It became clear that it needed to be thoughtful but not overwhelming. We knew our customer’s used our service for the simplicity and stress-free nature, it was important to retain that experience.

We found that direct cremation users typically remove the ashes and move them into a more permanent setting, or scatter them. The container needed to feel temporary but also something you would proudly place somewhere.

I worked closely with a printers and box manufacturers (during lockdown, hence meetings over the bonnet of my car and half the industry furloughed). We came up with some brilliant prototypes that felt considered and meaningful. Did you know that the hexagon is the most natural shape in the world? Beehives, Giant’s causeway etc…

The outcome was that the project became more than just the box, it was more the overall experience of the delivery. We found that customers receiving their loved one’s ashes on their doorstep could single-handedly be the worst day of their life, which seems rather obvious but interestingly around half of our customers were rather apathetic about it.

A turning point was to stand back and think about what else could we include in this hand-over, a care package? Some tea? A sympathy card? After some rounds of research and ideation we knew that we didn’t want to ‘over step the mark’ and be too pushy.

I designed a guide on how to scatter ashes, we partnered with a local florist to include seasonal flowers and I arranged our team of 6 customer service case handlers to write hand-written notes and the box itself we dialled back to something simpler that felt a bit calmer. Overall I am so happy and proud with where we ended, due to being so thorough I knew we’d launched in a good place and our NPS score has gone up along with our positive reviews, the majority mentioning the delivery experience.