Kenzo Continues to Enhance Brand Image with Unique Sappi Algro Design Packaging
Founded in 1987, LVMH has leveraged some of the world's best-known luxury brands for dynamic growth. The LVMH group comprises 70 exceptional Houses that create high quality products. It is the only group present in all five major sectors of the luxury market: Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry and Selective Retailing. LVMH currently employs 145,000 people across the world and reported sales of 42.6 billion euros in 2017.
Sappi has collaborated with LVMH on a number of levels for many years. "Most brand owners tend to have more contact with packaging converters than with substrate producers in the supply chain", explained Didem Tekbas, Brand Owner Manager for Speciality Papers at Sappi. "LVMH, however, has close relationships with board providers such as Sappi and other supply chain participants. The benefit to the brand is the ability to better understand the possibilities the supplier can help the company unleash as it works to differentiate its brands and have exceptional shelf impact".
LVMH's Kenzo brand, already successful in the market, worked closely with Sappi in the development of new packaging for its Flower brand perfume. The company was seeking a carton board that could ensure continued success. "We have chosen the solid bleached board (SBB) Algro Design for packaging with several of our brands", said Stéphane Arraitz, Development Manager at LVMH Kenzo. "We have always been pleased with its high brightness, unique touch and feel, and its ability to support just about any printing or finishing technique we can imagine. Also important to us is the reliability and trustworthiness of Sappi as a partner. We are confident that sourcing of Algro Design will not be a problem with the company's multi-mill sourcing strategy, unique in the packaging market". Sappi's Algro Design SBB is available in three different types:
- Algro Design features double coating of the top side with the reverse side uncoated.
- Algro Design Card has a double coated top side and single coated reverse side.
- Algro Design Duo is symmetrically double coated on both sides.
For the Kenzo Flower project, LVMH chose Algro Design with its uncoated reverse side turned towards the outside of the pack, and in a unique approach, printed and finished the uncoated side, including application of gold foil, embossing and special inks. "This approach gives Kenzo Flower's perfume packaging a unique approach of both extreme luxury and clear differentiation in the shelf while equally achieving a natural look and feel", Tekbas said. "LVMH chose to create the package design in-house. Algro Design gives the designers significant flexibility to achieve unique design ideas. In addition, printing and finishing on an uncoated surface can be very challenging, but Algro Design provides the necessary consistency in printing and finishing surface and its high bright finish enhances the color palette chosen by the brand. Furthermore, it has excellent haptic perception with a soft feel that offers a unique means of communicating brand values". "With Kenzo Flower alluding strongly to nature and its beauty, it is obvious that recyclability and sustainability are key brand elements, which consequently must also be reflected by the chosen paperboard. It goes without saying that Algro Design is fully recyclable and is made of virgin fibres originating from sustainable and controlled sources. As part of Sappi's core values (people, planet, prosperity) every manufacturing unit is regularly tracked on its environmental performance and footprint, which can ultimately even be drilled down to product level".
