Mailbox - Case study
Delicious displays

Mailbox provides displays for Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland doughnuts

If your mouth has ever watered at the sight of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, you are not alone – each year, millions of Krispy Kreme doughnuts are sold in the UK and Ireland. The presentation of these sweet treats, arranged in neat rows according to variety, undoubtedly contributes to their appeal. When the brand wanted to source new retail trays, it was decided the best option was to find a supplier that could carry out design, development, prototyping, tooling and manufacturing.

Discussions within Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland led to the Operations Manager suggesting materials handling specialist, Mailbox Products. Mailbox Products has a comprehensive range of high quality, innovative solutions, used in major supermarket and retail chains throughout the UK, and the team was very excited to work with Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland to develop exactly the right product for its needs.

Retail trays – bespoke fabrication and colours

The glass fibre retail trays that Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland had been using were metal lined and were not compatible with the company’s metal detection requirement. Trials were conducted with another supplier, but the standard product offered presented new problems. Made of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), the trays were vacuum-formed, a process that involves standard sheets of ABS being extruded and formed into shape, and were not as strong. Another issue was longer drying time - there was no airflow through stacked trays and beads of water were remaining on the ABS surface. In addition, the Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland logo could not be printed onto the underside of the tray as it had been previously.

Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland needed a high quality, long-lasting solution that had everything: strength, quick dry construction, and branding options. It also needed a supplier with the resources, skills and experience to deliver it – Mailbox Products fitted the bill perfectly.

Working closely with Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland, the in-house design team at Mailbox Products developed a tray that had a feature to allow airflow, and would therefore dry quickly, as well as a strong rim. A special additive, colour-compounded into the raw material, was added to the ABS to help with water shedding and provide an anti-static finish.

Some minor modifications were carried out on the first prototype, then on client approval of the second prototype, manufacturing of the tool required to put the tray into production was ordered, to include a date stamp, material symbol and the distinctive Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland logo. Mailbox Products specified important parameters of the tool design such as no ejection marks, minimal marking at the feed point, interchangeable logo, date-of-manufacturing stamp, recycling logo, robot compatibility and flatness.

Initial samples presented to Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland for trialling were successful. An order for 6,000 white trays was placed, with more to follow in green and yellow for vegan and vegetarian options. The trays are now in use throughout the Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland business and retail sites and are proving very popular and effective, streamlining materials handling procedures and showcasing the delicious doughnuts perfectly.

Production area ingredients bins – for safe sorting and storage

The collaboration on retail trays went so well that Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland asked Mailbox Products to supply another materials handling solution to support a new product launch – production area ingredients bins.

Stringent controls around segregation of ingredients are required in the food manufacturing industry. Allergens must be identified and controlled for the safety of consumers. Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland discussed its requirements with the team at Mailbox Products, who suggested the use of different colours for each allergen and labelled bins for additional identification and control.

This was implemented and is now in use at all Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland manufacturing sites – another positive outcome in the very successful partnership between Mailbox Products and Krispy Kreme UK and Ireland.

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