When Rebecca Aboagye made the decision to leave the hotel she had been working with for a number of years, she knew that she still wanted to stay in the business of hospitality in some way – and so she started BeckyQueen Catering Services.
Rebecca began her catering business in the early 90s, providing tasty meals that filled tummies and put smiles on people’s faces at weddings, parties, and other such events in her home country of Ghana. Doing so allowed her to tick off the box of keeping her connection to the hospitality industry, but it wasn’t all that she had prepared to serve the world with.
This is where the peanuts come in.
Building a Brand, Crunch by Crunch
Rebecca also made a tasty variety of foods and snacks that she would sell in small quantities. Her plain roasted and coated peanuts soon became the star of the show and demand for them grew as more and more peanut lovers discovered them and shared the news with friends – as good friends should.
“Our products and services to over 200 customers…”
From the word go, Rebecca packed her peanuts in plastic bottles with sticker labels on them. The competition back then wasn’t so tough and she had made a good name for herself in the snack industry and continued to get positive feedback from her customers.
“I was thinking about the fact that I’d been in the peanut business for a long time, and wanted to breathe new life into the brand. So, I decided to change the packaging.”
Fast forward a couple of years, Rebecca found herself earnestly wanting to do more with her snack packaging. Attention to quality, creativity, and customer satisfaction had always been key pillars of her business and she knew in her heart of hearts that selling her peanuts in plastic bottles with stick-on labels wasn’t the best way to communicate those things to her customers.
An ePac Packaging Makeover
“I first looked to China for a change of packaging and was told the minimum quantity I could do was fifty thousand pieces. The cost for the printing plates and the different colours I wanted would be separate and that was a big put off for me. I wanted better packaging but I wasn’t in a position to spend so much on it.”
ePac got in touch with Rebecca and we were pleased to hear that she was already looking into a change of packaging, although the initial experience with furthering that idea left her a bit sceptical. After a few months of discussions with ePac, Rebecca placed an initial 10,000-piece order for stand-up bags with designs for 3 SKUs, with a tear notch for opening and a resealable zip.
ePac’s digital printing meant that there was no cost for plate fees and we were able to print the different SKUs in a single run, regardless of their respective colour or design variations. Rebecca was happy, and because of that, so were we.
“The new packaging is very exciting! I love it!”
While her new design and ePac stand up pouches stand out on shelves, her well-loved and longstanding brand name reassures customers that it’s the same trusted BeckyQueen goodness on the inside.
Rebecca’s BeckyQueen Peanuts come in 3 variants – Crunchy, Soft & Coated. They can be enjoyed on their own as a ready snack, sprinkled on dishes, used in baking and cooking or just held closely and hugged tightly… just kidding – although you can if you want to.
If Rebecca’s story has got you thinking about starting your own snack business, or you want to change your packaging, we’re waiting on your call today.
