Rethinking digital production: Meet one of Gelato’s greenest and most innovative partners
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LOS Digital is one of more than 130+ production partners in 32 countries who work with Gelato to fuel thousands of ecommerce entrepreneurs and brands around the world. This global network of partners enables Gelato to route orders as close as possible to where they are delivered, enabling online sellers to reach their customers faster, while reducing costs, waste and carbon emissions.
“Since we joined as Gelato’s production partner we have considerably increased our print volume, but the greatest impact has been in areas of efficiency and sustainability, such as using paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for most products, and leaning into new technology that allows us to serve a growing number of customers in a faster and more eco-friendly way,” says Eirik Andersen, CEO of LOS Digital.
60% revenue growth with Gelato
As you enter the building that houses LOS Digital in Larvik, a small coastal town in Norway, you leave the traditional notion of “print” at the doorstep. Rather, you enter a bright, airy, modern space equipped with the latest technology to support the world’s collective move from mass production to customized production on demand.
LOS’s revenue has grown from USD 7.7 million in 2015 to close to USD 11 million in 2019, and the revenue from Gelato has grown by 60%. “2020 was a challenging year for us due to the pandemic, but the growth in Gelato customers has allowed us to grow and expand our production,” says Andersen.
Overall, the growth with Gelato has enabled LOS Digital to bring on two additional full-time employees. In addition, the increase in demand during peak season from October through December allows them to hire ten temporary staff each year to process an average of 3,000 jobs per day.
Growing a local business driven by global demand
LOS Digital was started in 1985, and the digital printing house made an early commitment to sustainable production and high-quality materials. By constantly striving for better ways to produce they have also helped propel forward the new trends within customized production and digital printing.
“To launch products with Gelato helps expand our own, as well as our customers’, notion of print to items such as personalized packaging and photo books. Our partnership challenges us to constantly identify bottlenecks and areas of improvement, which then enables us to develop new routines, systems and processes. This is how we remain both committed - and excited - about delivering the best quality experience to our customers and always stay ahead of the curve,” Andersen explains.
Empowering the customer to make sustainable choices
“There is a misconception out there that print is bad for the environment, and we want to show through our way of producing that it is not,” Andersen says.
The main raw material for paper, trees, are grown and harvested in a carefully controlled and sustainable way – so successfully that European forests, where most of the raw material comes from, have grown by an area the size of Switzerland in just 10 years.
“Investing in the environment is a business investment”
“To us, sustainable production, such as recycling waste and excess material, investing in modern equipment and using paper packaging, is not only good for the environment, but also good for business. As we grow and expand into different product categories and increased volume with Gelato, a greener way to produce is also a more efficient way to produce,” Andersen concludes.
LOS Digital has been awarded the Swan Ecolabel, the official Nordic ecolabel introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers, which demonstrates that a product is a good environmental choice.
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