My name is Bea Thackeray. I run ’Keep This Cracker’ a small business based in Manchester. I design and sell reusable Christmas crackers with a difference. These are ones you can pull, to reuse them simply replace the snaps. No glue or fuss, they can be easily assembled and filled with your own choice of gifts. Each cracker comes with a low-noise ecosnap that pulls like a standard snap but with less of a bang. The crackers come flat-packed in reusable card wallets made of compostable cardboard. These crackers are made in the UK and packed in-house. Fully recyclable, printed with water based inks on paper from responsible sources. The kraft crackers and packaging are compostable too. The ribbons are woven in the UK using yarns made from recycled plastic bottles.
We supply reusable Christmas crackers you can pull
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It's estimated that over 100 million disposable crackers are pulled in the UK in one festive season alone. If laid end to end, they could stretch from the UK to the North Pole 8 times! I have long regarded this as a huge waste not to mention the rubbish gifts that come inside them. But when I launched my first designs in 2013, few people were talking about reducing waste or reusable alternatives, especially Christmas Crackers! It was a hard sell at the beginning but I was convinced it was the right way to go and stuck with it. Over the last few years sales have been growing year on year in line with the increasing interest in waste reduction and concerns over plastic pollution. ‘Keep This Cracker’ has moved from a niche product to one with mainstream appeal. Awards: 'Gift of the Year' Highly Commended in two categories, 'Ethical Product', and 'Festive & Occasions'. 'Small Awards' - Sole to Sole - finalist 'Stationery Matters' - Gift Packaging & Wrap - finalist
I create the cracker concepts/patterns and design the packaging and marketing material in my studio in Manchester. Passionate about supporting local manufacturers, I am proud to say 'Keep This Cracker' is UK made, which saves on air-miles too. The crackers and packaging are printed in the UK and the products are assembled in-house.
'Keep This Cracker' is reusable, unlike standard disposable crackers. The Patented construction allows the user to easily replace the snap without any glue or mess. Each cracker now comes with a pet-friendly ecosnap which means you can still pull your crackers but with less of a bang. This is my latest invention, exclusive to Keep This Cracker and approved stockists. Free from single-use plastic, the crackers arrive flat-packed, ready to be popped into shape. Packed in reusable card wallets designed to store the crackers away for another day. The crackers are made using FSC© certified folding box board (paper from responsible sources) and printed in the UK using water/vegetable based inks and varnish. The glue used is water based. You won't find any glitter or foil printing on the crackers, they are full recyclable. In addition, the kraft crackers and card wallets are compostable too, made with uncoated natural kraft board (PEFC© certified).
What are my hopes for the future? At one of my very first trade shows I was having a difficult time trying to convince buyers of my idea, when one visitor to my stand remarked that one day all crackers will look like ‘Keep This Cracker’. It made my day and her words have stayed with me ever since. This is the goal I am working towards, whether I achieve it remains to be seen!
Just read the story about cracker waste, I’m using these from now! Also I like the challenge of including a personalised gift and joke, this is much more fun.
The must have for the Christmas table !
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