Since 1834, the Van Genechten Packaging Group (VGP) has been an experienced and reliable packaging partner for confectionery delights and other high-quality products. In this interview, Van Genechten’s CEO Prof. Dr Frank Ohle and CCO Marc Büttgenbach provide details on current challenges and future prospects for cardboard packaging.
sweets processing: Van Genechten Packaging is a successful partner for packaging solutions in regional and international markets not just in the confectionery sector. What is the secret of your success?
Prof. Dr Frank Ohle: Our success is closely linked to long-term customer relationships. In the confectionery industry, in addition to the major brand companies, many of our customers – just like us – are still family-run. They look back on a company history steeped in tradition and embody their own distinct values. At the same time, these customers are particularly innovative and eager to experiment with new concepts. Today more than ever, the recipe for success is to achieve the best possible shelf appeal with unique packaging solutions that attract attention at the point of sale. In this market, it is not only the economic and logistic components, but also the look, feel and appeal of the packaging that is important. This highlights the importance of unique details in packaging solutions as well as high-quality printing and lacquering. As a partner, we implement the entire field of cardboard packaging from a single source – from shelf to second placement.
sp: What new requirements should customers respond to in relation to current trends?
Ohle: Packaging plays a decisive role as a brand ambassador and provides consumers with the impulse to purchase a product at the point of sale. New trends include sustainability aspects, unique details, special lacquers, short-term promotional packaging and new POS solutions. With our expertise in the field of materials, customer-specific packaging and supply chain processes, we can provide valuable input for new ways of thinking about packaging solutions. We support innovative and economically efficient concepts with which confectionery specialties and high-quality chocolate box packaging stand out on the shelf or at the POS.
sp: What new standards for cardboard packaging have you already set in cooperation with your customers?
Ohle: The trend towards more sustainability is a revolutionary topic. Packaging made of cardboard and paper, a raw material that is both sustainable and recyclable, is increasingly in demand. Nevertheless, plastic still takes on a functionality that paper alone cannot offer, such as in the FlatSkin or FlatMap packaging concepts that we helped to develop. Marc Büttgenbach: The development of new confectionery concepts is being driven very successfully by our innovation centre in Riga/Latvia. They are currently creating a range of innovations for sustainable and surprising packaging solutions. The big topic here is the replacement of less sustainable materials with paper-based solutions. An example of this is the development of concepts with paper-based windows in order to actively support the circular economy in addition to boosting a product’s image in the eyes of consumers.
sp: In which other areas are packaging concepts currently being developed?
Büttgenbach: Retail-friendly packaging in the form of a mixture of transport and display packaging has long been more than a trend. New concepts offer optimal protection and other advantages, such as easy handling or quick refilling. We are driving the development of these shelf-ready packaging concepts, and our contribution is underpinned by our greatest strength: creativity in connection with feasibility for innovative and eye-catching solutions.
sp: Can you give examples of creative packaging solutions for which a special development service was requested by customers? You have just been awarded “Carton of the Year 2020”.
Büttgenbach: The “Carton of the Year 2020” award went to our cardboard packaging for Roku Gin, which we developed at our innovation centre in Riga in close cooperation with the marketing specialist Inner-Workings, now part of HH Global Group, for the Japanese customer Beam Suntory. The box is made entirely of cardboard. There is no transparent film covering the viewing window – it is open. The inner workings of the box are also made entirely of paper. In 2020, in addition to this concept, we also successfully developed an award-winning new concept for the Estonian confectionery manufacturer Kalev for the relaunch of the Estonia collection “Eesti”. We won first prize in the confectionery category of the LatviaStar Award for the development of this design. Another successful example of our creativity is the “Christmas Village” – an advent calendar in the form of a village made of cardboard boxes that were illuminated. It was received very positively by retailers and was sold out at an early stage. Such solutions can also be implemented for confectionery manufacturers – adapted to the economic scope.
sp: What other developments do you see in the packaging segment?
Ohle: Customers increasingly want packaging to be individualized, and they are requesting more and more short-term promotions. With the help of digital printing technology, such as the technology we offer, as well as a high level of implementation expertise, such customer requests can be realized quickly and efficiently. The process behind it determines the success – not the machines.
Büttgenbach: In connection with the global pandemic, safety is also an aspect that has continued to gain in importance. We responded by introducing Lock 3, a patented antimicrobial dispersion varnish that kills bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores over the long term (see box).
