Case Study: Wine Brokers NZ

How Wine Brokers NZ modernised sample shipping with Flexi‑Hex

Wine Brokers New Zealand is a Marlborough‑based brokering and export business specialising in bulk and private label wines for customers in Aotearoa and overseas. As part of their sales process, they send regular sample shipments to trade buyers, often across borders and multiple courier networks.

George Geris, Director of Wine Brokers NZ, wanted packaging that matched the professionalism of his service while cutting down on packing time, storage bulk and the hassle of noisy, traditional tape‑and‑box setups.

The challenge

Before Flexi‑Hex, Wine Brokers NZ was using a mix of recycled cartons and bubble wrap to send sample bottles.

• Sample packs looked inconsistent from shipment to shipment, which didn’t reflect the quality and reliability the business is known for.

• Bubble wrap and oversized cartons took up valuable space in the warehouse and made it harder to keep packing materials organised.

• Packing samples was fiddly and time‑consuming, with staff spending extra minutes wrapping each bottle and sealing cartons with noisy tape guns.

For a business built on relationships and repeat trade, George wanted a solution that felt more professional for recipients while making life easier for his team day‑to‑day.

The solution

Wine Brokers NZ switched its sample packaging to:

• Flexi‑Hex MINI sleeves – robust recycled paper honeycomb sleeves designed to protect wine bottles and other fragile items in transit.

• 2pk Pinch Top boxes – right‑sized cartons designed to work with Flexi‑Hex sleeves for smaller sample sets and compact two‑bottle kits.

• 3pk Pinch Top boxes – right‑sized cartons designed to work with Flexi‑Hex sleeves for smaller sample sets where three bottles are needed.

• 6pk Fold Top boxes – transit‑tested cartons (ISTA 3A) for larger sample shipments, with built‑in design features to keep bottles secure through vibration and drops.

All boxes are supplied with integrated double‑sided tape closures, so staff can seal packs quickly without tape guns or extra materials.

Implementation

George introduced Flexi‑Hex packaging across both domestic and export sample shipments, focusing first on:

• Regular NZ trade samples, where reliability and speed are critical.

• International customer samples, where packaging must handle longer freight routes and multiple handling points.

Because sleeves compress and adapt to the bottle, they slide straight into the new Pinch Top and Fold Top cartons with minimal change to existing workflows. The team could move away from ad‑hoc box selection and create a consistent, repeatable packing process for 2‑, 3‑ and 6‑bottle kits.

Results so far

Since moving to Flexi‑Hex MINI sleeves and matching cartons, Wine Brokers NZ has seen several practical improvements:

• More professional presentation
  Sample packs now arrive in clean, right‑sized cartons with a consistent look and feel, better reflecting the calibre of wines and service that Wine Brokers NZ provides.

• Less storage space required
  Honeycomb sleeves and flat‑packed boxes take up significantly less room than bulk bubble wrap and miscellaneous recycled cartons, freeing up space in the warehouse.

• Faster, simpler packing
  Staff spend less time wrapping bottles, aligning void fill and hunting for the “right” box; sleeves slide on quickly and boxes are designed to fit them, cutting out steps.

• Quieter, lower‑friction workflow
  Integrated double‑sided tape removes the constant noise of taping cartons shut, making packing more pleasant and allowing George and the team to work without tape guns running in the background.

• Confidence in transit performance
  The 6‑bottle cartons used for larger sample sets have been tested to ISTA 3A standards, giving extra assurance for both domestic and export freight.

Why it matters for other wine businesses

For wineries, brokers and private label suppliers shipping samples, packaging choices directly affect:

• The first impression a buyer gets when they open a sample shipment.

• The time teams spend wrapping and sealing each pack.

• Freight efficiency and storage space in small warehouses or offices.

Wine Brokers NZ’s shift from bubble wrap and recycled cartons to purpose‑designed paper honeycomb sleeves and transit‑tested boxes shows how small packaging changes can lift professionalism while making everyday operations smoother.

Contact us if you’d like to trial Flexi‑Hex on your next sample run