The Royal Packaging Treatment

Luxury brand decision makers will flock to Monaco in October for a regal array of creative packaging solutions.

Written by Jamie Matusow, Editor

The second most extravagant royal wedding of the year may have reigned over Monaco’s palace square on July 2, but from October 19-21, all fanfare will be focused down the mount, inside the Grimaldi Forum on Avenue Princesse Grace, as the 24th edition of Luxe Pack Monaco once again celebrates the union of premium products with luxury packaging.

Known as “the premier show for creative packaging,” this year’s event promises more pomp than ever, with a sold-out show floor featuring 340 exhibitors, as well as an impressive array of educational sessions scheduled for the full three days. More than 6,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend.

The Crowning Touch

As always, a wide range of products, materials and know-how will be on display from global corporations to indie specialists. While exhibitors will cover a wide range of luxury sectors including perfumery & cosmetics, wines & spirits, fine food, jewelry, watches, tobacco, writing instruments, fashion accessories and pharmacy, the majority will provide the crowning touch for the prestige beauty arena. In general, exhibitors are divided as follows: boxes, cases, containers (34%); caps and closures (15%); raw materials, cardboard, paper, plastic (13%); bottles (11%); and labels (6%). The remainder will be showing a variety of pouches, bags, samples, ribbons, braid, pumps and valves, POS displays, decoration, finishing, plastic tubes and more.

Similar to 2010’s event, about half of this year’s attendees are predicted to cross the border from France, while nearly half will travel from other European countries. Those from outside Europe are estimated to account for about 10%.

Luxe Pack Monaco organizers say they’ve found that six out of 10 exhibitors typically preview launches at the event, making it a vibrant showcase for innovative packaging.

Thus, the show’s “Innovation Forum,” which premiered last year, returns in 2011, with exhibitors taking the stage in the building’s atrium to give short presentations on their latest developments. These sessions will take place throughout the three-day event, in the midst of the “Innovation Forum” displays.

Many of these innovations will also have a sustainable development feature. These eco-designed solutions—and others included in the Luxe Pack in Green Showcase—will be eligible for the second annual Luxe Pack in Green Award, which pays tribute to the best innovative solution presented by exhibitors. To qualify, packaging is required to incorporate one or more sustainable development criteria, in accordance with a charter. The winner will be announced Wednesday, October 19 at 5:30pm.

Also returning once again is another popular Luxe Pack feature—the Trends Observer—in which a select team of experts conducts an extensive analysis of the show floor to uncover key packaging trends that will help brands target future developments.

A Noble Education

From world-renowned experts offering advice on delivering to a Chinese marketplace to the importance of talking the sustainability and innovation talk, Luxe Pack’s full roster of sessions promises a first-rate education on a number of packaging industry topics. Following are a few anticipated highlights:

Wednesday October 19

11:15am-noon: “The Luxury Sector Tax System in China: Steps to Access and Develop on the Chinese Market.” Sandra Hazan, of Salans, gives her take on business models that will maximize the return on investment.

1:30pm-2:15pm: “And the Unconscious Mind Shall Create the Trend…” Ludivine and Delphine Sciarrino, founders of By Lude, an agency specializing in the psycho-anthropology of companies, will attempt to unlock the unconscious mind to reveal the trends of tomorrow.

2:30pm-3:30pm: “Ritual & Narratives Within Luxury Design” by Kacper Hamilton, Luxe Pack’s guest designer, based in London. Hamilton will speak about his work—using design to create objects that have the power to stimulate emotions, tell a story and enhance an experience.

Thursday October 20

10:15am-11:00am: “The Virtues of Non-Linear Thought and Its Value to Brands Through Packaging” by Alex Theodorou and Sav Savva, directors of SabotagePKG.

This session will explore the creative processes to show how they can yield creations beyond our imagination. They will look at past design masters, explore the issues affecting us today and present some examples of “design genius.”

2:30pm-4:00pm: “Innovation, Sustainability, Creativity: Buzzwords or Bywords?” a panel discussion created and moderated by international packaging designer Marc Rosen, with Sumit Bhasin, global leader of innovation, P&G Prestige; Henri Renella, senior vice-president, global package development Estée Lauder and Gus Bezas, president global strategic development, Milbar Labs. Rosen will lead a discussion on the three words that represent enormous possibilities, and which, he says, should be the foundation of our daily mantra. But are they? he asks.

Friday, October 21

1:30pm-2:15pm: “Luxury Goods: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” Fflur Roberts, head of global luxury goods, Euromonitor International, analyzes recent research to provide an outlook for the global luxury goods market and implications for the packaging industry through 2015.

More info: www.luxepack.com