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Emotional intelligence
- Carton Converter: Smurfit Kappa Van Mierlo
- Brand Owner: Distillerie de Biercée
- Structural Designer: Peter Vervecken, Smurfit Kappa Van Mierlo
- Graphic Designer: Pat Lefebvre, Coconuts
- Cartonboard Manufacturer: Mead Westvaco GmbH
- European Carton Excellence Awards 2013
Biercée is a Walloon distillery well known for its fruit distillates. The two owners, Christophe and Pierre, combined their different personalities to create an exceptional product which perfectly reflects this polarisation: modern and traditional, angelic and demonic, fresh and conservative.
This was quite a complicated task for packaging and so surprising to reach a simple solution. The soft tactile surface – an idea proposed by Smurfit Kappa Van Mierlo – conveys a feeling of gentleness and creates immediate empathy between product and customer. The graphic designer added a highly attractive design with black and white diamonds– as homage to the classic harlequin dress. UV varnish applied at different points, highlights the contrast between soft and hard. Inside, the packaging is coated with anti-slip varnish.
This carton enabled Biercée to enter new markets: high-end gastronomy and export markets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Jury Comments
A deceptively simple pack that clearly demonstrated that even in a highly competitive market, simplicity can be very effective. In a striking black and white design, the glued sleeve fitted over a plain bottle and was immediately attractive and enhanced the look of the product. In addition the cartonboard had been printed on the reverse so that information could be read “through the bottle”. Attraction at the point of sale is very important in the beverage sector and this design would look different on shelf and so would, the Judges felt, attract attention, as it was so different from most other beverage cartons.