STI Group: Spirits In Festive Robe

21 Nov 2013 --- Christmas and New Year are the most important seasons for the Spirits industry. Within few weeks, 30 percent of the annual turnover is made, and the share of high-value products reaches up to 50 percent. During this time, many brand manufacturers present new products to the consumers and bring excitement with attractive gift packaging, secondary placements, and on-pack promotions.

“Premium spirits are savoured by the fireside at home or on a chummy get-together with friends at night. Drinking preferences are as manifold as occasions are”, says Manfred Jus, Managing Director Germany and Austria with Beam Deutschland GmbH. The spirits manufacturer, being the market and innovation leader in the whisky category, had STI Group produce an eye-catching variety of gift packaging for the Christmas 2013 season. This packaging underlines the products’ high quality and, at the same time, increases inducement to buy. Finally, a classy spirit under the tree is evidence of the donator’s good taste. This is why attractive gift packaging, especially when combined with free on-packs, is enormously popular with consumers during Christmas season. In addition, displays are indispensable for spirit manufacturers, especially during peak seasons, as they are the only way to obtain enough space for product presentations in retail.

Maker’s Mark is the only handmade bourbon whisky, and its distinctiveness is mirrored in the bottle. Every single one of them is hand-sealed with wax dripping down the bottleneck. This illustrates why it was so important to make this attribute of quality perceptible and visible in the gift packaging.Using a special soft-touch finish, the packaging itself as well received wax-like haptics. This high-class packaging comprises a tumbler as on-pack.

The mild and optimally balanced note of genuine honey combined with vanilla and oaks aromas typical for bourbon provides an exceptional sensation of taste and is one of the reasons why Jim Beam Honey has won numerous new friends of bourbon within shortest time. The characteristic shape of a honeycomb has inspired the design of this packaging. Its structure is made visible and perceptible by matt, UV spot and effect finishing. Futhermore, logo and comb structure are provided with relief embossing. The comb’s shape is also taken up in the window cutting. Jim Beam Honey. With genuine honey.

Whisky connoisseurs know what „angel’s share“ is: the liquid evaporating in the casks during maturation. “Devil’s cut”, in contrast, is what Jim Beam calls the amount of whisky staying back in the oak wood after maturation and emptying the casks. By means of a patented process, the manufacturer managed for the first time to extract this “devil’s cut” from the casks. Coalesced with at least six year old Jim Beam an intensive, strong bourbon is formed providing a nonpareil taste experience: Jim Beam Devil’s Cut. The „devilish“ note of the flamed oak casks is visible at first glance on the gift packaging with a profile attached on the package’s cover making the glass shine in fire. The oak casks’ structure becomes perceptible through a structure finish while, in addition, relief stamping of the Jim Beam logo emphasises quality rating.