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Latest news from Packaging Innovations & Empack
Anything but plain: How Prism eLogistics has propelled itself to the forefront in co-packing
In market defined by tight margins, fierce competition, and a consistent churn of new brands, Prism eLogistics has emerged as a standout operator in contract packing, shrink sleeving and fulfilment through a constant and relentless drive to secure a high-value niche for itself serving B2B and D2C markets.
“Both the business-to-business and direct-to-consumer channels are highly important to any brand looking to make waves in the market,” opines Ian Wright, Managing Director at Prism eLogistics.
“Purveyors of craft beer, artisan coffee, functional beverages, cosmetics, personal care products, and even automotive fluids, have all benefited from the rise of ‘TikTok Shop’ and other online channels. These have made it easy for even the smallest brand to get into the market and find consumers willing to buy their products.
“Retail remains the Holy Grail for many and an indicator of scale and success, albeit with tighter margins and strict requirements on how brands and their products appear on shelves.”
Both channels have the challenge of effectively fulfilling orders and efficiently delivering products to the right place at the right time. Fulfilment was where the company focused at the start of its journey and achieved a degree of success, albeit curtailed by the price-sensitive nature of its work at that time. Customer conversations would often go as follows: ‘Can you be quicker?’ Yes. ‘Are you doing it better?’ Assuredly. ‘Is it cheaper?’ It has to be.
E-commerce boom
Prism eLogistics was founded in 2020 around the time e-commerce started to take off in earnest and a global health crisis would irreversibly alter supply chains, shopping behaviours, and consumer expectations. This meant the company’s initial ‘pick, pack, and dispatch’ model had to change and evolve into something better suited to the needs of the market.
Enter Ian, who joined the company in early 2023 and brought vast knowledge, a full contact book, and a deep appreciation of the value-added services essential to complement fulfilment.
This helped Prism eLogistics transition into a full-service fulfilment and contract packing partner that helps ambitious FMCG and beverage brands start up and scale.
Ian notes: “If you can get in right at the start of a project and help brands navigate their packing & packaging needs, you create a proposition based around partnership and consultancy that is complemented by technical expertise and fully integrated fulfilment.”
This strategic shift has enabled Prism eLogistics to operate higher up the value chain, make itself indispensable to customers, and create a compelling offer that traditional co-packers and fulfilment operators cannot emulate.
The result is a competitive edge that makes Prism eLogistics one of the most in-demand co-packaging and fulfilment partners you will meet at Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026, where the company is exhibiting on stand U134.
A major catalyst for the business was the decision to expand from pure fulfilment into contract sleeving and packing. These two services allow Prism eLogistics to get involved much earlier in a product’s lifecycle.
While many co-packers operate reactively, receiving goods and assembling them according to a fixed specification, Prism eLogistics works proactively with its clients, shaping those specifications, and guiding brands long before anything hits the production line.
As Ian explains: “Many brands, especially new or digitally-led beverage brands, have enthusiasm and innovation by the bucketload but lack real-world packaging and supply chain knowledge.
“This is where our added-value consultancy becomes transformative. Take pack size for example. Which consumer is going to spend £40 online on a 24-pack of a new product they don’t know and haven’t yet experienced? Far better is a 12-pack, mixed selection that allows consumers to try all the flavours and get a taste for it, albeit it as a lower RRP.
“There is also a growing movement in RTD Beverage to 4- or 6-can multi-packs. This is being driven by retailers as an efficient way to use limited retail space and maximise sales. Any successful drinks brand these days has a 4-pack product. Despite this, it is one of the hardest formats to fulfil. There are only two can fillers we know of in the UK that can do it inline, which means we are able to pick up this work by taking 12- or 24-packs, breaking them down, and repacking them into 4-packs.”
Another challenge is pack design. “We often have to step in when brands create structural designs without understanding the reality of retail.” Ian examples a recent incident of a brand designing a micro-flute corrugated 4-pack carton for a supermarket retailer without a locking mechanism. “While the box had a premium appearance, the brand risked tarnishing its reputation by having boxes easy to tamper with and products easy to take straight out of the carton on the shelf.”
Full steam ahead
The company’s sleeving expertise extends this value proposition yet further. Beyond aesthetic decoration, sleeving solves a multitude of operational, environmental, and commercial challenges brands can face.
From block out work for export markets to updating outdated artwork, repurposing high-value containers destined for landfill or recycling, and allowing the transition to recyclable clear PET bottles, sleeves and sleeving are highly valuable tools for brands in almost all markets.
“High-impact features such as phosphorescent and thermochromic inks, limited editions, and short runs of customised packs help brands differentiate themselves in crowded markets. This type of work is almost impossible to achieve with dry offset printed cans, where minimum order quantities are above 250,000. Digital direct-to-shape has started to creep into the market with some offering low or no minimum order quantities, but there are technical issues that will hold back widespread adoption of the process.”
Two fully automated steam lines can apply up to 15,000 shrink sleeves an hour, meaning Prism eLogistics can sleeve up to 160,000 units a day. This includes round containers and odd-shaped vessels, such as rectangular and concave bottles, depending on the brand’s preference and desired market presentation.
“We are working with a brand that is as known on the shelf for its distinctive brilliant white rectangle bottle as it is its highly visible logo. However, as they have needed to move away from coloured PET bottles to clear in order to promote closed loop recyclability, they were left with the choice of labelling a clear bottle, which is undesirable as the product can separate or finding a way to sleeve a clear rectangular bottle.”
While this poses a challenge due to the angles and four-sided dimensions, Prism eLogistics deploys a system that precisely locates the sleeve and applies it in exactly the right orientation to ensure correct sleeving of square or rectangular vessels.
Prism’s partnership with CCL for printed sleeves enhances the sustainability of sleeved bottles. CCL’s EcoFloat is a sustainable TD sleeve material that has been engineered to improve the sink/float separation process in recycling of PET bottles.
Also used by Prism to improve the appearance and performance of sleeved containers is a UK exclusive undertuck system, which raises the container and allows the sleeve to be tucked under the base for a seamless, fully printed appearance. This eliminates the common issue of lifting or ‘smiling’ when applying sleeves.
Such a variety of services and solutions, backed up by market knowledge and appreciation of the challenges of retailing have positioned Prism eLogistics as a leader in the packing and fulfilment of beverages.
Ian now has his sights set on other markets.
“Perfumes, cosmetics and personal care markets are facing the same challenges as beverage brands and stand to benefit from our expertise in sleeving, co-packaging, and fulfilment.
“Whether that’s embracing the fickle nature of consumers and the need to be highly agile when selling direct, handling complex subscription models, or adopting more sustainable packaging choices, we are ready to support more of the market.
“We want to do more and with the expertise and knowledge we have built up, we are ideally placed to make this happen in the near future.”
Prism eLogistics is exhibiting at Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 on stand U134
Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 takes place 11 & 12 February at the NEC in Birmingham. The event is free to attend and registration is now open
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Latest news from Packaging Innovations & Empack
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