European consumers prefer paper

Shaking up the market

Alupa in Genk (Belgium) sets out to shake up the European paper metallising market and to grab a larger share. “We see possibilities for taking Alupa and the market to a next level”, says managing director Paul Van Emmerick.

19/09/2007 - Paper is the winning formula for start-up water bottler

A battle for a share of the bottled mineral water market is hard-won over many years and any new brand that manages to break through a field of giant competitors has divined a strategy that deserves plaudits.

The northern England spa town of Harrogate is the source and bottling location of "Harrogate Spa Water". After just five years in business, the company Waterbrands is today producing still and sparkling water in more than 30 specifications. Glass bottles and PET bottles both have their place in the assortment, giving consumers a choice based on the drinking “occasion”: will it be used on the move, at the gym, in a club, bar or restaurant or at home? In year 2006 alone, Waterbrands’ sales increased by 30%.

Paper labels
Another key decision for the company back in 2002 was the choice of paper as the label substrate. The business case for paper-based labels was clear: for the start-up mineral water brand, paper had lower cost implications. But that was only half the story, because the marketing case was also strong for paper.

For some water brands it is the bottle that stands out; for Harrogate Spa it is also the label that gets the brand noticed. The strategy was to nudge in to the upper end of the retail, on-trade and catering markets. From the point of view of premium presentation, designing the black and silver labels for high visibility and to be aesthetically engaging was possible thanks to the accommodating printing surface of paper says Waterbrands managing director Paul Martin. “No way on this earth did I feel plastics would deliver. Paper was the right way forward. It’s able to give the intensity of colour immeasurably better than plastics,” he adds.

Design
Designed by The Black Hole agency, the contemporary label “punched up our weight a bit”, says Mr Martin. “The design is genderless, ageless” and the black and silver looks good in a “white-linen environment” of a restaurant. The brand leans on Harrogate town’s heritage for the provenance of its sweet-tasting water: a water-marketing enterprise was begun as early as 1571 when the town-centre wells were discovered and made Harrogate a fashionable place to “take the waters” for the health benefits. It was a combination of paper and special ink that achieved the premium look in all of the marketing environments.

For Mr Martin, the pragmatic reasons for choosing a paper substrate are also persuasive. Compared to plastic paper is an easier media to manage in small runs in a growing business and offers cost efficiency. Paper and litho print process allows the printing of as many as 15 different labels at the same time on one sheet. This gives better stock-holding control and management of 35 stock lines that is set to rise.
Production line efficiency is a major consideration for the company looking for labelling speeds of up to 18,000 per hour which largely depends on the basis weight and density specifications of the paper.

Metallised wet-strength paper
The labels are produced by specialist label printer James Townsend, of Exeter, UK on a Heidelberg Speedmaster press. It was important to select a “mainstream” paper label specification to have maximum flexibility and a consistent substrate and the choice was 78-80 gsm wet-strength wet-glue label paper. For the glass bottles, both still and sparking, a metallised paper is used. In order to tone down the "dazzle" of the paper, a matt emulsion is printed over the surface. Also the PET bottles for sparkling water are labelled with metallised paper labels. The PET still water bottles use a white wet-glue label paper.

As an environmentally minded company, Waterbrands does have its eye on the prize of recycled-content label paper, which could in future do the job equally well; but for the moment recycled paper labels are “challenging in performance”, says Mr. Martin. What must come first for business stability is the successful balancing of production cost and efficiency with function and aesthetics.

In a move towards sustainable production that has benefits all-round a recent switch to light-weighted PET bottles will cut significantly the carbon footprint by an annual reduction in PET material of over 180 tonnes.

A remarkable initiative
A quite different Waterbrands initiative is helping to bring a sustainable water supply to poorer African countries that are without our luxury of a choice of bottled water brands but simply the option of polluted water or no water at all.
A promotional brand, "Thirsty Planet" was launched earlier this year in cooperation with charity Pump Aid. The charity raises money to dig wells and install ‘elephant’ pumps for serving whole communities. Pump Aid, works mainly in Zimbabwe and is expanding into Malawi and Mozambique. The project is supported by singer Corinne Bailey Rae.

A totally new paper based label was designed for "Thirsty Planet" water bottle that is offered in multipacks of 8 x 500ml and 6 x 1.5 litres. For each pack sold, Pump Aid receives a proportion of the price. "Thirsty Planet" water is stocked by several of the UK’s major supermarket chains, among them Asda, Tesco and many others.

The main brand "Harrogate Spa Water" is offered by many prestigious hotels and restaurants across the UK where the distinguished-looking paper labels complement their "white-linen" environment. Among the many and varied outlets for "Harrogate Spa Water", which choose its premium quality presentation for discerning customers, are first-class trains, theatres, and even National Health hospitals.

The combination of a great design, working with a specialised printer and the choice of paper as the substrate has proved to be a winning formula for Waterbrands.