In the middle of a deal that put its single-pack, organic, gluten-free pasta into BJ’s early last year, the New York-based maker of specialty Italian foods Beldoce found itself facing an opportunity wrapped in an unprecedented challenge.
The pandemic had struck. Suddenly, pasta was in high demand and BJ’s was looking to expand the category. The logistical challenges were daunting.
“They wanted all the stock we had in inventory,” one of the Beldoce’s co-founders said. “We were in the middle of negotiations for the four-pack. But we only had stock of the single pack.” TPH quickly developed packaging and displays for the single pack to capitalize on the opportunity.
What had been planned as a two-phase roll-out was compressed into an aggressive timeline, and a lot of packaging had to be quickly redesigned to meet BJ’s specifications.
Adding to the complications, the product is made in Italy, and its organic, gluten-free certifications had to be carried over and confirmed by a U.S.-based certifying entity.
Supply Chain Hurdles & Club Store Requirements
Luckily, a google search had led Beldoce to TPH Global, where our experience with warehouse club requirements and vendor network enabled us to get the pieces into place quickly. And while the past 12 months have thrown some extraordinary obstacles into the retail supply chain, over five decades of experience have left us with very little in the category of “unprecedented” challenges.
Despite the hurdles, we weren’t just throwing spaghetti at the wall. Here’s what had to happen:
- Repackaging of single packs into 4-packs compliant with BJ’s specifications for packaging and pallet size
- Re-validation of the Italian organic, gluten-free certifications for the U.S. market – a process required for products packaged or palletized in the U.S.; while it’s a rigorous process, TPH has the relationships to get it done.
- Ensure that the project was consistent with Beldoce’s commitment to sustainable packaging, which included designing a simplified, more efficient bag in box style resulting in a dramatically reduced carbon footprint and shipping costs
- Do it all on a timeline compressed by the extraordinary demands of a pandemic panic that was emptying shelves as fast as they could be refilled
Redesigned Packaging & Rigorous Food-Certification Requirements
Beldoce’s co-founder described the complications the campaign was facing.
“Because it’s a club store, the product had to be basically redesigned for the club and TPH’s experience with that was really helpful. The type of trays, how many layers, the height, which side you have to shop off it – it varies for each club store,” he said.
“The biggest hurdle was with the certifications because the TPH team had to work with all of the assemblers and the certification bodies to get all of the right information and get everything right across time zones, language barriers, rules, and regulations,” he said. “TPH helped us do whatever had to get done.”
The result included no missed deadlines and an 83-store roll-out of organic, gluten-free penne and fusilli with an authentic Italian passport right down to where the grains are grown. Yum.
Logistical Complications Overcome
Like TPH, the company does not let logistical complications get in the way of a high-quality result. “It is a really great start,” the co-founder said. “We had really good results with a package that is a lot nicer and a better price for the customer.”
At TPH, we put decades of experience, reliability and expertise to work for our clients to bring about results that do more than just put product on the shelves. We help deliver campaigns that drive sell-through, leave retailers happy and create a roadmap for repeat success. And occasionally, a very nice penne all’arrabbiata.
Contact us to learn to create your warehouse club packaging and pallet display program
