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OPTIMA S.P.A.

with a single member. Company subject to management and
coordination of  CCP LUX SCSp-RAIF-CCP Lux Cone.
Via Gaggio N°72 - 47832 San Clemente - Rimini, Italy
VAT number: 01622060406


Via gaggio n°72 47832 San Clemente Rimini, Italy

VAT number: 01622060406
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THE PACKAGING FROM A SIMPLE ‘DRESS’ FOR THE PRODUCT IS INCREASINGLY BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE VEHICLE OF COMMUNICATION

The packaging from a simple ‘dress’ for the product is increasingly becoming an effective vehicle of communication, also in terms of sustainability, thanks to the research and development of alternative materials capable of maintaining the organoleptic properties of the product, or to favour a functional improvement.

Casa Optima has set itself an ambitious goal: to introduce only recyclable or reusable packaging! How? Let’s find out by talking to Lara Marzia Stilla, Packaging Development Engineer R&D Department - BU ice cream.

 

1)      The role of the packaging is very important for the preservation of the product: how has it evolved over the years and what are your targets for the future?

Packaging was created with the purpose of protecting, storing, transporting, and shipping the products it contains. However today it increasingly represents an effective vehicle for communication, it becomes the ‘dress’ for the product, that must attract attention, break the mould, stand out amongst the rest. It’s the first interface with the customer, who identifies the product with the packaging, it’s an effective expression of Brand Identity. We also witness the evolution of packaging both in terms of functionality and sustainability through research and development of alternative materials capable of maintaining the organoleptic properties of the product or even favouring functional improvement, an objective that can only be achieved with an in-depth study of the complex interactions between materials and products, often not generalizable and which requires mutual sharing between academic skills and corporate know-how.  

 

2)      When it comes to packaging, it’s inevitable not to talk about sustainability: how much does this aspect affect the design of the new packaging for the Casa Optima products?

The Green Deal, launched in 2019 by the European commission, puts before us the ambitious goal of ensuring that all packaging in the European territory within 2030 is recyclable or reusable. As players in the supply chain, we have the duty to create strategies of development and redesign of the packaging we use for our products in a sustainable way. For more than two years we have activated projects aimed at the optimization of recycling that involves all classes of our packaging, without diverting the attention from their primary function of preservation and the protection of our products. The challenge that we face is certainly a difficult one, more so, considering this historical period, in which the effects of the pandemic have influenced the trend of the offer on the market of the most important materials used for packaging. It’s also fundamental to be able to demonstrate with standardized methodologies the environmental impact indices of the packages used, with the aim of promoting transparent communication to the consumer and discouraging the now widespread phenomena of Greenwashing.

 

3)      Packaging is also communication. How important is it to have clear and attractive labels?

The label represents the major instrument of communication with the customer; as well as containing the mandatory information concerning the product, such as ingredients, allergens, nutritional information, minimal terms of preservation or expiry date, it can become an active means of product identification: for example, the bottles of the line Squeeze by Mec3 In Cups have a label designed to adhere perfectly to the packaging and which gives the user an almost tangible image of the fruit designed on the neck of the bottle, ideally, it  is served to the customer through the faithful reproduction of an iced cocktail glass placed on the bottom. No less important is the information related to the correct disposal of the materials: for approximately a year we have been standardizing the information on our packaging which constitutes the environmental labelling of the product, a useful tool to clearly inform the user about the materials that make up the packaging and about their correct post-consumer destination, with the aim of ensuring a virtuous end of life, to encourage recycling, in support of the desired circular economy.

 

4)      During these years you have projected lots of packaging, could you tell us which you are most proud of?

Without doubt the pack system created for the entire line Mec3 In Cups, articulated in the products of the Lines GranFrutta®, Cookies® Family & Quella® Family, Squeeze and Syr-up, the result of an important collaboration with Marketing and users, with the aim of designing a packaging that effectively meets the needs of the art of bartending. The year 2021 has been the year of restyling for the packaging of Pernigotti Maestri Gelatieri Italiani; not just new packaging, but also the launch of a new image that, in my opinion reaches its maximum expression with the tin for the Gianduiotto cream, as a tribute to the famous chocolate that’s now artisanal gelato. Finally, I can say that 2022 will be a year of great surprises for the brand Giuso: lots of ingredients like pieces of a puzzle to obtain an overall functional, communicative sustainable as well as an attractive result.

 

5)      Design, choice of the right materials, functionality, communication: to obtain perfect packaging a perfect combination of all these activities is required. Who are the members of the team that support you in the arduous job?

I’m convinced that the achievement of ambitious goals inevitably involves mutual collaboration between people with different ideas and points of view, and that’s exactly how we like to describe ourselves. The team includes Manila Candiracci, who with me deals with the development procedures of the packaging of new products, with particular attention to the themes of Food Contact materials; Jessica Renzi and Valeria Bianchi create all the labels, with extreme attention with the aim of satisfying all the regulatory and communication requirements, and Elena Lombardi who supports us with the translations of up to 12 languages of all the texts on our packaging.  In short, I believe that our teamwork is based on extreme trust between parties, mutual empathy, and our ability to inspire each other.