One of the features that separates ‘everyday’ cartons and cases from luxury packaging solutions is the trust between brands and packaging suppliers, says Paul Hamilton, head of Wines & Spirits at Hunter Luxury. In this article, he details how trust and reliability play a key role in the luxury packaging space, especially when it comes to collaboration.
Luxury packaging isn’t simply about crafting the most expensive pack money can buy.
In fact, some of the most important features of a premium packaging solution are the things money can’t buy. That sense of craftsmanship – of soul – is what separates luxury packaging from everyday folding cartons and cases. The most expensive packaging solution in the world could well end up being completely soulless if it’s made without the most important currency of all, at least when it comes to the luxury industry: trust.
Trust is what every great collaboration between a brand and packaging supplier is built on. It’s foundational to every packaging project – without it, it’s impossible to craft a pack that effectively communicates a brand’s identity and engages luxury consumers. It’s what transforms packaging from just another product into an extension of a brand’s unique personality. And, in the high-stakes environment that luxury brands exist in where perfection is expected and non-negotiable, those brands can’t afford a supplier that doesn’t deliver.
In today’s market, trust is something that money can’t buy – but it’s absolutely central to our approach.
Trust is more important than ever
Trust isn’t just central to the luxury packaging design process, it’s vital for consumers, too. It’s more important than ever in the present-day market, which sees the luxury sector facing significant challenges. 2024 saw the market shrink by 2% according to Bain & Company. While this demonstrates more resilience than many other industries, it does put paid to the idea that the luxury sector is genuinely recession-proof.
In fact, there is some evidence to suggest that the reasons for this downturn run deeper than the usual economic cycles. Analysis in Forbes suggests that some household name luxury brands are being hit by a “reputation recession.” Corporate reputation management service RepTrak highlights that consumers feel short-changed by brands that boosted volume production and prices in the aftermath of the pandemic, without any increase in quality to justify it.
As a result, many heritage brands are losing some of their shine relative to non-luxury brands, which means some of that all-important aspirational appeal is lost. Yes, many other drivers of luxury purchases still exist – the ingrained wealth of their target consumers and the investment value of the products, for example – but without that sense of exclusivity, the idea of luxury purchases becomes much less attractive.
It’s up to brands to rebuild that appeal and adapt to this structural market shift. That means they need to choose partners who can keep up with the pace of change. Their choice of packaging is absolutely central to this goal – which brings us back to the central topic of trust.
Reliability is the ultimate luxury
Trust is the catalyst for true collaboration, built on reliability, mutual transparency, and a shared vision of the finished product. And, when challenges do arise – last-minute design changes, material changes, and evolving sustainability goals are all common in this sector – that partner must be able to overcome those challenges using creativity and agility, delivering a solution that is true to the original vision.
The technical details of the finished product are, of course, critical, and a collaborative approach helps to nail these down precisely. The pack’s weight, its shape, its structural design, and the finishing techniques and materials used all communicate some element of the brand’s identity to the consumer.
The final design must also be scalable and perform throughout the supply chain – even luxury brands are feeling the pressure caused by inflation and rising costs. It takes a particular kind of expertise to balance extravagant luxury with the restraints imposed by cost and functionality, all while delivering the specified solution on time and in line with sustainability goals.
One of the main reasons we value trust so highly when working with customers is that it doesn’t just deliver packaging, it delivers peace of mind. Bringing a luxury product to market is a high-wire act where a single failure can have disastrous consequences for a brand’s status. These brands spend decades building trust with consumers, and the “reputation recession” shows how easily that trust can be lost. We understand those high stakes because our process is about more than just being a packaging supplier – we think it’s important to be a partner that’s invested in a brand’s success.
Giving packaging its own terroir
This gives us a deep understanding of the needs of luxury brands. We know that, in this sector, it’s equally important to consider the intangible qualities that add a sense of authenticity to packaging.
Committing to a collaborative relationship is a two-way street, but it’s incumbent on the packaging manufacturer to go the extra mile to get under the skin of the brand. It’s impossible to ‘fake it til you make it’ when developing a packaging solution that expresses the unique appeal and identity of a heritage brand.
Sometimes, this commitment can take us to new and exciting places. As an example, our partnership with the famous whisky distiller Glenglassaugh on its Serpentine Coastal Cask Collection saw our team pay a visit to the distillery in the unique surroundings of Scotland’s northern coast. This kind of personal service enables us to be responsive, which is good for the customer, but it’s also good for us as it gives our team an insight into the origins of the product and the brand itself. That’s the kind of partnership that produces the best results.
In the case of our Glenglassaugh partnership, our journey to one of the most northern parts of the country meant we could breathe in the smell of the sea air, the distinct texture of the sand as it’s whipped up by the coastal wind, and the serpentine stone cliffs that were so central to this whisky’s identity, they inspired its name. In winemaking, the combination of unique environmental factors that gives different wines a distinctive flavour is called terroir, and it’s widely accepted that whisky also possesses its own unique terroir. In cases where a product’s environment is so central to its identity, this also has to be embodied by the packaging.
For the Glenglassaugh case, this was represented in the final product by a curved, wooden design that reflected the crashing North Sea waves and the texture of the weather-worn driftwood that frequently washes up on the shore. But in a way, we think every packaging solution should have its own terroir, informed by the identity of the brand, its history, and its environment. This approach informs the creation of packaging that possesses all the tangible qualities consumers expect from a luxury product, while also having all the intangible qualities to create a memorable experience that goes far beyond unboxing. The results speak for themselves, but they were only achieved through a collaborative process that combined skill, expertise, and passion for packaging.
These are the rewards of investing in trust when working with a packaging partner. Trust is the currency that you can’t spend, but it’s worth more than money can buy. And we take pride in our ability to share it with our brand partners.
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