Winner – Bruichladdich Distillery (Rémy Cointreau)
Towards the beginning of this year, Bruichladdich, long considered one of the more progressive brands in the scotch whisky category, launched the Luxury Re/Defined line of single malts.
Comprising The Bruichladdich Eighteen, Twenty One and Thirty, the range caught the eye for its ‘jacket’ packaging.
“When it comes to premium single malt scotch whisky, the industry typically leans into the mindset of ‘more’: more weight, more elaborate packaging and in turn, more input and unnecessary waste. Bruichladdich believes that true modern luxury should be conscientious and meaningful.
“The Rémy Cointreau-owned unit turned to UK-based high-end packaging specialist James Cropper for the trio. Instead of an outer box, the bottles are housed in a bespoke outer wrap made from paper pulp. The paper is sourced from wood pulp made using “100% green energy”. As well as being 100% recyclable, the wrap does not use glue and is much lighter than a box.
More impressively, the pack retains – even embellishes – a premium feel.
“Every element of the outer wrap – from the materials used to the specific wight, colour and physical texture – has been carefully considered to not only elevate the luxury experience but also to underpin the brand’s sustainable values.”
Our judges said: “An astounding piece of innovation that could reset the very definition of ‘premium’ in luxury alcohol.”
Special Commendation – Smurfit Westrock Bag-in-Box for Vitop Uno
On most occasions, the introduction of new legislation from authorities does not go down well with industry. Indeed, packaging producers are in the firing line more than ever.
Smurfit Westrock (until recently known as Smurfit Kappa), however, has emerged healthily from recent environmental rule changes in Europe. The group’s Bag-in-Box division reacted to the EU’s Single-Use Plastics directive in July with the Vitop Uno, a tap with an integrated tamper-evident function.
The patented unit “offers the same performance and quality as the Vitop Original tap, which is the world’s leading bag-in-box tap with a leakage rate of just one in 85m”. At the same time, Smurfit’s customers will not need to modify their filling lines to switch to the eco-friendlier option.
“Over the past year, trials in France, Spain and Sweden have shown that the … eco-friendly packaging positively influences consumers’ purchase intentions.
