Prestige and sustainability: luxury packaging columns
We met international operators in the sector at Luxe Pack 2024, the high-end showcase held every year at the Grimaldi Forum in Munich.
Maria Costanza Candi
Packaging design, attention to detail, the study of materials and ennoblement for the sophisticated demands of the high-end market. These are the watchwords of luxury packaging, called to perform multiple functions in a sector, that of luxury products, which in markets such as cosmetics, wine & spirits, home & personal care, focuses on brand positioning in which the packaging is a fundamental element for enhancing the product.
Packaging, developed with continuously evolving sustainability criteria, performs, in fact, a central role for display on the shop shelf and in the emotional experience, which goes from taking the product out of the box, to consumption and beyond. Attention to detail and sophistication don’t compromise attention to sustainability, a key element in all phases – from the concept to the choice of materials, from weight to workmanship, from transparencies to the study of accessory functions – which extend the role of the packaging well beyond the depletion of the content. The end-of-life of luxury packaging, in fact, does not only involve recycling, but transformation from a container to a design object to be displayed to exhibit a certain status.
Printing and ennobling towards a circular economy
For Luxoro, part of the Kurz group, new developments in the Italian market relate above all to the colours trend in hot-printing, but also to diffractive, holographic and three-dimensional effects: this is the case of SILVER LINE®, which ensures hot and cold holographic prints with a turned off prism, making it possible to modulate brightness. Using tone-on-tone optical effects and tricks of depth, every label and pack is transformed into a visual focal point. The holographic effects, with attention to every aesthetic aspect, create an illusion of movement and dynamism, adding to the perceived value of the product. The group has always paid great attention to sustainability, aiming at the reduction of emissions with the collection of waste from the polyester lines from the printers that process Kurz’s products, in a radius of 1000 km from the recovery plant. The plant set up in Germany makes it possible to obtain a transparent polymer ready to be placed on the market again, with a clear positive impact on the product’s carbon footprint and, regarding which, the company is able to declare the exact recycling percentage.
Refills and brilliance for home fragrances
Sustainability is also central for Estal, which for home fragrances combines attention to design with the choice of materials in 100% recycled glass. Thanks to its treatments, Estal obtains brilliance with unique shapes, in which sustainability is key, also in a sector, that of glass, in which weight is a significant factor, especially for the high-end market, making it a positioning factor. For the production of light bottles, albeit of large dimensions, Estal has patented the Bubbles series, which reduces the weight by 35%, offering refill solutions, great brilliance and dark colours that guarantee complete uniformity even for photosensitive products such as oil-based ones. The partnership with Coverpla, moreover, puts the emphasis on silk-screen decorations and home fragrance coverings in which the attention to details and ennoblement, both in plastic and in recycled and recyclable glass, enable the reduction of CO2 emissions through certified industrial and supply chain processes thanks to the wide use of refillable solutions.
Glass, airless solutions and design
Refilling and airless solutions are key elements of Lumson’s offer and of the exclusive launch throughout the world of the multilayer, very high-stability refill pouch, able also to contain products with very sensitive formulations. The glass bottles, without a closure thread, have been developed to continue their life-cycle, turning into a design object once they have completed their principal function.
Sustainable choices for the high-end range of fragrances and spirits
Leader in the domestic and international glass packaging market, Zignago works mostly with the F&B, cosmetics and beauty sectors, with particular attention towards finishings for the high-end market in which it offers innovative and sustainable solutions for the perfumery, cosmetics and spirits segments. Miniature products stand out among new proposals, a strongly growing segment embraced by important brands and which include authentic design objects such as the perfume bottle designed for Bella Hadid and the carafe for Delamain cognac. The first project is characterised by a clean, multi-faceted design with a slight burn that enables it to moderate the rounding of the edges, a moulded shape without a baffle mark for a design with attention to every detail, including for example, the dimensions of the mouth perfectly matched to the accessories. With regards to spirits, there’s the Delamain carafe, which combines precise design, glass with excellent brilliance, the side part in glass like the cap, elements that reinforce product positioning. It should be noted, finally, that in Zignago’s production, sustainability is central throughout the supply chain, from the energy sources used, to the glass, a circular material par excellence thanks to its ability not to lose quality even after multiple recycling. Zignago is characterised by excellence, recognised by prestigious ESG certifications such as Ecovadis Platinum and CDP.
Icons and industrial contaminations
Cerve deals with gluing, which the company is able to offer with applications on different materials, from fabric, to metal, to wood. Specialised in decorations, Cerve has developed ennobling solutions with silk-screen printing which are able to distribute the glue uniformly without damaging the bottle. A significant innovation is the glass stopper designed for a perfume that has made history: Chanel N.5. The solution, characterised by particular brilliance and transparency, has been developed by a small glass factory in Austria, specialized in high-quality pressed glass. Initially dedicated to the production of car headlights that require very high refractive indices, the group company uses the pressed glass technique for very high-end applications. This is the case of the glass cap for Chanel N.5 perfume which has high brilliance and a perfect closure with this processing technique, avoiding leaks thanks to the plastic insert.
Green plastic and LCA certifications
From glass to plastic with Induplast and the evolution of the airless tube, offered on the market today with the reduction of the self-standing tube capsule and even smaller dimensions. Mono-material and refills are the company’s response top market demands, having recently proposed the mono-material push-up stick to complete a range entirely certified by the LCA analysis that Induplast is able to offer, given the possibility of controlling the entire supply chain from the choice of raw materials to the final product.
Original textures on paper and cardboard
Paper and cardboard in soft colours and 100% recycled and recyclable materials are the protagonists of the ESKA Pure line, a choice which can be defined as eco luxury, making it possible to obtain colours such as ivory, grey, black, green and anthracite with natural fibres and particular textures that augment the experience right from first contact with the package. Thanks to the processes offered by Eska, the cardboard can, moreover, be cut to obtain particular designs without using plastic components.
