This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Partner content
Design expert: Reis Packaging Europe
The CEO of Reis Packaging Europe, Roberto Del Bon, discusses the industry evolution he has witnessed over an illustrious 40-year career.
What are the necessities and demands of the modern packaging world? Is it luxury? Sustainability? Value for money? Tech-savvy designs? With more than four decades of experience in spirits packaging, there is arguably nobody as well-equipped to advise on the latest packaging needs and wants than Roberto Del Bon, CEO of Reis Packaging Europe.
Since 1983, Del Bon has been immersed in the packaging industry, and spearheaded the growth of Bruni Glass for 36 years. Today, he channels his decades of experience into Reis Packaging Europe, a leader of quality, cutting-edge designs.
“When I started, the spirits packaging market was completely different,” Del Bon recalls. “During these past 40 years, we have been seeing a big evolution of the market, from customer exposure to the digital market to the fast-changing environment around us. Trends move much more quickly now. Before, it was not possible to promote your product without being present at some exhibition or fair. That has evolved as digital has grown very strong in the market, and created the need to always update quickly and follow market trends.”
Del Bon speaks highly about the creativity of his team. However, he is modest about his own ingenuity. His strength, he says, is being able to visualise the bigger picture, and his ability to bring the innovative ideas from both colleagues and clients, and turn them into a beautiful reality. This stems back to his time at Bruni Glass, before the company was sold to Berlin Packaging in 2019, when the Bruni Glass Design Award would challenge hundreds of students at industrial design universities around the world to design packaging for various markets.
“With this project, we involved many design students from many countries including the UK, Italy, France and Germany, and these students were bringing incredible ideas without any limitations,” Del Bon explains. “We saw how they would view this product on the shelf, and help them to develop new, fresh concepts. I helped to develop the awards for 17 years from my side. This really allowed me to use my skills to combine the needs of customers, suggestions from different packaging designers, and put them together to create new trends.”
With Reis Packaging Europe, Del Bon has enjoyed bringing new ideas and concepts to the industry. One of the biggest changes he has witnessed during his career, he notes, is how sophisticated spirits packaging has become.
“The technology of decoration has improved so much,” Del Bon says. “Also, the opportunity to add value to the packaging with special closures has been a big development. Special closures and decoration were not really part of packaging design in the past, when packaging was much more simple and more focused on essential elements. Recently, of course, this needs to be more sophisticated and is opening up the industry to new concepts, new ideas.”
Market momentum
The want and need for fresh formats was reiterated at the recent Bar Convent Berlin (BCB) trade show. Reis Packaging Europe attended for a second time, and “got very nice recognition from the customers and we received some very good feedback”. Del Bon adds: “We know that market momentum is not, let’s say, the best for the spirits industry at the moment, but the desire of customers and brands to invest in new ideas and to be ready once the market recovers from this recession is very strong. It is very positive.”
Sustainability, of course, is also a key consideration for packaging designs – and something Del Bon and his team are experts at handling. Requests for sustainable designs differ from one customer to the next, but he shares some examples of frequent requests he has received: “In one sense, customers might want to use as much recycled glass as possible. But also, the request might be to lightweight some bottles in order to, let’s say, have a nice design, but at the same time to reduce the weight of the bottle,” therefore reducing its environmental impact during shipping. “Customers who go in this direction are always trying to get the best feeling for high-end packaging. On one side, they’re looking for sustainability, but on the other side, sustainability doesn’t give them the packaging they need. That is where we can help and advise on the next steps to take.”
It’s an important topic of conversation, the balancing act between sustainability and luxury expectations. For Del Bon, a luxury spirit should leave the consumer feeling like they are drinking something seriously special, but that they are also holding something that has been “specifically designed and created to please your eyes”. “Again, we first buy with our eyes, and then we taste the product,” he adds, highlighting the importance of the visual impact.
For new-to-market spirits brands, Del Bon has some sage words of advice when it comes to designing the packaging. “Try to understand your target consumer, your target market, and work backwards,” he explains. “Work backwards to understand who are the target customers, and how can you achieve packaging that meets their needs, that fits your necessary requirements, which could be a luxury feel, or mass appeal, or a particular price point. Then you can decide if you want to go more towards recycled glass or a heavier bottle, or a thick bottom, or refillable bottles – try to impose the best choice based on the customer and the market.”
Fresh starts
For established brands looking for a revamp, Del Bon believes they should not be afraid to start with a “blank piece of paper”. “These brands will likely want to keep some kind of connection and continuity between the old packaging and the new design, but I’d say start from the possibility of a complete redesign without any fear of new concepts.” This, he believes, will allow brands to see what truly works for their current aesthetic and what enhancements need to be made.
What is evident, is there is a tonne of creativity coming from Reis Packaging Europe. The company is expanding, too.
A new branch for Reis Packaging recently opened in Italy, and Del Bon says the company is in the final stages of securing a new partnership in France for early 2025 – and it will also open distribution in California in the US. Of course, the company’s home market of Germany will remain an important focal point in the coming year, as will Del Bon’s homeland of Italy.
“What I love most is seeing our work become real-life products on shelves,” Del Bon says. “When we see those results, that is something that makes me very happy and very proud of our team. It’s more than the revenue; it’s about getting results to support our customers, and bringing their ideas to life. We had a very good year last year; I am very optimistic about the future.”
Related news
The Design & Packaging Masters 2024 results