In a decisive move signaling a robust commitment to aggressive market penetration and enhanced customer engagement, i2r Packaging Solutions, a prominent player in the food packaging sector, has significantly bolstered its commercial infrastructure through the strategic recruitment of three seasoned industry veterans. These key appointments—one in a newly established leadership role overseeing critical operational intersections and two expanding the national account management capabilities—are explicitly designed to underpin the company’s long-term trajectory for growth across vital market segments.
At the forefront of this organizational enhancement is the appointment of an individual to a newly created, cross-functional national role. This pivotal position is strategically engineered to bridge two commercially significant pillars of the i2r enterprise. The appointee will spearhead the strategic development and execution within the crucial foodservice and distribution sector. This responsibility is not limited to traditional sales channels; it explicitly includes the successful launch, scaling, and sustained expansion of i2r’s burgeoning e-commerce platform, positioning digital sales as a central component of the future revenue stream. Furthermore, this leader will assume oversight of the entire customer service infrastructure, ensuring a cohesive, customer-centric journey that integrates sales, service, and digital interaction into a single, seamless experience for the end-user.
The individual selected for this influential post brings a formidable track record, boasting over two decades of commercially focused experience within the demanding food packaging landscape. Their career highlights include shaping high-level corporate strategy, driving substantial revenue growth, and cultivating enduring success for some of the UK’s most recognizable major retailers and extensive national distribution networks. Reflecting on this career transition, the newly appointed leader expressed strong motivation derived from the scope of the opportunity. "The prospect of leveraging my extensive background in a leadership capacity that directly influences sales division architecture, while simultaneously deepening my management expertise within such an innovative and forward-thinking organization like i2r, was immediately compelling," the executive stated. The focus on the future was clear: "I am particularly enthusiastic about cultivating the foodservice division, identifying untapped avenues for expansion, and actively mentoring my team members to ensure their professional development and success within our evolving business structure."
Complementing this strategic leadership reinforcement, i2r has simultaneously strengthened its front-line client engagement capacity by adding two highly experienced professionals to the national account management team: Faye Blunkett and Zoe Gardner. These additions are integral to managing and growing relationships with key national partners across diverse segments of the food supply chain.
Faye Blunkett joins i2r bringing a decade of dedicated experience within the foodservice domain, including six intensive years specifically concentrated on packaging solutions. Her most recent tenure was as a Senior National Account Manager at Go-Pak, where she honed her skills in managing complex client portfolios. Blunkett possesses extensive practical experience collaborating with major distributors and prominent brand owners throughout the foodservice ecosystem, covering a comprehensive spectrum of materials, including paper, plastic, and contemporary takeaway packaging solutions. In her new capacity at i2r, her mandate will involve developing and deploying sophisticated mid- to long-term account strategies. This will necessitate cultivating robust, multi-level relationships with high-value customers, expertly managing complex aluminium contract frameworks, leading critical commercial negotiations, and ensuring rigorous forecasting and budgeting precision to align with growth targets. Blunkett cited the strategic fit with i2r’s operational model as a major draw. "Having cultivated my expertise through close collaboration with international manufacturing entities, my subsequent career move was deliberately targeted towards a UK-based enterprise possessing substantial internal manufacturing capabilities and clear, ambitious long-term goals," she commented. "Moreover, I was eager to transition into a new commercial environment, thereby broadening my practical knowledge base and deepening my understanding of the retail dynamics intersecting the food packaging industry."
Zoe Gardner steps into the role of National Account Manager, tasked with overseeing the vital portfolio of UK and Ireland food processors, filling a critical, pre-existing vacancy within the structure. Gardner’s professional pedigree spans three decades dedicated to food packaging sales, with twenty years specifically focused on partnering with UK manufacturers who supply advanced foil packaging solutions to processors, distributors, and retailers. Her profound background encompasses deep specialist product knowledge, acute commercial acumen, a documented history of surpassing ambitious sales benchmarks, and proven expertise in overseeing product lifecycles from initial concept through to final implementation and innovation—the ‘cradle-to-grave’ project management approach. Gardner expressed her alignment with i2r’s reputation: "The chance to integrate with a global leader in aluminium foil packaging, particularly one demonstrating such a pronounced dedication to ongoing innovation and product advancement, was a primary incentive for my decision," she noted. "I eagerly anticipate collaborating with this highly professional team within a business environment that is clearly forward-thinking and harbors significant plans for sustained expansion."
Tom Cliffe, Sales Director at i2r Packaging Solutions, provided an overview of the collective impact of these strategic hires. "We are tremendously pleased to welcome these recognized leaders within our industry to the i2r team," Cliffe stated. "Their collective expertise substantially elevates our existing commercial capabilities and firmly reinforces the company’s unwavering commitment to substantial investment—investment directed toward our personnel, ensuring superior service for our customers, and underpinning our aggressive growth blueprints across several newly prioritized markets." Cliffe concluded with a forward-looking statement that sets the tone for the coming year: "This represents just the initial wave of several exciting announcements we plan to unveil throughout 2026, all meticulously timed to support our accelerating business growth and sharpen our focus on achieving unparalleled levels of customer excellence."
These strategic commercial reinforcements position i2r Packaging Solutions optimally as the company prepares for increased market visibility and engagement. The company has confirmed its active participation at the forthcoming Packaging Innovations exhibition, scheduled to take place at the NEC Birmingham on February 11th and 12th, 2026. Visitors can engage with the i2r team at Stand F104, where both newly appointed National Account Managers, Blunkett and Gardner, will be present throughout the duration of the show to discuss new opportunities and strategic alignments. This simultaneous expansion of talent and commitment to major industry showcases underscores i2r’s aggressive posture for capturing greater market share in the evolving packaging landscape.