DS Smith partners with Vilsund Blue to replace plastic pallets with corrugated cardboard as the Danish shipper continues to remove plastic materials from its supply chain.
DS Smith, a leader in sustainable and fiber-based packaging solutions, has collaborated with Denmark’s largest industrial shellfish producer, Vilsund Blue A/S, to replace plastic pallets with an innovative corrugated cardboard alternative. The partnership aims to enhance sustainability while optimizing supply chain efficiency for Vilsund Blue’s extensive canned seafood products.
Circular Design Metrics Drive Innovation
The DS Smith design team employed their industry-first Circular Design Metrics (CDM) tool to develop the new packaging. This tool evaluates packaging designs across eight indicators, including carbon footprint, reuse potential, supply chain optimization, and material utilization, to ensure solutions meet customer-specific requirements for sustainability and efficiency.
“Vilsund Blue set us a challenge to eliminate plastic materials from their pallets and to protect the products while optimizing sustainability throughout the supply chain,” said Martin Nielsen, Technical Support Manager at DS Smith. “We collaborated with Vilsund Blue’s machine suppliers to ensure the packaging was fully aligned with their production processes. We have also significantly reduced CO2 emissions and the product looks great on the shelf.”
The switch to corrugated cardboard pallets allowed Vilsund Blue to increase the number of cans transported per pallet from 1,800 to 2,700. This improvement boosts transport and storage efficiency while creating a compact product presentation for retail.
Corrugated Pallets Marks Another Transition Away From Plastic
Vilsund Blue A/S, which operates three industrial sites in Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, processes and distributes up to 250 tonnes of fresh shellfish daily alongside preserved and powdered products. The company has prioritized reducing plastic use as part of its broader commitment to sustainability.
“DS Smith came up with some fantastic solutions to help make our packaging more sustainable and circular,” said Bent Svenningsen, Production Manager at Vilsund Blue A/S. “We wanted to replace the plastic in our pallets, and DS Smith helped us develop a pure corrugated cardboard alternative. We take immense pride in our commitment to quality, and the team of experts at DS Smith are helping us realize some of our sustainability objectives.”
It is not the first collaboration between DS Smith and Vilsung Blue. In 2023, the seafood supplier announced that, with the help of DS Smith, it had switched from a combination of plastic and cardboard for its blue mussel packaging. A switch was made to eliminate the plastic tray and transition to recycled cardboard.
“We have got a better palletizing solution and thus removed a large cost,” Svenningsen said at the time about the switch.
“Through our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we are proud to help companies like Vilsund Blue achieve their sustainability goals,” Nielsen regarding the switch to corrugated pallets.
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Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
