Eco-Friendly paper for a high-quality watch: sustainable premium packaging par excellence

July 18, 2022

Watch manufacturer Mühle-Glashütte opts for sustainable packaging

How can we provide the customer with a unique unboxing experience? Making the packaging eye-catching is a good way to do this. This can be achieved with a picture or pattern, through the design, or by refining individual elements. A collaborative project between Koehler Paper, Mühle-Glashütte, Langebartels & Jürgens, and four creative agencies is demonstrating that there are no limits to creativity when it comes to design. Not all that long ago, the term “luxury packaging” was the exact opposite of “sustainable packaging”; this project is a prime example of how the two can go hand in hand without any major problems. It is the use of high-quality recycling paper that sets this luxury eco-friendly packaging apart.

The Challenge of Sustainable Luxury

The task of redesigning the packaging for a luxury watch brand is anything but easy. Sustainability and recyclability are the main requirements for the packaging that Koehler is developing with its project partners. The four creative agencies involved in the project—Forteam Kommunikations GmbH, Scholz&Friends, Lehanka Kommunikationsagentur GmbH, and AudioLogo GmbH—are redesigning the packaging for the luxury watch brand. In doing so, they are helping to create a unique unboxing experience for the customer. The project partners view this idea as “sustainable premium packaging par excellence”.

left to right: Thilo Mühle, CEO of Mühle-Glashütte and Udo Hollbach, CEO of Koehler Paper's Greiz site with the mock-ups of the luxury eco-friendly packaging, made from 100% recycled paper, at the PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION.

Trade Fair Provides the Perfect Platform

The fifth PRINT & DIGITAL CONVENTION trade fair was held in Düsseldorf on June 22–23, 2022. The organizers, the German Industry Association for Media Production (f:mp) and Messe Düsseldorf, welcomed 1200 visitors to the Congress Center Düsseldorf. The event included “theme worlds” plus talks and discussions presenting the latest trends, innovations, and established products from the industry, and provided some much-needed inspiration. The trade show’s unique concept was ideal for presenting the high-quality yet sustainable mock-ups of the luxury packaging. Every agency at the convention had the opportunity to present the mock-ups—which had been produced specially for the trade fair by Langebartels + Jürgens—to interested attendees. The communicative and convivial atmosphere provided the ideal setting for networking. The project partners gave a very positive summary of the event.

“Our presence at the trade fair was a complete success for us. We were able to hold lots of interesting conversations and demonstrate the concepts behind our new eco-friendly watch packaging to interested visitors” says Thilo Mühle, CEO of Mühle-Glashütte. Udo Hollbach joined Thilo Mühle and Martin Lemcke, CEO of Langebartels & Jürgens, to discuss the collaborative project in a joint presentation. “Sustainability plays a particularly important role in the luxury packaging sector, and this is something that we are trying to address in Greiz with our innovations,” adds Udo Hollbach. One week after the official launch of the luxury ecofriendly packaging, the case including a newly developed Mühle wristwatch will be exhibited at the FACHPACK trade fair in Nuremberg this fall at Koehler Paper's booth.

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