The German firm based in Munich and specialized in the design and manufacture of packaging for the cosmetics industry has, in cooperation with Livingcap, recently launched Sughera, a revolutionary material based on a natural cork bound by a synthetic rubber-blend. Jean-Paul Corbeil, CEO of Corpack tells us more.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: At a time when the environment has become a crucial issue, you are presenting a brand-new eco-friendly product…

Jean-Paul Corbeil: Yes. For the first time, a micro-agglomerated natural cork was designed through an injection-molding process producing parts without the usual binding agents.

Besides its special composition and connecting nature with technology, the distinctive features of Sughera are a good resistance to various elements and versatility in application. This new material (70% cork, 30% rubber-blend) uses less petroleum-based materials, reducing the overall use of plastic, while giving the component a natural look and feel. Having been used mainly for the production of closures for the food industry, Corpack, in cooperation with Livingcap, has introduced it to the realm of cosmetic packaging.

Sughera components can be made in a variety of colors. The cork being used is sterilized leftovers (the waste product) of the wine-cork production. The natural look, the soft-touch surface, and the general cork characteristics enhance the user experience. Whether as a completely new design or integrated into an existing range, we can transform the vision of our customers into reality by presenting Sughera as a natural element.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: What are the main assets of this material?

Jean-Paul Corbeil: They can be broken down as follows: 

• Light in weight and tough in durability, while unique in nature
• Crumble-proof
• Can be precision molded in countless shapes, sizes and color
• Rubber can be substituted with PP to achieve a more stone-like effect
• Processing is more eco-friendly
• Suitable for food contact and conforms with CE and FDA norms
• Embossing or debossing of logo or texture
• UV-, silk-screen or laser-printing options
• Natural look and soft-touch surface
• Conforms with Ecocert & Cosmos guidelines
• Anti-slip grip

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: You founded the company in 1995, how is it doing today?

Jean-Paul Corbeil: As you know, we do not just create custom designs. We also develop our own standard lines, which can be custom-made, to meet the tastes and needs of each customer. And we strive to anticipate trends by offering innovative products combined with some of the most modern production techniques. Today, we employ more than 20 people and work with several industrial partners, most of them located in Asia, but also many throughout Europe. Germany remains our largest customer market but sales are also increasing steadily in the rest of Europe, including France, Benelux, Spain and Italy. We are also operating more and more in the United States. The makeup sector remains our core activity (70% of our business) with the main markets being lipstick tubes, followed by skincare.

Among our latest ‘key’ launches, there is the Kneipp lipbalm stick, made partially (base) of Sughera.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: Finally, your activity is becoming more and more a real full-service offer?

Jean-Paul Corbeil:  Yes, although not our core business, we can also propose a ‘full service’ option in which we manage the production of the components and the filling or completion of the pack itself. The advantage for our customer is that the entire process is handled by one source, eliminating errors, redundant processing, or multi-tasking by the customer. In other words, the work is done, overseen, and managed by one source. During this process we work closely with our customers to ensure a successful outcome. We work with long-term and experienced partners in the various fields of filling and processing of turnkey products.

To enhance or increase the chances that a customer selects and purchases a product (that we created), we make sure to develop a sound and reliable end-product. A design solution presented by us not only has a nice shape, but it is also a concept which has been technically tested and ‘scalable.’ While other design agencies may put a nicely shaped item on the table, the customer will be forced to check, himself, the technical feasibility of his product. Whatever we put on the table, you can be sure it can be molded and/or produced on an industrial scale—an advantage that is both time-saving and cost-saving. In addition to the product development, we manage all processes from the manufacturing stage through quality control and delivery.