DS Smith has worked closely with food retailers across Europe to design, develop and produce new boxes designed to supply emergency provision boxes to the most vulnerable.

In addition to providing critical support to keep goods moving and replenish shelves as quickly as possible, focus has quickly turned to home delivery to move goods directly to the front door of those who aren’t able to make it to the shops. As more countries implement social distancing processes and enact new legislation, this service will become essential to people facing Covid-19 movement restrictions.

To combat this, DS Smith has developed special new boxes to be filled by food retailers and left on the doorstep.

As a result of social distancing and self-isolation guidelines, the carefully designed boxes can be stacked in the delivery vans, picked up and dropped off to support the safety of everybody involved in the delivery process.

Stefano Rossi, CEO of Packaging at DS Smith said: “We were approached by several of our food supply customers to design a new packaging solution that would maximise efficiency and provide everyday essentials to many of society’s most vulnerable.

“We worked very closely with our customers to design and produce a solution which allows for a ‘stack, drop and go’ approach that is more time efficient, more hygienic and frees up time for more deliveries. Our sustainably designed solution is also fully recyclable at home.

“I’m extremely proud of the whole team at DS Smith; their determination to support these initiatives meant that we delivered a new design in under 24 hours. This was subsequently prototyped, tested, manufactured and delivered in less than a week.”

DS Smith has played a critical role in the food and pharmaceutical supply chain as demand for these products increases. Its international network means it can provide solutions to those facing similar delivery hurdles.