Manchester-headquartered packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo celebrated a production milestone for its Optipac mailing bag solution this week as it welcomed Vice-lord Lieutenant Sharman Birtles to present the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for the product.
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Developed by a team at Duo’s Manchester headquarters, the Optipac was produced to provide ecommerce retailers with a parcel bag to create fulfilment efficiencies and convenience for businesses and their customers.
Since April 2020, the category-leading manufacturer and consultancy provider, has seen a 67% increase in customer demand for its Optipac mailing bag and has produced over 430 million Optipac mailing bags to date for leading online retailers including Gym King and Oh Polly.
The Optipac mailing bag features an integrated handle which lies snug against the body of the bag maintaining the original capacity but reducing the volumetric dimensions of the package.
The compact design maximises space on the conveyor belt, increasing throughput by 28%. Its tac-down handle reduces the overall size of the package, reducing delivery costs on volumetric pricing without the requirement for any changes to the pick, pack and ship operation.
Dale Brimelow, operations director at Duo, commented: “This is a really proud moment for the team at Duo. We invented the Optipac mailing bag based on feedback from customers on their escalating ecommerce fulfilment costs, along with demands from ecommerce shoppers for increased delivery options. The surge in ecommerce shopping habits throughout the pandemic has driven demand for the Optipac even further and we’re so pleased we’ve been in a position to provide this solution to so many customers.
“The beauty of the Optipac is not only in its design, but that we can manufacture the mailing bags with a high percentage of recycled content without affecting the performance of the bag. Using our closed loop recycling process we collect post-consumer waste packaging from our customers, recycle it and use this to manufacture new mailing bags. With the continued growth in ecommerce globally, we’re currently evaluating the relevance of this product in other markets such as the USA and mainland Europe.”