Inside Prowrap: The development journey of our plastic-free refill rolls

What goes into developing a market-leading innovation? Coming up with ideas is relatively easy, but making them a reality is much more complicated.

When we had the idea to completely eliminate plastic waste from our Speedwrap Pro refill rolls, we knew it could change our industry forever. That made it all the more important that we execute the idea properly to ensure it made the biggest impact for our customers.

This project was championed by our CEO, Jon Crowley, a qualified engineer who works directly with our design team to add new innovations to our product range. Below, Jon shares his insights from the development of this groundbreaking project, from ideation to creation.

What sparked the idea to create a plastic-free refill roll? Did this come from customer demand, market trends, or internal discussions?

Jon:

At Prowrap, we always want to know what our end users want, so the senior team and I visited 25 kitchens around the Bristol area to talk to professional caterers about their needs on the job. Three things came out of those discussions: they kept cutting themselves on competitors’ dispensers and cutterboxes, they wanted premium products, and they wanted to be more sustainable.

We’re a company of engineers, inventors, and technicians, so we’re always thinking about how we can make our products more efficient, more effective, and more sustainable. Two ideas were generated from that market research – one being a safety mechanism that prevents the user from accidentally cutting their fingers when using a dispenser, which eventually developed into the Speedwrap Pro’s sheathed safety blade. The second idea was to remove the plastic adapters from our refill rolls.

As a company focused on innovation, we try to avoid following trends unless they’re what’s best for our products and our customers. We pride ourselves on being industry leaders, and with these ideas, we knew fairly quickly that we were once again pushing the industry in a more sustainable direction.

What were the biggest technical challenges, and how did you overcome them?

Jon:

There were loads of technical challenges!

The main one is that replacing plastic with something equally functional is difficult. The reason plastic is so prevalent is that it’s extremely strong, flexible, easy to shape, and cheap to produce. Finding alternatives that can perform equally well would be a challenge – but we felt strongly that it was worth it. We just needed a material that could match plastic’s durability and ease of use.

We looked into switching the adapter material to a more easily recyclable form of plastic, but ultimately, we knew this wasn’t the best solution for the environment. We also investigated biodegradable plastics and pulp, but neither of these solutions offered the resilience needed for premium products like ours.

Cardboard was the clear favourite as a usable, widely recycled material, but it’s also what’s known as a “living material” – it expands in warmer temperatures and shrinks in cooler temperatures. This poses a technical challenge, as we needed a roll core that could maintain its shape in any conditions – not least during the winding process, when machines can spin a roll at 7,000 rotations per minute. Naturally, this process generates a lot of heat.

The breakthrough moment came when we were able to develop a notched cardboard core that was durable enough to guarantee excellent performance. Investing in machinery allowed us to create the notched cores, while our core suppliers helped by providing cores of the requisite strength.

A big advantage in this process was the Speedwrap Pro itself, which was easy to adapt to be compatible with the plastic-free refill rolls. We found that it dispensed our cardboard-based rolls just as easily as before.

How did switching to plastic-free rolls affect production?

Jon:

What was brilliant was that it completely transformed our Speedwrap Pro supply chain – our reliance on imports from Asia for plastic adapters dropped to zero. There were two plastic adapters in each roll of dispenser refills – small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and just 6.5g in weight, but it all added up: removing plastic adapters has saved at least 1.725 tonnes of plastic from being produced every year. And, as more businesses switch to the Speedwrap Pro, that number is only going up.

Not only did this bring huge carbon savings in the plastic, which was no longer produced, but it meant there were no transportation emissions. It’s really helped us to stand above our competitors, who are still shipping carbon-intensive products halfway around the world.

What did professional users and distributors say about the idea?

Jon:

I think the response to the Speedwrap Pro and its refill rolls speaks for itself. It’s been hugely popular with professional caterers, who love how it contributes to their sustainability targets by reducing waste and plastic use. We’ve also found that kitchens are now experiencing zero cuts thanks to our patented safety blade – that’s why it’s always worth talking directly to your end users to optimise their experience with your products.

What did you learn from the process?

Jon:

Once we get the bit between our teeth and we know we have a good idea, there’s no stopping us. Our team has the creativity and experience to overcome any challenge that’s put in front of us – and that’s our biggest strength.

Learn more about the Speedwrap Pro and its plastic-free recyclable refill rolls here.