Hockenheim, Germany – Pet snack manufacturing start-up, DoggyLove, based in Germany, has partnered with Sonoco and the paper-based GREENCAN® solution to bring its organic, plant-based pet treats to market.
Originally founded in 1956 as a butcher’s shop, and then later a catering business, this family-run firm recently decided to take things in a totally different direction, re-inventing itself as a pet food manufacturer. Following extensive consultations with veterinarians throughout 2023, DoggyLove began trading in 2024 – and finding the perfect packaging partner, with whom to launch its new range of products, was key.
“Our new business is personal to us, inspired by own dog, a labrador called Peggy, who was part of our lives for 15 years,” says Christoph Wirth, who owns and runs the business with his wife, Konstanze. “Peggy was the inspiration for DoggyLove and our core mission now is to develop healthy snacks to promote the health and well-being of all dogs.”
“We thought long and hard about what the right packaging was to present this product to market,” Mr Wirth continues. “To reflect the values of our brand, it was very important to us that it was both high quality and sustainable. Initially we wanted to use different packaging types from Asia for our products, but we quickly realised that it would entail the long delivery times and an increase in global political uncertainty for us. This has led us to decide in favour of a locally manufactured solution, which was also a perfect match with our values: GREENCAN®, the paper-based can from Sonoco.”
He adds: “GREENCAN® was unlike anything we saw from any other packaging provider, and it appealed to us on multiple levels because of the short delivery times, and because of its sustainability credentials, which are not only ethically important to us, but are also very important to our customers, giving us another angle to talk about in our marketing. Finally, the creative possibilities of being able to employ full-surface printing on the packaging, was also really appealing.”
“As a new brand, the way in which we’re perceived is important to us, and Sonoco’s GREENCAN® solution helps to reinforce our holistic brand image of responsible and sustainable production. We see this as just the beginning of our partnership and we’re already planning other potential products that would also be a perfect fit with this packaging.”
DoggyLove’s customers have also been impressed with the packaging – with early customer feedback describing it as “high quality”.
On the experience of working with Sonoco, Mr Wirth says: “We’ve always found our collaboration with Sonoco to be very pleasant and constructive. As a start-up, it was important for us to find the right partner to help bring our products to market and Sonoco has been very supportive during the whole product launch process. The service we’ve received has always been friendly, and both solution- and goal-orientated, with all of our questions dealt with quickly and comprehensively.”
Sascha Di Nardi, Sales Manager at Sonoco Germany, comments: “It’s been a pleasure working with Mr Wirth and the team to bring DoggyLove products to the market. We’re delighted to have found a suitable sustainable alternative in GREENCAN® for their packaging and are pleased to hear that they have had a positive response from their customers too. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DoggyLove in the future.”
About GREENCAN®
The Sonoco GREENCAN® recyclable paperboard package is made of 92-98% paperboard and features a wide range of barrier properties. Available in multiple shapes and sizes – from round, square or rectangular; to oval, oblong or triangular – it is ‘designed to recycle’ paper can, providing a highly recyclable packaging solution, with robust barrier properties.
Sonoco’s GREENCAN® also features an integrated paper lid, so when empty, the whole package can go through the household paper recycling stream without any need to disassemble it. This makes it simple and convenient for the consumer and for the whole recycling process.
