Editors’ Choice Award Winner: Sample Packaging
Deluxe Sample Collection
by Ineke Fragrance
Ineke Rühland is the perfumer and founder of the niche fragrance brand Ineke. She has succeeded in elevating the image of a typical sample package to new heights. The Deluxe Sample Collection by Ineke Fragrances consists of four spray vials packaged together as an elegant boxed set. “The common spray vial is definitely being taken to another level by presenting it in this way,” says awards panelist George Kress, vice president of corporate package innovations for The Estée Lauder Companies.
“Fragrance is a product that needs to be sampled,” says Rühland. She came up with this creative solution when she realized that selling fragrances through her Web site might be challenging, because providing customers with tester units is not an option. (Approximately 15 to 20% of the brand’s total sales are generated from its Web site.)
The Deluxe Sample Collection is sold on the company’s Web site, but making a profit was never the intent. The $12 purchase price is redeemable toward a future purchase. “My goal in creating this kit was to generate sales for full-sized bottles,” Rühland says. She is thrilled with the results—approximately one in five customers who buy the set end up buying a full-sized fragrance.
The vials are filled with four different fragrances: women’s fragrances After My Own Heart, Balmy Days & Sundays, and Chemical Bonding; and Derring-Do, the men’s scent. Each spray vial is wrapped in tissue paper, which is supplied in custom sheets by Vivant, and placed in a long, narrow box. The box features a sliding tray that fits each vial perfectly.
The box is actually a matchbox—minus the strike plate. “I was sitting in a restaurant one night and noticed that the matchbox looked like it would be the perfect size to fit the vial. I loved it so much that I even asked the restaurant owner the name of the match supplier,” says Rühland.
The boxes are manufactured in Japan by Applied Graphics, a supplier that normally serves the hospitality industry. “We call this box our lipstick tube,” says Steve Ball, manager at Applied Graphics. “It’s always interesting to see what other uses there are for a matchbox, and this was a perfect fit.” The colorful graphics on both the outer boxes and inner trays were designed by Helena Seo.
The four matchboxes are bundled together with a vellum band. “It’s a nice presentation and seems to have a Japanese influence,” says Kress. Panelists Hana Zalzal, president of Cargo Cosmetics, and Dennis Furniss, vice president of strategic branding and design for Kaleidoscope, both agree.
Zalzal notices how tightly the vials are rolled in tissue paper, and how neatly the boxes fit side by side. “They remind me of sushi,” she says. Furniss adds, “This does represent the strong Asian influence happening in design right now.”
The boxes are placed inside a faux-suede pouch along with four blotting cards and a product brochure. The pouch has a self-adhesive fabric label supplied by Paxar with the Ineke brand logo on it. Rexam Dispensing Systems supplies the spray pumps. Le Papillon supplies the glass vials, which are silk-screened with the fragrance name. The company also coordinates filling and placing of each vial inside the matchboxes with tissue paper. Contract manufacturer FMI places everything inside the pouches and handles fulfillment and shipping.
Rühland feels her detail-oriented approach to packaging is important. “People do notice all the little details. If you try to create something truly beautiful, people will respond and remember your product,” she says. So far, Rühland’s strategy appears to be working well.