Beavertown, a British brewery based in Tottenham, is well-known across the country for its craft beers including Neck Oil, Gamma Ray, Lupuloid, and Bones. Alongside its beers, the brewery has this month partnered with the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to launch a limited edition packet of crisps with a difference: cheddar and jalapeño flavored crisps aimed at starting conversations around mental health. 

In a unique campaign, the brewery has enlisted the help of artisanal crisp brand SMUG to develop the original flavor and manage the production process with their partners - crisp manufacturer Yorkshire Crisp Company, and compostable packaging expert Parkside. Each pack features mental health conversation starters printed on the inside of the laminate material, designed to open up conversations around mental health. The 'Open Up' concept was developed by PR agency Here Be Dragons. 

Designed by CALM, these ice breakers are devised to kickstart deeper conversations amongst friends: questions such as "What gets you through tough times?" and "If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be?". This stems from research conducted by CALM that found more than half (56%) of people in the UK have pretended to be ‘okay’ to avoid talking about their own mental health. 

Adding further value to the concept, the packaging is a compostable solution sourced from Parkside Flexibles’ Park2Nature™ range. The high-performance laminate includes high barrier compostable cellulose film layers, NatureFlex™ films, sourced from Futamura. Not only does the packaging provide the barrier performance required to protect the intense flavor and satisfying crunch of the crisps, but it is also compostable in home and industrial settings. 

The finished packs, with printed designs on the outside and the inside, are Seedling and OK Compost accredited as compostable. It is also compliant to the EU standard EN13432 for packaging recovery through biodegradation and composting. 

Mark Shaw, Sales Account Manager at Parkside, said: “We are delighted that we were able to work on this design for Beavertown crisps and contribute to this campaign for mental health. Beavertown crisps provide that natural invitation to start sharing in a relaxed way, right there at the pub. A great idea if you ask me!’’ 

Andy Sweetman, Sales and Marketing Director of Futamura can only agree: “We are delighted to be helping out in our own small way with such a brilliant initiative, using ethical packaging to help out in such an innovative way.”

The new Open Up crisps will be available at more than 260 pubs across the UK, including in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. Participating sites will also give out free packets of the crisps on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

About Futamura

Futamura Chemicals Company Limited is a major producer of plastic and cellulose (NatureFlex™ & Cellophane™) films. Following the acquisition of Innovia Films cellulose business, Futamura has a global footprint with production sites in the UK, USA and Japan. It holds a leading global position in the markets for renewable and compostable packaging films and cellulose casings. Worldwide Futamura employs some 1500 people, with a focus on safety, high quality specialty products, R&D, customer service and ethical, sustainable partnerships.