‘Harmonising’ POS with Leading Northern European Confectioner Cloetta

The versatile and eye-catching Point-of-Sale (POS) displays feature interchangeable parts for multiple designs to present confectionary products to customers in-store.
At the core of the new display structures is a requirement for versatility, and our design team has simplified Cloetta’s previous solutions by introducing multiple interchangeable parts that fit with a range of product and campaign packs.

The approach is referred to as the ‘harmonisation project,’ and it has enabled DS Smith and Cloetta to successfully reduce the number of parts required by 35%, from fifty-one to thirty-three.

The interchangeable components include display elements such as trays, bases, signs, and interior fitments. A single POS footer design can therefore be fitted and matched effectively and seamlessly with multiple trays and the design of the interior fitments has been successfully simplified for use in conjunction with different POS displays for Cloetta’s confectionery products. The 'harmonised’ components or ‘parts’ are created out of die-cut patterns and shapes that can be easily adapted and imaginatively updated with graphics and artwork.

After production, the POS displays are delivered to a network of distribution centres in a flatpack format that is compact for transportation and warehouse storage. Cloetta’s assigned packers are then able to assemble and fill the display units for sending to supermarket and grocery outlets prefilled and covered with a fibre-based corrugated cardboard hood for additional protection.

Our harmonisation approach with its multiple components and display parts, also has benefits for co-packers– helping them to grow familiar and recognise parts, further simplify their assembly processes.

Jonna Nylander-Hallott, Design Creative Specialist, DS Smith, Finland, explains,
“Our harmonisation approach is intended to be as time and cost efficient for Cloetta as possible. The process has involved a complete redesign, and we have very successfully streamlined Cloetta’s confectionery displays to fit with their diverse product portfolio. Cloetta is supplying multiple confectionery products to retail and grocery outlets and so we have focused on creating a sustainable solution that requires as few materials and parts as possible. The materials including the new transport hoods are made from fibre-based corrugated cardboard to provide optimal protection, and once installed in-store, the striking displays make the confectionery products stand-out for consumers.”

The Cloetta product range across candy, chocolate, pastilles and gum, includes Superbrands Red Band, CandyKing, Ahlgrens Bilar, Tupla, Malaco, and Mynthon. Cloetta has sales to more than sixty countries worldwide with core markets in Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.

And according to Marc Vansina, Head of Packaging Procurement, Cloetta:
“Our collaboration with DS Smith has helped us in creating a more sustainable, functional, and on-brand POS displays that are instantly recognisable in-store. The DS Smith design team were present throughout the entire process, and we shared a clear and consistent communication across all our planning and strategy from the start of our working relationship. We supply a large volume of products to customers in the Nordics and around the world, so our packaging supply chain needs to be as simple and efficient as possible across all stages of the supply chain, from production, through storage, transportation, and assembly.”

The DS Smith harmonisation POS displays for Cloetta’s confectionery product ranges can currently be found in-stores across Finland, including Kesko & S-Group and other retailers.

DS Smith is committed to a target led sustainability strategy and to leading an industry-wide transition to a circular economy while delivering sustainable circular solutions for its customers worldwide.