Beyond The Headlines: Quadpack’s designs ash wood containers for Elate Beauty, L’Occitane collaborates with Aria Mia Loberti

15 Sep 2023 --- This week in industry news, packaging supplier Quadpack revealed new ash wood-based containers for Elate Beauty’s serum and foundation products. Beiersdorf opened the doors to its Beiersdorf Campus corporate headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, while Symrise hosted a watercolor workshop for its trainee perfumers being trained to explore new creative pathways for their fragrance craft.

Business highlights and product launches
Evolva, a company specializing in natural ingredients, adjusted its financing arrangement with partner Nice & Green. Initially, the agreement would allow Evolva to borrow CHF 5.25 million (US$5.86 million). However, due to the company’s effective cash management, it found that less money was needed than originally anticipated. Consequently, Nice & Green proposed a revised disbursement schedule, which Evolva agreed to. In return, Nice & Green permanently waived the condition that Evolva’s stock price must remain above CHF 1.40 million (US$1.56 million). With the CHF 5.25 million secured (US$5.86 million), Evolva’s financing needs are met until at least the end of the year, giving it flexibility for alternative financing options as part of its ongoing strategic review, which includes considering the company’s sale.

Quadpack crafted new ash wood-based packaging for Elate Beauty products (Image credit: Elate Beauty).Packaging supplier Quadpack crafted new packaging for Elate Beauty’s Prep Priming Serum and Refresh Foundation. Both of these items are now refillable and recyclable while featuring caps and components made from responsibly sourced ash wood. The eco-friendly solutions produced at Quadpack’s Wood factory in Spain. The Prep Priming Serum is housed in a 30 ml Skin-Up glass bottle with a wooden collar, paired with a bulb dropper for precise application. Elate’s top-seller, the Refresh liquid foundation, also comes in a 30 ml Skin-Up glass bottle, dispensed through a convenient push-button dropper. The packaging is given its final touches through frosting, color coating and silk screening. Customers can easily clean and reuse the pumps and droppers and purchase separate refills. When these bottles and droppers reach the end of their life cycle, they can be added to household recycling or returned for responsible disposal. Elate also partnered with the non-profit recycling collective Pact, allowing customers to return all their packaging for recycling via mail or at any Elate retail outlets in North America.

APG Europe was named the inaugural online distributor of Sulapac packaging, extending its services to cater to smaller brands and offering additional features like decorations and logistics optimization. The APG Europe Sulapac online store offers a wide-ranging selection, including ready-made jars suitable for both water-based and oil-based cosmetics, among others. Sizes vary from 7 ml to 250 ml, and customers can select from nine colors inspired by Nordic nature. The packaging materials come in different options, with those containing large wood chips exuding a “distinctive, luxurious appearance,” while those with wood flour offer a more “natural and subtle choice.” All Sulapac materials used are bio-based, with some being up to 100%, contributing to a low carbon footprint and designed for recyclability. APG Europe ensures the quality of its products by collaborating with partners like Nissha, Hermann Koch Cosmetic Packaging and Volumatik.

Lush is set to usher in the festive season with its 2023 Christmas range, available in stores and online starting on September 21, with an exclusive early release yesterday at the Lush Oxford Street, UK store. The ethical and sustainable lineup features an array of fragrances, colors and characters that capture the essence of Christmas, from the beloved Snow Fairy to new additions like the enchanting Snow Dragon bath bomb. Also on offer is the Sleepy Bear Bath Bomb, designed for a tranquil lavender and tonka-scented soak, and the Baked Alaska Soap, promising a “zesty grapefrut it wash with a popping candy twist.”

Brand announcements and activities
Beiersdorf inaugurated its new German corporate headquarters, the Beiersdorf Campus, situated in the heart of Hamburg on the recently renamed Beiersdorfstrasse street. CEO Vincent Warnery and labor director Nicola Lafrentz joined forces with Hamburg’s Senator for business and innovation, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, to inaugurate the campus. The event marked the commencement of a two-day internal opening program aimed at celebrating this new working environment alongside the company’s employees. Over September 11 to 12, Beiersdorf’s staff participated in a diverse program featuring keynote speeches by external experts like Keith Ferrazzi, Dr. Julia Shaw and Michael Trautmann, focusing on the concept of New Work. Additionally, they can explore Beiersdorf’s own fair with sessions from over 25 internal teams, culminating in a summer party featuring live music from singer-songwriter Kelvin Jones.

The Symrise Perfumery School held a two-day watercolor workshop for its trainee perfumers, combining art with fragrance creation. Guided by artists in Berlin, the trainees translated their impressions of the forest and city into watercolors and then into fragrances. The fragrance house aims to foster creativity in its young perfumers, given the ever-changing fragrance market. Alongside traditional fragrance training, this year’s curriculum featured art workshops to explore inspiration techniques. The workshop in Berlin immersed trainees in sensory experiences, with the forest and city serving as muses. The resulting watercolors served as the basis for five distinct fragrances, reflecting each trainee’s creative perspective, from space-inspired scents to urban-nature blends.

Beiersdorf opened the doors to its new Hamburg, Germany headquarters, dubbed the Beiersdorf Campus (Image credit: Beiersdorf).CeraVe launched its new Clear It Up Like a Derm campaign, which will educate consumers on preventing and treating one of the most common skin conditions around the globe – acne. With the help of celebrity dermatologists Dr. Muneeb Shah, Dr. Mamina Turegano and Dr. Evan A. Rieder, alongside TikTok influences, including Charli D’Amelio and Zach King, the CeraVe #ClearItUpLikeADerm campaign aims to clear up the acne confusion. By shining a light on acne truths, debunking the myths, exploring the emotional impacts of acne and helping acne sufferers learn how to effectively treat and prevent breakouts, the campaign will offer acne education for consumers globally.

L’Occitane en Provence entered a collaboration with actress, writer, scholar and human rights activist Aria Mia Loberti. Named one of the 2023 TIFF Rising Stars by the Toronto International Film Festival, Loberti stars in Shawn Levy’s upcoming four-part film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. The emerging actress “offers a unique perspective on the world, embracing the sum of her five senses to connect  deeply with her surroundings.” L’Occitane’s shares this in alignment with the brand’s own philosophy and approach, which encourages consumers to explore beauty and wellness through sensorial experiences.

This year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup saw over 1.9 million fans attending matches across the tournament’s 64 matches. The tournament also kick-started Unilever Personal Care brands – including Rexona, Dove, LUX and Lifebuoy – sponsorship of FIFA. The partnership deal will run through to 2027. The events it covers include the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 and FIFA eSports. The partnership also marks the first time that FIFA teamed up with Personal Care brands across women’s, men’s and FIFA esports. Throughout the Women’s World Cup tournament, TikTok, FIFA and Unilever Personal Care brands, including Rexona (aka Degree, Sure and Shield) and Dove shared behind-the-scenes moments, team arrivals and live pre-match content, as well as player and coach reactions.

Charity initiatives
Following the earthquake that struck last Friday, in an area of Marrakesh, Morocco, Beiersdorf initiated a €500,000 (US$533,000) immediate aid donation to the German Red Cross. The NGO is in close communication with its sister society, the Moroccan Red Crescent on the situation on the ground to identify humanitarian needs and coordinate how they can best support to provide urgently needed assistance.

Tanning provider Palm Beach Tan announced a US$105,000 donation to the Maui Relief Fund, benefiting victims of the Hawaiian wildfire. Contributors to the donation included the company’s customers, franchisees and corporate team. Palm Beach Tan held the fundraiser over the US Labor Day weekend, donating half of the profits from every Premier Collection product sold to the Maui Relief Fund.

By Benjamin Ferrer