Many products we use on a day-to-day basis come from China. We see a tendency in Chinese manufacturers that they focus strongly on the product and not so much on the quality of the packaging. We see different producers within a product range which has a noticeable influence on the consistency of a brand. FroQ is known for its capability to manage packaging processes at a higher level of consistency,  so there is reason to believe we can play an important role.

After discussions with other entrepreneurs and some hot contacts in China ‘operation Shanghai’ went into ’full swing’. Just how fast this has transpired is proven by the fact that we are now fully operational and hold an office in Shanghai.

Meanwhile we hired a manager for our Chinese operations. This is important because  when doing business in China different rules apply; cultural differences, for instance, that ultimately could determine whether or not you win clients. In addition, it is important to be able to quickly adapt to cultural differences.

The first two clients in China already are a fact: a European company that is established in China and a Chinese company with the ambition to move packaging design to a higher, western level and approach. We are already getting quite a lot of interest from Dutch and other European companies. In short, we landed and hit the ground running.

What would you like to know about China and the opportunities for your brand or company? Please give Edgar a call or send an email

FroQ has put on a new jacket! Those of you already familiar with us might have noticed it already while some of you will not have seen the change. We consider the launch of our new website on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 as a preliminary highlight and a considerable change to FroQ’s look-and-feel. We think it feels fresh and elegant and we hope you do too.

Here at FroQ we recently celebrated our fifth ‘birthday’. We are bursting with ambition and the new website might just be our greatest gift.  The website is orange, blue and green – translated into no less than 5 languages (!) and comprises a completely new layout and design. All elements of our new look-and-feel are present. The frog, our main branding element and logo has been scaled back to a  footprint which loosely translates as a ‘FroQ-ious’ fingerprint. Fresh photography and clear structure make it easier to share knowledge and stories. We intend to utilize the possibilities to there fullest as it suits the way businesses communicate nowadays.

Our main messages to you is this: We are ready to share our expertise and what we want to be for you, our partner and relation, and how we feel we can address the needs of your business. Ready to further advance our knowledge of packaging design, design-finalization, management and execution, and ready to share it with you. Ready to improve our knowledge in the field of artwork, desktop publishing and printing techniques, and ready to pass it on. But above all; ready to show our involvement in these fields of expertise.

Is it that indispensable, this website? At the risk of exaggerating, keeping you up to speed by way of carrier pigeon would be somewhat outdated. Still, we feel the launch of our new website is a new step in our development, not only to our look and feel but bringing us up-to-date in social media and communication advances of this day and age.

Customers are the main asset of a company. At FroQ we wanted to know if our customers are satisfied with our packaging design management and if so, in what way. So we asked Sven to pay them a visit and talk about their customer satisfaction. These conversations were about the relationship, our services and the end result of our efforts which we linked to the so-called ‘Net Promoter Score’. And what was the result?

FroQ’s efforts in the field of packaging design management, artwork and lithography are highly valued. On average we score an eight – an eight! – in relation to both customer service and for the end result of the services we offer. Even better, our customers are very willing to recommend us – if the opportunity arises – to other supermarkets and A-brands to manage their (private label) SKU’s. You can imagine how very proud we are with these results.

From Good to Better

Still, though pleased as we are with the results (and yes we are), we want to go even further and explore how we can turn it up a notch. An eight (on a scale of one to ten) is a considerably good score but research also shows that we can improve on some aspects. We at FroQ are going to work hard on those. We think there’s an opportunity to show more of our expertise and knowledge in areas such as branding, lithography, artwork and DTP  - both during and in relation to projects. This will allow us to respond to the demand of our customers and to be more pro-active in project information. In addition, we are keen on listening to the objectives of our customers and their organizations,  just the way our clients are accustomed to.

Meanwhile we continue to focus on improvements in the packaging design process and we exploring ways to reduce costs and improve time-to-market of packaging design. The market for private labels, A-brands and packaging design is dynamic and we want to challenge this in every way possible. We have done so for five years and we will continue to do so with pleasure.

And that’s true.

As well as being able to see more colours than your average human – or so they claim! – our prepress folks have years of experience in colour management. They know exactly how to build–up a file so that it is perfectly optimised and media–ready.

They know everything there is to know about materials (substrates) and ink and plate technologies too. Their single goal in life is to help the printer perfectly recreate your concept 100% truthfully on your printed package.

Creating stunning visuals is enough to make our clients very happy indeed. But it’s not the full story. Many people underestimate – perhaps even undervalue – the full role of prepress in transforming a fantastic concept into fantastic packaging.

Our prepress team have impacts on quality all the way through the packaging chain. They help shorten cycle times. Improve workflows, help manage costs. They help printers get better results more efficiently – and much more.

But perhaps their biggest value is that great prepress management safeguards quality and consistency right through the brand packaging chain.

Let’s take a closer look.

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “The FroQ Prepress team: much more than just stunning visuals!“

But some things are worth changing for. Such as decoupling.

Simply put, decoupling means splitting the creative aspect of packaging design from the execution and production.

Decoupling allows brand creative agencies to do what they do best: develop great creative concepts that trigger consumers to buy.

And, it allows companies that execute packaging design to do what they do best: execute great brand packaging design concepts; translating creative concept across different SKUs in a line – all the way through to print.

Decoupling gives brand owners more revenue from the point of sale, lower production costs, quicker time to market and better brand quality.

So why aren’t more brand owners doing it?

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “Decoupling in packaging design: the background, challenges and benefits.

At least half the work is in a good briefing. A good briefing means making sure that you brief all the right information – right at the very start of the project!

You could jokingly compare it to a construction worker who would also not start with the bathroom when he is building a house.

A good briefing helps us successfully manage your project every step of the way. It contributes to the optimal execution of the packaging design process. It guarantees a structured process and avoids a lot of going back and forth. So that both the FroQ team – and you, the packaging manager, are happy with what’s on the shelf at the end of the day.

So what makes for a good briefing?

• The product and packaging type
• The number of SKUs
• The design template for a new SKU (or reference to a package if it will need restyling)
• A packaging sample
• Full printer specifications, such as print technique, number of colours available, etc.
• Complete details of the printer and supplier
• Diecut
• Detailed timings

and of course …

• The full and complete texts!

A last thought: our job is to make sure that every packaging manager gets exactly what they want. But to do that, all this information needs to be in place – up front. Trust us, filling in the blanks later only leads to disappointment!

Richard Veldhuizen, our operations director, is a lucky man. When he doesn’t hear anything out of the ordinary from our team in Chennai, he knows there are no problems and we have very happy clients. And when Richard does hear from them, it’s most likely because they have found a new way to improve our processes.

That may sound like a million miles away from your typical ‘India, branch office’ story. And it is. But then again, Richard and the Chennai team have worked really hard over the past four years to make things this way.

Today, FroQ Chennai is made up of dedicated Brand teams consisting of traffic managers, graphic operators and graphic specialists

The office has an employee attrition rate of around 10%. That’s as opposed to the more typical 30% in India. Their productivity is great. And FroQ Chennai is as important to the FroQ quality operation as any other FroQ team anywhere in the world.

We grabbed Richard off the shop floor to ask him how he helped shape the Chennai team. He claims that most of it is just common sense. But we think there’s more too it than that.

To read the entire article, please download this PDF: “FroQ Chennai, India: building a team to be proud of“

We thought it was about time that we started letting you know more about what we are up to, let you know more about how we work and introduce you to some of our people too.

So welcome to the FroQ blog!

In the next few days we will publish our first article!

Hope you like it!

If you are here out of curiosity, why not call us, and we’ll give you a sneak preview of our full FroQ systems suite. That includes FroQFlow, FroQForum and more.

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What’s not to like?

How we work

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Yellow Dress Retail B.V., MAKRO design partner for this assortiment in the Netherlands, does the creative design for the fine food assortiment. FroQ focuses on the process of translating that design across all SKUs.

FroQ is responsible for the execution of MAKRO artwork – from technical input on the design brief, through design adaptation, artwork and lithography, print and aftercare.

Edgar van der Velde, FroQ managing director said, “We’re pleased to be helping MAKRO reach their brand and marketing goals for their fine food assortiment in the Netherlands. Together with MAKRO we’re already working hard to help MAKRO raise both the quality of their artwork and improve their time to market.”

FroQ will fully support the improvements in the MAKRO packaging design execution process through project management of all parties and best practice knowledge transfer.

So whenever we start working with a new client, one of the first things we do is gather all the historical data for SKUs across the lines – and find out exactly what file contains what data.

And that’s exactly where we started with HEMA recently when we were commissioned to execute all their Private Brand packaging.

The HEMA range is close to 10.000 SKU’s. And stretches back years. That’s a lot of data. And HEMA needed access to it. We helped HEMA solve their challenge through a combination of data identification and scripting to structure the old files. We then developed a database and portal solution. That portal keeps the HEMA packaging managers completely free from hassle and lets them search the full historical database of old their old files – easily, quickly and accurately.

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Why China? Well, we believe that there is some work to do there. And some fantastic opportunities for ourselves, and our clients.

We see that the European folks in retail are starting to ask for more quality from China right across the whole packaging design process – in both food – and non-food.

As you know, we can’t resist a quality challenge. Or an opportunity. So, over the past year Edgar, Richard and Marcel (our operations director, managing director and project manager) have been checking out potential partners throughout the full packaging design process.

They’ve been talking with some very nice printers. Making new retail friends. Doing lots of research. Developing plans. And, of course, taking time for tea with colleagues in the packaging design industry in China.

We’ll let you know more on FroQ Shanghai soon. Meanwhile, here’s a little fact for you;

In China, the Frog is a symbol of prosperity. According to Feng Shui lore, it is believed to drive away evil, protect wealth, and increase income. Sounds like a promising start to FroQ Shanghai.

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It’s the 1st January 2010 and the FroQ office in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua is fully operational.

We have built a great team of graphic production people that are helping the full FroQ family in our drive for quality in packaging design. And the time difference has helped us get even closer to a 24 hour working day for our clients. Also it opens up a gateway to the North American market.

The FroQ office is in the new ‘Discover’ building just 3 minutes away from the city centre and the commercial centre. Which means that it’s also really handy for both our employees, the local business community and the lucky few clients who want to visit us.

If you want to know more about our operations in Managua, Nicaragua – feel free to contact us!