Packaging at its Finest

Luxe Pack Monaco presented the latest in luxury packaging.

By Susan Eliya, Contributing Editor

The 18th annual Luxe Pack Monaco exhibition, held in November, attracted almost 5,500 visitors and housed more than 300 exhibitors. Paper manufacturers, glass makers, plastic and metal transformers, pump manufacturers and other packaging suppliers presented their packaging solutions at the Grimaldi Forum, located in the principality of Monaco.

In addition to exhibits, the event featured a design competition and several conferences that dealt with topics such as developing packaging for a changing consumer marketplace, the future of new luxury and flanker fragrances.

This year’s show welcomed visitors from throughout the world with 54 percent of visitors coming from outside of France. Even with the positive turnout, Christophe Czajka, new chairman of show organizer IDICE MC, is not going to rest. He hopes to further internationalize the show by attracting more visitors from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Czajka also wants to make sure the show is presented other places. In 2007, he said that he wants to launch in Shanghai.
While he wants to increase the show a bit, he values and understands the importance of its exclusiveness.

“We are not interested in a huge number of visitors,” he said. “We want to keep the quality high and bring people with ideas to their customers. We want people to do business,” he added.
Czajka said he hopes to create two new sections to the show, going further up and downstream in the distribution chain. One of the new sections would be devoted to high-end point-of-purchase displays because the decision to display comes about early in the process. The other section would be for sub-contractors that have not yet been addressed, such as jewelry and food packagers.

“We feel that if you do packaging, this could be an opportunity for you. Cross-fertilization is extremely important in the creative department and it’s what makes Luxe Pack different,” he expressed.

One of Life’s Essentials

This year, the 3rd annual Monaco Luxe Pack Design Award competition was based on the design of a water bottle with “Celebration in Monaco” as the theme. Only designers who have been working up to 5 years in freelance or staff design were allowed to enter the competition. Criteria for the design were originality of the concept, originality of the use of materials, feasibility of commercial production, consistency with the theme and aesthetics.

Finalists in the competition were provided with an all-expense paid trip to Monaco to compete. The first-place prize-winner from Spain, Ruben Piquer Tonon, received 10,000 euros and a trophy. His water bottle was made from glass but could also easily be made with other materials. The sleek clear bottle represented one smooth shape, from top to bottom. The cap, when removed, could also be used as a stand for the bottle.
The judges included representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, United States and United Kingdom. The candidates had to present their bottle, answer questions and provide a PowerPoint presentation.

The second and third runners up were Francesco Mansueto, Italy and Michael Radix, France, respectively.

Meet The Flankers

One of the highlights of the show was a conference moderated by award winning designer, Marc Rosen, on planning ahead for inevitable brand extensions. Marc Rosen and his associates acknowledge that flanker is not a positive marketing word. At Luxe Pack they took the time to speak about this topic, focusing on the challenges, benefits and view of flankers from the different aspects of a company production.

The panel included Cosimo Policastro, executive vice president, fine fragrance, Givaudan; Nicholas Ratut, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Zirh International; Xavier Vaisiere, vice president, export and sales, Heinz Glass; and Karen Young, president, The Young Group. While all lecturers agreed that flankers can cause confusion and they have short-term sales, they all had positive remarks about flankers.

Policastro stated that flankers build franchises, extend brands and the life of a brand and are easier to execute. He said that despite these benefits, they detract from the official product and need support, as well as the aforementioned concerns. He shared that when producing flankers, always deliver compelling and relevant newness, provide variety and “not just more stuff,” avoid too many flankers too soon and capitalize on the novelty that limited life brands create.

Escada was one of the first perfume houses to start off with a flanker idea shared Ratut. He educated the audience with other brands that have flankers such as M&M’s, whose flankers include Mini M&Ms, Crunchy, Peanut, Almonds, Peanut Butter, etc. Coca-Cola’s flankers range from Diet Coca-Cola to Coke with Lime. Ratut expressed that flankers are here to stay. They are a cost-effective way to respond to consumer demand, must be marketed and promoted independently and must complement another brand, he expressed.

Vaisiere shared the perception of flankers on glass manufacturers. “Innovation comes from decorating techniques,” he said. The bottle needs to have its own individuality. He expressed that colors need to be changed, the shape of the bottle has to be altered, there must be a different design all over the bottle and etching should be changed, as well as different sprays.

Speaking about flankers from a marketing view, Young first noted that they are inevitable. She expressed that it’s not a healthy market and the first thing that should be done is to launch a new market. While they can be strong on their own and focus attention on the master brand, flankers don’t always enhance the master brand. Flankers represent a less costly way to bring in newness and have a shorter lead time but, ultimately, customers want completely new products. They are overloaded from all industries and flankers are not originalor well-defined, and are confusing customers, she said.

According to Young, flankers produced $25.2 billion for the industry in 2004. Even with all these concerns and challenges, flankers can offer benefits, otherwise they wouldn’t be so popular.