Things have started to calm a little at SafeSip HQ following our success at The Gadget Show Live so we thought we'd take the opportunity to sit in the sun (well at a desk with the sun streaming in the window which is the next best thing!) and catch up on things we've been planning on doing for a while.
We've spent a lot of time, money, sweat, tears and many sleepless nights perfecting our packaging and hope that you all agree it suits SafeSip down to the ground. I wonder how many of you though have seen the 'Made in Britain' marque and wondered what it means or perhaps bought a SafeSip for that very reason. We just wanted to take a moment to explain what this means to us, our business and why we are proud to be able to say Zinch Designs Limited, and as such SafeSip, is a member of The Made in Great Britain campaign.
Firstly I think I should clarify what it takes to be a member..... well per The Made in Great Britain website ... 'The marque is accredited to businesses which sell goods that have been manufactured or have undergone a final substantial change in Great Britain before sale.'
There has been lots in the press about people wanting to buy British, and how we should promote the fact that goods are manufactured here but for us it is more than that. We believe that part of our success is down to the fact that everything about our product is British.
My ideas were transformed into a product blueprint with the skill and support of a creative design company based locally to me. It meant that I could meet regularly with the designer and get something made that I am very proud of.
Manufacturing took a bit more research. I realise that there is always the chance that producing in bulk can sometimes be achieved more cost effectively abroad but in our eyes it came with added costs - delivery costs, communication barriers with both time differences and language - which are obviously not insurmountable, but I wanted to be able to find a manufacturer closer to home. I needed someone I could talk to, arrange visits to get a full understanding of the processes involved, turn to for advice on expanding our range - adding colours, increasing production, tooling. It is great knowing that if we have a problem with our products when it arrives from our manufacturer, which can happen when trying something new, I can phone them, speak to quality control/arrange a visit and have the issues resolved within a few weeks. We feel we have a great fit with our manufacturers based in Hereford and is lovely to feel like you have a real relationship with them rather than being a name on a sales account.
Packaging design and branding has, in my opinion been the hardest thing to finalise. I've always had the name SafeSip in mind so that was a done deal. The tricky bit is designing branding that appeals to the market you are aiming for - this can be very subjective and in most cases down to personal choice. We've tried several different agencies, all of whom have had different ideas, some of which were a bit out there for me, but finally with Cuco Creative we've found a team who appear to be on my wavelength. Based in Dorset they are quite local to us so always on hand for a tweak there and a colour change here. I loved so many of their designs for our packaging and branding that narrowing it down was the hard bit for me!!
Finally, we had the product, the branding and the packaging designs sourced locally, the last piece of the puzzle was the actual printing. Sadly we were let down quite late in the day by a large packaging business, a nationwide company, and were rescued by a fantastic company, again based close to me in Southampton. With their honest approach and quick turnaround, they provided us with a production run of 30,000 cartons within about 10 days of meeting them, just in time for our tradeshows and a large export to Australia - thank you Print & Packaging.
So from concept to production, branding and packaging SafeSip is truly 'Made in Britain', and we are not planning on changing that!
