The Low2No Pizza Roadshow

At Saxon Packaging, the well-being of our employees is at the forefront of our work culture. As we’ve said before, our employees are the heartbeat of our company and we believe in creating a welcoming & enjoyable place of work.

Each year, we have traditionally put on a summer BBQ for our employees and their family members to enjoy. Unfortunately, with the latest government announcements with further lockdown restrictions and limits to gatherings of 6 individuals, we were unable to put on such event this year.

Whilst this news cast a shadow on what we were able to do, the Saxon Packaging well-being team decided to put their heads together and think of a way in which we could keep the traditional spirit of a summer shindig… but in true 2020 fashion.

The challenge, was to organise an event that we could hold on site that coincided with our strict covid-secure procedures & best practices. Whilst the well-being team ummed and aahhed, they eventually settled on.

The Low2No Pizza Roadshow

 

“It just didn’t seem to feel right to go through 8 months of the year without coming together for an event. The idea popped into my head for a no2low drinks festival… so I pitched it to the well-being team. And they ran with it and made it happen!” – Ben Watson – Technical & Design Manager, Saxon Packaging.

They employed the services of a local caterer Broadside Pizza’s who successfully manoeuvred their van into our back yard equipped with a fully wood-fired pizzeria in a van. The freshly baked pizzas went down a treat, and Broadside Pizza team even boxed up all the left over pizzas for the team to take home at the end of the day!

As we couldn’t have our team getting ‘over-refreshed’ in the workplace, we decided that a low/non alcoholic drinks menu would be the best solution. We wanted our staff to be able to have the opportunity to try some of the low and non-alcoholic beverages made by our very own clients. So we reached out, to see if anyone could help… and they did!

A special thanks to;

Adnams

Tom Evans at Adnams for sending in some bottles and cans of their low alcohol products of Ghostship, Solestar and Rosé along with a crate of Bitburger Drive. This was the first occasion for many of the staff to try low and non-alcoholic versions of their hoppy favourites, and they certainly were a hit!

Our relationship with Adnams goes as far back as 1998, and we have been supplying their packaging solutions ever since. – Last year we celebrated our 20 year anniversary of supplying to Adnams, which you can discover more about here.

Square Root Soda

Ed Taylor at Square Root Soda for sending in their ‘One of Everything’ mixed cases for the team to try. The team just couldn’t get enough of them. These refreshing drinks were so popular that we were running short before the event was over! The team were particularly impressed with how the drinks were presented and the fact that they were ideal for a socially distanced event.

The ring pull bottle tops enabled the team to remove the tops themselves, reducing the amount of handling when serving drinks. Which, given the current climate, made the experience all the more enjoyable!

Seedlip

Ivana Walthorne at Seedlip, for arranging a mixed case to be sent through to us. Seedlip, the brand who solved the “what to drink when you’re not drinking” was very popular with our gin aficionados. Having won gold in last year’s Harpers Design Awards, Seedlip’s Grove 42 citrus bottle created a lot of buzz at the bar. You can find out more about the award winning packaging we produced for Seedlip here!

Three Spirits

Dash Lilley at Three Spirits, for sending in their starter gift packs for the team to sample. These alchemy bottles certainly had the team curious. With three flavours to choose from, we enjoyed getting to know each one of them. ‘The Livener’ was extremely popular with the team who enjoyed mixing it into a variety of different mocktails.

It wasn’t long until we started to run low on stock at the bar. Presented in luxury gift packaging manufactured by ourselves (naturally!), these gift packs sure look as good as the drinks taste (if we do say so ourselves…) and if you’re as curious as we were, you can read more on Three Sprits here.

Best of all, the team had the chance to see some of the packaging they have produced in their finished form with products inside. Proudly presented on the bar, the team were able to pick out some of the brands that they’ve enjoyed working on!

Thanks, also goes to our local business, John Thorn Building & Carpentry for creating the pallet bar for the event, made using our very own recycled wooden pallets from the factory!

And we can’t forget our very own barman, who went above and beyond to ensure that everyone received a refreshing beverage served with style.

“Well-being is an important part to our culture here at Saxon and it just didn’t seem right to go the entire summer without putting on an event to celebrate all the hard work and effort that the team have been delivering throughout these difficult and uncertain times. I’m delighted that collectively we managed to put together an event here on site (albeit socially distanced) that all our staff members could enjoy – A great opportunity to boost morale, socialise and keep covid-secure…” – Andy Smith – General Manager, Saxon Packaging.