Blends’ ongoinginvestment in both machinery and people hastaken the company from a production capacity of
21m bottles on three co-packing lines to the ability to produce over 100m bottles per annum
across five lines, and the company has also
invested in a state-of-the-art labelling machine
for a wide variety of label applications. Framptons, meanwhile, is meeting the demand fordairy alternatives with the installation of asecond 1 litre Tetra Pak edge line last January andthis will be followed at the start of next year by
the arrival of a SIG combidome, the first of its
kind in Europe. In 2021 the company will also
implement a DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation)
biomass capability as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability.
Ask any BCMPA member about the benefits ofoutsourcing, and flexibility is likely to be one of
the key points. Complete Co-Packing’s experiences during the pandemic are typical of many
companies’ responses: “We first saw an increasein activity to meet customers’ needs for basic
projects; now we are working on NPD projects
again,” says Parry.
So, despite the upheavals of the year, there aregood reasons to remain upbeat. “There is still alot of creativity in the sector,” believes Collins,“and we can help turn this into reality.”“We are committed to supporting new customers and helping existing ones to grow,” confirms Nicolson.
As May concludes, for the outsourcing sector,
the “priority is to ensure innovation continues
nand we add value to brand owners.”

55

The fact thatpeople are
spending moretime at home
has also led to
an increase inpopularity for
drinks that canbe consideredsomething of an
indulgence ortreat tocompensate forthe reduction insocialising.

Rodney Steel, chief executive of
the BCMPA, the Association forContract Manufacturing,Packing, Fulfilment & Logistics
www.bcmpa.org.uk