CHEP, the leading FMCG and retail end-to-end supply chain specialist, is bringing brands closer to consumers and helping to deliver a more sustainable Christmas this year, with a little help from its quarter pallet solution. The company has been working with suppliers to the nation’s largest grocers to reduce the number of store-built cardboard display units and introduce more of the ‘fast and flexible’ quarter pallet platforms into stores. As a reusable and retail-ready solution, the quarter pallet is used primarily for store promotions – and offers enhanced product visibility and easy replenishment at the point of sale. It’s hoped that increased usage of these platforms can help tackle some of today’s retail challenges, reducing waste and achieving ambitious sustainability goals. In the three-month run-up to Christmas, there have been 414,000 movements of quarter pallets to grocers, which is up 12.1% year-on-year. While the demand for CHEP’s quarter pallets tends to increase during the festive period as brands have more promotions in stores, this major upswing demonstrates the importance grocers and retailers are now placing on improving their sustainability credentials. Carbon-neutral certified and 100% recyclable at the end of its service life, the quarter pallet gives retailers the opportunity to grow sales, while cutting replenishment costs and improving in-store availability. Meanwhile, using CHEP’s pooling network, with its share and reuse scheme, helps to reduce carbon emissions, packaging waste and the overall impact companies are having on the environment. Sean Field, CHEP UK & Ireland, Store Solutions Category Manager, said: “It’s encouraging to see that the UK’s major grocers are making a commitment to sustainability and switching to our reusable, retail-ready solutions. From many years of knowledge gathering and through in-depth discussions with our customers, we know that the Christmas period is potentially the most challenging time of the year for grocers, with resources, staffing and products stretched to the limit. “In offering our quarter pallet solution, we’re hoping to maximise sales across the shop floor by bringing our customers’ products to the front and centre of stores and essentially deliver a more sustainable Christmas with more shopper impact and lower damage rates to stock. We hope to continue growing this trend in the coming years – and for quarter pallets to become a permanent fixture in all modern grocery stores.” CHEP is part of the Brambles Group and operates in more than 55 countries, with its largest operations in North America and Western Europe.