Sweet fashionistas

27 April 2011



Breaking the mould turns confectionery brands into fashion leaders in their sector, and success comes out of finding inspiration from surprising sources, Joanne Hunter discovers.


A jewel on the landscape in the retail confectionery sector is Hotel Chocolat. The UK chain of specialist chocolate outlets has mushroomed in London and the provinces with an inspired collection of delicious pack designs to complement a sumptuous variety of chocolatey forms and flavours. Goody bags, tote bags, stand-up paper pouches, windowed boxes, fruit tubs, glass jars and more, find their own niche in a retail environment where almost no pack format is barred.

“The confectionery market at its luxury end is indeed taking inspiration from different sectors as the aim of the packaging is to be as creative as possible but also to keep the goods in perfect condition,” Marie Marion, Sales Manager at Cosfibel tells Packaging Today.

Purloined from the jewellery department have been packaging gems for a collection of boxes by Cosfibel for Galler Belgian chocolates, and a box produced for Jean-Paul Hévin coffret palets fourrés.

The beauty counter is the place to peruse products designed to make the consumer feel lavished with attention. “The most striking example is the development of the Jean-Paul Hévin chocolate tube. The idea was born from an aluminum tube sample for a cosmetic beauty cream,” says Ms Marion.

The ‘gourmet innovation’ of a tube for Jean-Paul Hévin, the French chocolate maker, was developed by Shopluxe, Cosfibel’s subsidiary dedicated to retail, to be ‘handy and simple’, the standard packaging is made of an aluminium tube with a drum barrel closure featuring a membrane seal opener. Printed in direct tone, the decoration called for highly precise craftsmanship in order to adjust the four shades one by one to obtain nuances, creating an effect of volume and the perspective of a fountain.

Chocolate boxes are also born according to trends in ‘haute-couture’. “For example, our boxes for coloured macaroons (fancy confections) were inspired by fashion brands. Material that is typically used for fashionable shopping bags was used in the Ladurée collection of boxes, in a co-branding project with Krug, the Champagne maker, who designed the boxes.”

In addition, continues Ms Marion: “We have developed ‘isothermal’ bags for keeping the product inside at a cool temperature that can be re-used by the customer as an everyday bag.”

The example of round boxes is also revealing of how outside trends influence the confectionery sector. Round boxes are often used for sweets and confectionery goods.

“For every development I rely on our creative department, which analyses the trends in materials and colour for the coming year, at least one year in advance. We share those trends with customers who are really looking forward to being informed in advance of the new developments,” concludes Ms Marion.

Stalwart brands are turning to fledging young design minds as a way to source fresh concepts from today’s ‘can do’ generation. Nestlé asked product design students to come up with packaging ideas for its chocolate bars.

Nottingham Trent University students spent six weeks looking at 160g and 170g bars, to a brief from Nestle’s packaging team. By looking at different approaches to opening the primary chocolate wrapper, student Jack Fisher earned himself a two-week work placement with Nestlé.

Manufacturers need productivity-enhancing lines that can produce high quality products and unique pack styles.

Bosch Packaging Technology is promoting a new packaging style for horizontally packaged products and developments for the production of airtight and hermetically sealed packages. BrightSide is designed to be easy to open and reclose. Enabling manufacturers to add a lap seal anywhere on a package, the new Bosch technology is targeting chocolate tablets, bars and wafers.

Theegarten–Pactec specialises in machines for packaging small pieced confectionery items. Solutions target different product sectors and performance categories with an array of wrapping styles. Speed of performance is interesting to all manufacturers, and 1,000 operating cycles/min for jellies in double twist wrap sounds like a potential record breaker. Responsible for achieving this is the company’s model MCH.

VIEWPOINT: Inspire sweet shelf appeal

Research suggests that cash-strapped consumers now strictly adhere to their carefully constructed shopping lists as they go about their weekly shop. Despite this, some consumers do seem to budget for the occasional luxury treat, meaning chocolate and confectionery are still very much in demand, writes Barry Marron, MD of Cats-Haensel, a producer of waxed and coated papers.

The market remains highly competitive and consumers maintain a strong sense of loyalty to their tried and tested brands. Therefore, it is the packaging supplier’s duty to present options to confectionery manufacturers to ensure that their product has maximum shelf appeal that will grab the attention of discerning shoppers. Although this is largely down to aesthetics, the practicalities and special applications of the packaging of product must not be overlooked.

There is an increasing requirement among confectionery manufacturers for more efficiency during the high speed packing process. This is an area that Cats-Haensel has been researching and developing extensively over the past year. Simplification and faster processes appeal to manufacturers and consumers alike – for manufacturers it enables them to launch their product to market more quickly and for consumers it delivers convenience.

Twist-wraps are a particular area of expertise for Cats-Haensel. To diversify its range and to satisfy the desire for faster, more streamlined processes from some customers, The company developed its SAMF material. SAMF provides a single-layer twist-wrap solution for individual sweets and confectionery. Not only is it easier to remove for the end-user, but it also facilitates efficiency in the production process and provides improved twist characteristics. Chocolates Turin Mexico is using SAMF for its luxury liqueur chocolates range, which includes sweet liqueurs such as Baileys, Malibu and Kahlua. This has replaced the traditional method of supplying a dual-layer aluminium inner strip with an outer PVC wrap.

The trend for more environmentally friendly packaging solutions stimulates more considerations for packaging suppliers. An exciting new range of biodegradable twist-wraps called Ecowax is the latest addition to Cats-Haensel’s range of products. Ecowax is a vegetable-based packaging material that breaks down in the environment at a rate comparable to fallen leaves from a tree. By combining Ecowax with biodegradable and PVC-replacement films, confectionery manufacturers can demonstrate their environmental responsibility by using specialist techniques and biodegradable applications.

Consumers’ loyalty to their favourite brands and their demands when it comes to trying a new product means that high quality materials and rich prints and graphics are of the utmost importance to ensure a product stands out and has lasting shelf appeal. Investing in the latest state-of-the-art technology is vital to thrive in this industry. Innovation, flexibility and capability are three of the major ingredients of achieving success in the confectionery packaging market, and underpin the creation of lasting positive customer relationships.


Enticing packaging heightens demand for Lindt’s golden bunny. Lindt Cats-Haensel’s ‘easy release’ twist wrappers for Krema, re-designed by Cadbury France, are printed in six colours for wide appeal. Cats-Haensel Tube by Cosfibel subsidiary Shopluxe for Jean-Paul Hévin. Cosfibel What to look out for at Interpack - 1 A ‘crystal clear’ container with separate lid made in APET by ANL Plastics, the DP range is designed for solo ‘grazing’ and for sharing (Hall 9, Stand D06). ANL What to look out for at Interpack - 2 For stacks of crisps, a paperboard pack by Weidenhammer attracts without frills and opens with a ‘pop’ (Hall 9, Stand C34/D31). Weidenhammer What to look out for at Interpack - 3 Sapal Starpac 600 HL from Bosch for single-wrap die-fold packages with hermetic seals (Hall 6, Stand B09/C58). Sapal Starpac What to look out for at Interpack - 4 Schubert’s high-speed Transmodule machine ‘retools fully automatically’ (Hall 14, Stand A06/B11). Schubert

ANL ANL
Schubert Schubert
Cats-Haensel Cats-Haensel
Sapal Starpac Sapal Starpac
Weidenhammer Weidenhammer
Cosfibel Cosfibel
Lindt Lindt


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