Nine years ago, Markus Niederfriniger and Julia Schliefsteiner launched their brand, Looops, on the Austrian market. Starting on a small budget, the two founders began filling natural fragrances into glass jars in their own garage to create scented candles. Today the brand of handmade products has more than 400 business partners, including prestigious names such as German retailer Manufactum, the prestigious Nature Hotel Forsthofgut, the Monocle Shop in Merano, and the popular Viennese organic store Staudigl.
The challenge — Finding the perfect package to fit the new brand image
The business started small but has since grown into new heights. As production volumes grew, the founders could no longer sustain making the glass containers out of recycled wine bottles themselves. As new types of containers were needed for the candles, rebranding the whole product line became relevant.
As the outer packaging is the first thing the consumer sees, it too had to communicate the quality of the product and its brand values: pure, reduced and authentic – just like the fragrances used in the candles themselves.
“We wanted the new brand design to be more than just a visual impression. We wanted it to reflect Looops’ journey, the experiences we have gained over the years and how they have improved the quality of our products. The packaging as a whole — from the material, to the visuals and the tactile feel — had to illustrate this as well,” explains one of the co-founders Julia Schliefsteiner.
The cooperation — Trade fair encounter leads to partnership
The founders first discovered Metsä’s paperboards at the Fachpack trade fair in Nuremberg. What they found especially appealing, was the qualities and sustainable origins of Metsä’s products as well as the relationship the company has to nature and forest owners.
Like us, Metsä Board and its products have a great connection to nature. That was a strong foundation for our partnership.
Markus Niederfriniger, CEO of Looops
“The pure fresh fibres Metsä uses for their boards are a renewable material that can be traced back to their origins in sustainably managed Northern forests. That’s why they were the logical choice for us,” Niederfriniger continues.
Both parties quickly found common ground. “I personally knew the brand and had used their candles before. When discussing with the founders of Looops at Fachpack, we quickly realized that sustainability is highly important to both companies and could look at the material options right then and there. It was an easy way to start the cooperation,” Bettina Tschoner-Fuchs, Metsä Board’s Marketing Communication Manager recalls.
The solution — Rigid and natural paperboard with a luxury feel
The Looops candles were previously packaged in an unbleached kraftboard with an inlay of corrugated board, to emphasise the handcrafted nature of the products. After the rebranding, the company wanted to upgrade the packaging to reflect the product quality, without losing the naturalistic feel.
The packaging was given a minimalistic design and Metsä’s lightweight, uncoated folding boxboard (MetsäBoard Natural FBB) was chosen as the material.
“The uncoated board gives the packaging an excellent silky feel, and its brightness makes our design stands out in the best possible way. Its lightness, combined with the high strength, brings additional benefits in terms of ease of production and savings in transportation. It’s simply a great product and the perfect fit for us and our brand,” Markus Niederfriniger sums up.
