Packaging News
Sustainability, Generation Z and connected packaging were just three of the topics discussed at the latest edition of the Spirits Packaging Summit, which was held at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh.
Delegates from across the supply chain gathered to hear about the issues affecting their packaging projects in the spirits sector. What they heard was a sector getting to grips with the environmental challenges while creating packaging that delights consumers. They also heard that the market had to connect with a new generation of drinkers – one that is currently health conscious and not keen on drinking to excess.
The one-day conference kicked off with Mike Rose, director of brands packaging at Edrington. He observed that creators of luxury packaging had a challenge to be sustainable.
“It is not impossible to have a sustainable approach to luxury,” he said. “Our suppliers have brilliant ideas. But it needs to be efficient. We want packaging to be recyclable and reusable.
“Take plastic. It is a very useful material but almost overnight it became evil. We’ve looked at PLA and bioplastics but more research is needed on those alternatives. They are not recyclable with other materials and we are not going to move to biopolymers.”
Greenwashing
The sustainable debate has taken on greater importance over the past couple of years and there is a lot at stake, warned Tracy Sutton, founder and innovation lead at Root.
“This is not a drill,” she said. “The world is in a situation whether it’s the state of our soils, the state of our seas and our general addiction to consumerism.”
She added: “People don’t always realise that they are greenwashing. When you have a picture of a turtle with a plastic bag around its neck alongside a message that compostable materials are the solution, that’s the best example of greenwashing. We need to use the energy of investment and the passion everyone has to work towards reducing our actual impact on the environment. And that needs to be based on science.”
Rose added: “Sustainability has always been at the heart of what we do. It has been accelerated by what’s happening in the media and there’s no question that these campaigns ultimately work – take anti-smoking for example. I think we all feel a sense of responsibility. Putting more packaging in the environment makes us feel guilty and as a result we have to litigate these actions to some extent.”
Santiago Navarro, founder and chief executive of Garçon Wines, said that it would be a mistake to cast aside plastic altogether. Garçon Wines uses a unique format for the wine sector – a flat plastic bottle designed for online deliveries. He argued that while plastic bottles in the environment were causing public outrage, the material is needed.
“Declaring plastic free is irresponsible,” he added. “Running away from the problem is not professional. We should embrace plastic polymers that can be widely recycled.”
Gen Z engagement
One demographic taking a keen interest in environmental issues is Generation Z. Pia de Malherbe, growth and reputation director at Drink Works, outlined why brands need to keep a careful eye on this growing age group. Research from Drink Works reported that 75% of the generation is politically engaged.
“They are optimists,” she said. “Millennials expected a lot but are disappointed. Generation Z are driven and want to make a change. They are coming of age and are powerful. They influence the way we drink, speak and dress.”
De Malherbe added that the generation is very “aware of alcohol and what it does to your body”. As a result, 3% say that never drink at all. But for the many that do, they “drink to excess occasionally” and the opportunities to drink are few. “Generation Z are very busy,” said de Malherbe.
The generation is also “hyper connected”, which will please brands keen to tap into connected packaging for marketing drives. Rob Hollands, managing director at SharpEnd, told delegates that this will be an “amazing decade of change but we will have to be prepared to fundamentally reimagine our business”.
He outlined that there were “seven trillion touchpoints” for connected smart products ranging from clothing to packaging. While areas, such as image recognition and NFC technology, were still in development Hollands made the case for QR codes.
“It’s hotly debated and we still have to do a bit as to why we put codes on pack,” he said. “When they first came out, we gave them a tough time as they were badly used. But in markets – such as Japan and China – they are massive and have been successful. We are now seeing them come back in the market.”
NFC technology was used in a Malibu campaign created by SharpEnd. Hollands said that the result of the drive demonstrated that consumers were “more willing to give data once they had been engaged with the brand”.
But while the connected world might be set to take the spirits world by storm in the coming years, the heritage of a brand is still vital when it comes to pack design. Scott Davidson, new product development director at Glencairn Crystal, outlined some of his company’s projects and how they’ve “become experts in the integration of all the parts” on a bottle’s design.
Davidson showcased the crystal manufacturer’s work on Royal Brackla and Glenfarclas Pagoda Ruby, a project which took 18 months to source the right kind of stopper for bottle.
Paul Taylor, chief creative officer and founding partner at Brand Opus, outlined his agency’s work on Upperhand. The gin’s branding was developed through storytelling, specifically through the brand’s founder.
“We started with a blank canvas,” said Taylor. “The brand’s founder, Alberto Borin, came to us with a fascinating story. He was an adept judo fighter and narrowly missed out on going to the Olympics with the Italian team. He is also very superstitious and the number 11 had come up throughout his life.”
The bottle’s branding reflected this through a Taro card number 11, which represented strength. Taylor added that brand design had a difficult balancing act to “be disruptive but be familiar at the same time”.
Andrew Wolffe, founder and managing director at Wolffe Design, told delegates that “magic and logic” are at the centre of a project. The magic comes through the creative reaction to a brief while logic applies common sense to the project. “The logic makes the magic a reality,” he added.
Supply chain
Wolffe and Taylor sat on the final panel discussion of the day and were joined by Scott Jost, vice president for innovation and design at Berlin Packaging, and Abigail Scott, client services director at Boundless Brand Design. The focus of the discussion was on creating the perfect pack for the spirits market and how the supply chain has to link up from the very start of a project.
“Engaging with manufacturers is fundamental,” said Scott. “Designing for the manufacturing process is so crucial. It’s all very well having a fantastic idea of the execution visually but how does that come to life in its physical form? It all has to come together. When you are working in the luxury market, and especially in spirits, people really expect top quality.”
“It’s important to build a solid foundation for both the brand message and the commercial reality,” added Jost. “Our brief tends to take the form of what does a production line look like and what degrees of freedom are on that line. For example, can the client add anything to the filling line?”
Perhaps inevitably, the discussion returned to sustainability and the need for brands to act.
“Sustainability is embedding itself in our lives,” said Wolffe. “We are using less plastic because we are concerned about it. But we need to articulate it well. We need to understand the sustainable challenges and potentially regulate.”
“Brands are making claims and I don’t just think that will resonate with consumers in the long term,” added Taylor. “They actually have to live and breathe sustainability.”
While the topic of the environment was not the central theme of day, it was striking how the spirits packaging industry is facing up to the challenge ahead. Luxury brands were traditionally able to add as many materials to their packaging, in a bid to entice the consumer. But with the public now more aware of green issues, the luxury market is having to rethink its packaging to chime with the times.
