Burns Pet Food

Burns is a well-established brand in the pet food industry, often synonym of tradition and quality. Law Print was pleased to supply the new packaging for Burns Dry Dog and Cat Food ranges, especially as we were chosen to help them transition into a more sustainable solution with our new generation of woven BOPP bags.

Everyone in the industry knows Burns. For almost the last three decades, the owner of the family business has built the brand with the same ethics and never compromised on quality. It is now regarded as one of the most trusted names in the industry.

Having worked with an array of pet food producers, we were delighted when the Burns team decided it was time for a brand refresh and they chose to pioneer our Ready2Recycle woven polypropylene bags. It was the beginning of a long journey of product development and trials to relaunch the beautiful new bags of Dog food first, then Cat food.

What did we do?

Burns Dry Dog and Cat Food recipes are designed by vet surgeon and founder John Burns and recommended by vets everywhere. They believe in good health, the natural way. As an ethical company, they have made a pledge to transition towards more sustainable packaging across all of their ranges of pet food and treats.

In 2018, they embarked on this vast project with Law Print as new packaging technologies became available and a new generation of woven BOPP bags came to market. This is a huge decision for brands like Burns, looking for premium quality packaging that aligns with the current focus on sustainability.

Not only our woven BOPP bags are strong and puncture-resistant, they are also heat-sealable and recyclable as they are made of the same polypropylene material, where the outer BOPP film is laminated to the woven PP fabric, providing great pack strength. Our latest sealing innovation uses special heat-sealable PP film, giving a more premium look to the bags and making the packaging more airtight.

Burns trusted us to provide packaging to replace their paper bags with an alternative solution that would be more sustainable – mono material laminated structure, as opposed to paper laminated or coated with plastic – and that would be stronger to withstand the different product weights across all ranges and protect the high value products during transit to the new export markets that the business was targeting.  Burns bags comes in 2Kg, 5Kg, 6Kg, 12Kg and very soon in a 14Kg size.

Printed in Rotogravure process with a matt finish, as well as having a smoother weave pattern than old-fashioned value woven bags so it is barely visible to the eye and gives that great natural look, premium products with premium label don’t look out of place in these new BOPP bags. Without the need of stitching them at the top and with the addition of a block bottom base, the bags also provide the same great shelf appeal as non-recyclable plastic bags.

Burns new designs completely stand out with great photographic images and this proves that moving in the right direction with recyclable woven bags doesn’t mean compromising on quality and it can be just the perfect retail-friendly choice for any businesses wanting to trade online and expand overseas.

“Due to the structure of our previous paper packaging not being recyclable and the requirements to ensure our products are kept as fresh as possible, the improved barrier properties along with recyclability allow Burns to target eliminating the single use of plastic packaging and achieve a sustainable circular economy. The tighter weave polywoven fabric and new sealing innovation increase puncture resistance making for less damage and wastage to stock. All without compromising the super-premium shelf appeal of Burns pet food. Luke and his team have supported us throughout the whole process and continue to do so, ensuring our customers receive the quality products their pets deserve.”

Chris Morris – Operations Manager, Burns Pet Nutrition