Rethinking the Gift Box to Reduce Labor:
Mrs. Renfro’s Unpacks a Successful New Process

Packaging Solution Summary- Mrs. Renfro’s:

Great Northern – Fiber Interior Packaging helps a manufacturer of salsa pass the Amazon SIOC 6A Test and save on labor for E-commerce gift packs.

About Mrs. Renfro’s

Since its launch in 1940, Renfro Foods, Inc. has produced a lot of salsas and relishes  –  and its distribution has expanded far beyond Fort Worth, Texas, into grocery stores in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and four European countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company experienced 3x growth in sales on its website along with 8x growth via Amazon, making e-commerce a strong six-figure business driver now. And for Doug Renfro, president of the company, one particular challenge had been on his mind with all these new e-commerce orders: How could the company purchase a new insert for Mrs. Renfro’s products that required far less labor?

“They are insanely easy to use.”

Doug Renfro – President, Renfro Foods, Inc.

Simplified Packaging that Still Shows off the Brand

Doug learned of a pulp insert used by a pasta sauce company that quickly caught his eye. The pasta sauce was placed in the pulp insert inside the box. When opened, it immediately displayed the product. It was exactly what Doug had been wishing for, but he hadn’t been aware that this type of packaging solution existed. “What got my attention and what I had been looking for is I want the consumer to be able to see our product when they open the box,” said Doug. “I don’t want them to open it and see a bunch of corrugate.

Doug chose to work with Great Northern – Fiber Interior Packaging because of the quality, service, pricing, professionalism, and expertise. Unlike other companies, Great Northern – Fiber Interior Packaging also had a minimum quantity that made sense for Mrs. Renfro’s since the packaging solution was for gift packages, which are sold only via e-commerce and make up just a portion of overall sales.

Check out this great unboxing experience with this packaging

Reducing Labor while Keeping the Green Approach

Years ago, when Mrs. Renfro’s started using packaging for its glass jars, Styrofoam was chosen. But as the company became more aware of environmental concerns, it switched to a corrugated solution that was 100% recyclable. It required employees to do an accordion-style fold before inserting the jars, a process that required far too much time to assemble.

Salsa Packaging - Mrs. Renfro's
Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Renfro’s. Packaging design by Balcom Agency

Great Northern – Fiber Interior Packaging helped create a solution that is biodegradable and 100% curbside recyclable yet requires very little labor. Doug comments, “When you can minimize the potential for errors, you minimize errors. The Great Northern – Fiber Interior Packaging solution will greatly increase the throughput of how many boxes someone can make in an hour.”

With matching top and bottom pieces, it reduces what Mrs. Renfro’s needs to order. At the same time, it holds the jars snuggly in place yet makes them easy for consumers to remove. “We’ve been doing these boxes for almost a half a century and I would call this solution ‘generation three,’” notes Doug. “It’s the third iteration and by far the best that we’ve had.”

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Renfro’s. Packaging design by Balcom Agency; pulp inserts by Great Northern

As the company rolls out the first packages in time for the holiday gift-buying season, he’s grateful for the path to this new, more efficient packaging process.

“When I showed this new solution to people who will be responsible for it, there were tears of joy coming down their faces because it’s going to be so easy for them and make their lives better,” Doug enthusiastically recalls.

Learn more about using Great Northern –  Fiber Interior Packaging to protect jars and bottles during shipping.

Protective packaging for glass salsa jars

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