Celebrating products - with paperboard packaging
Oliver Bruns and Helmut Sieber (Edelmann Group) on current packaging trends and Algro Design from Sappi.
In the past, not everything was better, but a lot of things were simpler. For example, just a few years ago, the main purpose of paperboard packaging was to protect the product, convey a limited amount of information, and serve as an economical container. Today, in contrast, folding paperboard boxes fulfill ever more complex functions in the marketing mix.
Paperboard creates value
"Consumers now buy their goods more and more often online, rather than at the store", says Helmut Sieber, Head of Technical Design Center for the Edelmann Group. "This takes the salesperson, who used to unpack the goods and present them to the customer, out of the picture. So the customer's unpacking experience is becoming increasingly important. The customer is looking for an emotional experience – they want to celebrate the opening of the package. Then the special quality of the product becomes palpable and, with it, the value of the packaging".
Choice of substrate depends on many factors
The choice of substrate, of course, also plays a decisive role in the quality of that experience. Sieber: "As soon as the brand manufacturer comes with their briefing, the target group and the point of sale are set. Then we begin the design work. In choosing the substrate, the physical demands are important: the weight of the product, what transportation routes the goods will take, and where they will be presented for sale. The tougher the conditions, the higher the tearing strength that's needed in the material". "When I have a product whose packaging is supposed to communicate a sense of luxury, I like to recommend, for example, Algro Design from Sappi. It wins you over with its high degree of whiteness, very smooth surface, and premium feel. And it's well-suited to printing and finishes of all kinds. It's a very attractive material, one that's also ideal for the development of folding boxes for whole beauty product lines. From jars to lipstick to perfume flacons".
Focus on sustainability
The Edelmann Group is currently observing that sustainability continues to be a megatrend in the packaging industry. "We offer our customers the production of folding boxes, for example with ecological dyes and environmentally friendly coatings", says Oliver Bruns, CEO of the Edelmann Group. "Increasingly, we're moving away from our former plastic and combination packaging and using paperboard instead", he explains, "which has the advantage of being manufactured from renewable wood. At the Edelmann Group, we also employ the most modern methods, technologies, and production machines. With all of this, we're actively helping to shape our future today".
About the Edelmann Group
Edelmann Group – The Packaging Experience.
21 locations in nine countries on four continents
The Edelmann Group, a leading supplier of high-quality, innovative packaging solutions using paperboard and paper, employs more than 3,000 people and achieves Group sales of over 300 million euros. Founded in 1913, the family-run company develops, produces, and sells folding boxes, package inserts, packaging solutions, rigid boxes, wet adhesive labels, and corrugated board products. It operates seven German and 14 foreign locations (France, Poland, Hungary, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, USA), with focuses in the beauty care (cosmetics, body care), health care (pharmaceuticals), and consumer brand markets. At the heart of the success strategy of the long-standing company is its close collaboration with its globally active customers.
