Our Dynamic Packaging Configurator (DPC) was awarded not only one, but two awards this week – an acknowledgement of the great work that our packaging team does every day. Our newest self-developed packaging innovation was awarded:

• The Gold Award of the German Packaging Award 2021 in the category "Digitalisation" conferred by the German Packaging Institute (dvi) 

• The Sustainability Awards 2021 in the category "Resource Efficiency" conferred by Packaging Europe

The dvi commended the winners and emphasized that their new solutions help people, the environment and the economy. They also praised that these solutions can make a difference in health and hygiene, in sustainability and environmental protection as well as in productivity and prosperity. Packaging Europe named the winners' solutions the most significant innovations and projects in their category this year. The award is a reflection of a major achievement and an important contribution to sustainability.

Predicting packaging consumption autonomously and dynamically

The idea behind the HelloFresh PDC is simple: Optimised packaging reduces costs as well as complaints – and makes an important contribution to sustainability. The digital tool enables HelloFresh to optimise and predict its exact packaging demand even with ever-increasing product complexity. The DPC bundles all data points from production, procurement, logistics and everyday temperature with the goal of calculating the optimal packaging size and coolant quantity. 

To provide an appropriate amount of data for the DPC, a total of more than 19,000 ingredients were measured by hand in all markets. The exact volume was calculated including the geometric shape, the true maximum internal volume, and some extra space for safety reasons. These data help us to calculate the perfect packaging for each box. A low-level artificial intelligence sends the necessary data for the optimal packaging of each meal kit to our employees so that customers do not receive half-filled boxes and meal bags. 

Next Generation DPC

So what’s next? We are working on launching the packaging configurator 2.0 – a new system that uses artificial intelligence to additionally calculate the number of ice packs required. Our configurator uses an algorithm for calculation, based on the duration of the transport, the outside temperature and the ingredients delivered. The best part about the DPCs: All 15 of our markets, each with a different range of products and ingredients, are able to adapt the tools to their specific needs.

By using the DPC 1.0 and 2.0, we have already achieved a significant reduction in packaging and carbon emissions. The use of smaller boxes allows us to stack an average of 3.5 additional meal kits on each pallet, which reduces the use of pallets and transport by trucks by about 8 percent each. That makes our packaging innovation a huge success for our company. We are very proud that our work in this area is also recognized in the industry.