Phoenox Textiles
A Premium Box for a Premium Textiles Product
For nearly 70 years, Phoenox Textiles have crafted and delivered high-quality flooring and textiles to customers internationally.
We’ve had a working relationship with the West Yorkshire-based manufacturer since 2012. And in 2024, they reached out to us to design and produce bespoke packaging for a range of premium rugs.
The Project
Phoenox Textiles needed two boxes to house four rugs of different sizes from their Hug Rug® range.
Sustainable luxury is front and centre of the rugs’ designs. Each rug is made in Britain from up to 90% of the finest recycled materials. The rugs are then hand-rolled, ready for their traditional or contemporary designs to be packaged and distributed to customers.
The Brief
Lesley Booth, Logistics Manager, and Melissa Roberts, Buying & Technical Manager, at Phoenox Textiles, led the project for the manufacturer. They invited us to their factory in Clayton West to discuss the sustainable packaging needs for this new range of quality rugs. At the core of the brief was a bespoke, branded box that both protected and reflected the premium rugs inside – all in a cost-effective manner.
Our Head of Design & Marketing, Matthew Kay, and Claire Monk, one of our Business Development Managers, discussed the bespoke options that would meet the criteria with Lesley and Melissa. All packaging concepts we presented:
- Represented the premium quality of the rugs to enhance the unboxing experience
- Offered packing ease for the Phoenox Textiles team, supporting efficiency in the warehouse
- Complemented Phoenox Textiles’ branding to support awareness
Repurposing Products for a Luxurious and Sustainable Experience
To boost our understanding of what the package needed to meet further, we took the time to understand the manufacturing process of the rugs. Unlike traditional rugs, this eco-friendly range from Phoenox Textiles prints the designs using a process called ‘Dye-sublimation’:
Design is printed onto a transfer sheet
Heat is applied to press the design onto the rug
Dye is transferred onto the substrate
The reuse of these transfer sheets also allows customers to experience the production process hands-on, both showing and telling the sustainability credentials of the rug’s print.gh
At this stage of printing, transfer sheets usually end up as waste. However, this project saw Phoenox Textiles repurpose the sheets. They wrapped the rolled rugs in the sheets to offer additional protection – and add to the opening experience this luxury product deserves.
Claire Monk, Business Development Manager at Greyhound Box
The Work
When it came to narrowing down the packaging design, Phoenox Textiles already had a box style in mind.
It was one we’d produced for a different product of theirs in the past. Matthew and Claire talked through the pros and cons of this particular style against others with Lesley and Melissa, before Matthew proposed a die-cut design option.
When assembled, this style locks into place, eliminating the need for seals such as tape. It also elevates the aesthetic of the box, tapping into the premium look and feel of the rug – an element we knew Phoenox Textiles were keen to see.
Matthew Kay, Head of Design & Marketing at Greyhound Box
With numerous concepts in play, Matthew and Claire returned to Greyhound Box with one of the rugs, ready to start developing the right solution.
We produced numerous bespoke samples for each of the different sized rugs. These were delivered to Phoenox Textiles, which Lesley and Melissa tested for:
Packing time and efficiency
Rug protection
Ease of use
Once they’d ran their internal tests and approved their favourite style, we moved onto the artwork phase of the project.
Greyhound Box has been Phoenox Textiles’s packaging supplier for over a decade – it’s testament to the meticulous detail and care the team puts in to ensuring our bespoke solutions meet every need of both our rugs’ and wider T&L needs.
Lesley Booth, Logistics Manager at Phoenox Textiles
Incorporating Artwork
Phoenox Textiles designed the artwork for the box in-house. They took the style and size of the package into account, so the design complimented both the rug inside and the box itself. Achieving the right aesthetic was paramount to reflect the luxury product inside.
It features:
- Script-style text on the inside and outside
- A ‘Made in the UK’ slogan on the rear of the box
- The recognisable ‘Hug at Home’ logo on the top and underside of the package to signal trust
The artwork also demonstrates the environmental and sustainable features of the rug and Phoenox Textiles. It’s washable, produced locally, and printed on our brown kraft cardboard. We supported with the more technical aspects of the artwork, like the layout and positioning of the text and logos on the box itself.
A Successful Product Launch
Phoenox Textiles launched this premium range of rugs in August 2024. We produced over 450 boxes to store, transport, and protect the high-quality textiles products in the first order alone. A few months later, we delivered a repeat order, with an additional order for a new rug size made in December 2024.
We’re very pleased with the bespoke packaging solution Claire, Matthew, and the wider Greyhound Box team delivered to house our premium Hug Rugs. Not only does the box offer ample protection to our rugs, but it’s increased packing efficiencies within our team. We love seeing our branding reflected on the outside of the box and we’re looking forward to future projects with our long-standing packaging partner, Greyhound Box.
Melissa Roberts, Buyer & Technical Manager at Phoenox Textiles
We’re looking forward to unravelling more bespoke box designs to fulfil the Yorkshire manufacturer’s range of rugs in the future.
If you’d like specialist advice on how you can integrate sustainability and protection into your bespoke packaging designs, contact our team.