Stewo partnership offers up to 5m displays with licensed and own-brand designs
Woodmansterne is making a significant move into gift packaging, with a launch which enables the publisher to offer retailers up to a five-metre planned display of rollwrap, bags, tissue, ribbons, bows and tags as an extension to its W Select programme.
In addition to its own 62 skus, the publisher has forged a partnership arrangement with Stewo and its British distributor Giftwrap UK for a selection of the Swiss-based brand’s products to also be included in the plans, thus broadening the selection.
Andy Paterson, sales director of Woodmansterne, described this wholehearted expansion into gift packaging as a “massively significant step for the company” and something “retail customers have been asking us to do for the last three or four years.”
As he explained, the inaugural range is very much being pitched as a “premium collection in both look and feel with strong eco-credentials”.
The products have designs that are a combination of recognisable licences, namely Emma Bridgewater, Quentin Blake and Sanderson, as well as some of Woodmansterne’s key in-house brands, such as Peach & Prosecco and Mambo.
All the Woodmansterne products are 100% paper, and completely plastic-free – while the range doesn’t include flat wrap, the roll wrap is protected by a paper sleeve which can be opened using a pull-down kraft tab, the giftbag handles are made from woven paper, and the tissue paper and gift tag multipacks come in kraft paper packaging with the tags themselves fastened using paper string.
Since its 2012 launch the publisher’s W Select programme has grown to supply over 300 retail rooftops with greeting cards, and the company hopes many will extend their relationship with a commitment to the W Select gift packaging service, with planned displays from 5m down to 2m on offer, including both Woodmansterne and Stewo products in one delivery and invoice.
“We’re delighted that 50 of our W Select customers have already pre-ordered a gift packaging display, and that was even before they saw the products!” said Andy, and the first displays will go into stores from the beginning of April.
Tory Roberts has rejoined Woodmansterne as project manager for the W Select Gift Packaging programme, she was the company’s planning manager until 2016 when she moved to Australia.