"Less is more when it comes to packaging"
In order for Vorwerk products to reach customers safely and in one piece, they also need cleverly developed and well thought-out packaging. At Vorwerk, this is the responsibility of Jowan Yesdin. Together with his colleague Petra Lehmann, he designs all product packaging. He now oversees several projects at Vorwerk Elektrowerke and was recently awarded the BDD Sustainability Award for two of his packaging solutions. We introduce you to our Packaging Developer in more detail.
Jowan Yesdin has been working at Vorwerk since 2018 – with a short interruption. The trained mechanical engineer, who has already worked as a car body builder and designed wedding cards alongside his studies and before that, started as a working student at Vorwerk Elektrowerke. At that time, Jowan had nothing to do with packaging. But his former boss Erwin Dinter had taken him on and held out the prospect of him being able to switch to another department after a short time and write his bachelor's thesis with Vorwerk. Jowan spent his first months deciphering Excel lists of cardboard boxes from China, making drawings and working out specifications.
Optimizing cardboard boxes for the Thermomix® Friend at no extra cost
His first major project was the Thermomix® Friend. The cardboard box did not meet the necessary requirements. It had to pass a drop test from a height of 80 centimeters and be capable of being shipped – without producing additional costs, of course. After numerous tests, Jowan then developed a different folding technique from the same cut of cardboard, the cardboard was four millimeters narrower and thus 20 percent more packaging fit on one pallet: a successful task!
Jowan had his first contact with new packaging to be developed with the Kobold VK7 cordless vacuum cleaner pad. When he started tinkering, it became clear to him: this is the right job for me. Right now, Jowan has to consider numerous factors when he works on a new packaging task. Material selection, logistics, sustainability, laws and regulations, for example on EPS (plastic), and the unpacking experience for customers are just as important as cost savings and solving problems as efficiently as possible without stopping production.
Packaging always tells a story
By now, Jowan optimizes and develops all Vorwerk packaging. He considers which solutions are realizable at all, finds out in advance which directives and laws the company will have to comply with, how big the savings can be with which materials, and which solution will also be as ergonomic and sustainable as possible in the end. "We develop the packaging ourselves according to our own requirements and specifications," explains Jowan, who also constantly questions himself and has his very own requirements for packaging. It is also important, he says, that the product is not "over-packaged", because his motto for packaging is: less is more – but better developed.
After all, packaging always tells a story about the product – and this has to reach the customer at the end. Therefore, the unpacking experience is particularly important for the packaging developer. The product should be well presented, the packaging must be easy to fold and at best it should hardly be made of EPS, but of corrugated cardboard. For an appealing look, Jowan also works closely with the design department. Feedback from associations, exchange with suppliers, material alternatives as well as current market requirements are also important in order to be able to develop optimal packaging. In the end, he has to approve the packaging for shipping.
For Jowan, working on and with packaging has become a matter of the heart. And although he often has to take external regulations and the opinions of others into account, he can also try things out for himself, develop and become creative. "I wouldn't want to change jobs," says the satisfied packaging developer. And his next project is already in planning.
You can read more on the BDD Sustainability Award here:
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