From concept to Christmas in five weeks

The team at P. Wilkinson Containers created two prototype promotional packs to house the one-of-a-kind Christmas hamper which included hot sauce, biscuits, orange marmalade, lemon curd and a limited edition Bill’s Christmas bauble.

In the end, Wilkinson’s created a bespoke height metal can, measuring 205mm tall with a diameter 153mm wide which was produced at its London factory, William Say. The slip lid tins were embossed with the iconic Bill’s logo using tooling the factory had created for the restaurant’s range of teas and biscuits.

Once artwork was supplied by Bill’s, P. Wilkinson Containers also sourced decorative inner-stuffing and printed labels with a satin touch finish. Each tin was hand labelled and packed by the Wilkinson’s team ready to be received by Bill’s staff in time for Christmas.

One of kind packaging

“We wanted to thank our staff for all their hard work at Bill’s across the last twelve months with a special Christmas gift. I knew that I could rely on P. Wilkinson Containers to develop a promotional packaging that would make sure each gift had a special edge,” says Ben Merchant – Buyer.

The hotel was looking for a quality pack for its homemade cookies designed as memorable souvenir which would bring back special memories for hotel guests.  

Each tin is hand-embossed with William Say’s specialist stamp, showing that the pack was proudly manufactured using solar energy in Great Britain and featuring the Metal Recycles Forever logo, a reminder that metal can be infinitely recycled.    

This was a limited edition run with only one thousand made. The tins were produced within a dramatically shorter run time than normal for the metal packaging industry. The red and gold details stand out brilliantly against the white substrate, creating a truly outstanding pack. 

They needed an environmentally responsible pack to house their unique seedballs and which also offered sturdy protection. William Say provides a shallow seamless box which contains twenty seedballs. As each pack is made from metal, it can be infinitely recycled or even reused in the home for keeping next year’s seeds.  

For Christmas 2019, William Say created a limited–edition gold tin, ‘Bee Merry’, which included native wildflowers especially to attract solitary, honey and bumblebees.  P Wilkinson Containers holds a dedicated supply of labels and packs ready for Emily and Ana to call upon whenever needed, helping save space at Seedball HQ.   

“We are massively proud to work with P. Wilkinson Containers, who have been with us since our first tiny order on day one. We’ve had a fabulous working relationship over the years and they’ve gone out of their way to help us at each step (including holding back-up stock and innovating a bespoke product for us).  

“To have our tin packaging manufactured in the UK and with solar power as well, this has been invaluable to our brand and to the retailers who we look to sell to, who are always looking for more sustainable options. So so grateful, thank you!”– Emily Lambert, Seedballs  

Alongside a precise colour match and outstanding design, the challenge of this project was producing premium quality product across a short run. Traditional offset printing processes would involve high set-up costs unsuitable for a short run. However, using a demo Acuity B1 inkjet printer at Fujifilm’s Broadstairs facility, it was possible to print the short run of perfectly precise, colour matched metal sheets required to create the promotional tins.  

It can also be noted that the tins were the first in the UK to utilise Fujifilm’s breakthrough digital printing technology whilst the cans themselves were produced using solar power at William Say & Co in Bermondsey, which is only a short distance away from the final destination at Fortnum and Mason’s flagship Piccadilly store. This breakthrough digital printing method demonstrates a commercial benefit not only for precise and detailed design and colour, but also for short runs and competitive pitches for bespoke projects.

This was a low volume limited edition run of just 1000 units and each can included a mini-book, paper aeroplane and magnifying glass which together lead the recipient on an interesting exploration of Roald Dahl’s work.  A very inventive way to pitch!  

The tins were made by Wilkinson Container’s sister can making factory, William Say & Co, using solar energy and were also labelled, packed and sealed on site. This meant that the customer didn’t need to invest in any machinery and the tins had the security and fun of a fully sealed ring pull tin – which is normally only available on mass produced tins.  

The lever lid tins are made using solar power at William Say in Bermondsey, P. Wilkinson Containers’ sister company, and are labelled onsite. Available in a vast range of diameters, with heights variable to client specifications, Beavertown was able to choose from seamed and welded lever lid cans with a traditional style and high-quality finish – ideal for their branding. They selected 1 litre 113mm diameter, 120mm tall lever lid tins.

The Beavertown cutlery holders also featured the environmental deboss on the base of the tins, showcasing to restaurant goers that tins were made using solar energy.

Wilkinsons was also able to offer a full printing and wrap labelling service onsite, which was a great choice for the surreal and colourful graphic design of the Beavertown branding, also part of the launch campaign for Nanobot beer. Offering short runs of bespoke labelling (even suited to complex designs or limited-edition promotional projects), P. Wilkinsons is well positioned to complete orders with a fast turnaround, or specific requirements.

P Wilkinson Containers was able to offer a solution using material we already had on site, which was black, to produce a short run of 89mm slip lid tins.

This was Wilkinsons first labelling job, and we printed the label on reels. We now stock tinplate in a variety of colours including black, copper and gold for short, limited runs.