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LEAP Organics was founded upon sustainable business practices and strives to be as “natural” as its products. The company uses renewable energy to power its production (or at least offset its usage), recycled packaging that is in turn recyclable, and zero-waste principles to guide its business decisions.
Luke Penney, founder and CEO of LEAP Organics, focuses on creating the purest, most effective products and minimizing the company’s environmental impact. “We only use ingredients you’d find in nature and avoid nasty things like parabens, synthetics, sulfates, and other chemicals that are both bad for your skin and for the environment,” Penney explains.
All-natural inside and out
LEAP distinguishes itself not only by using the purest organic ingredients, but also by creating captivating packaging. “We wanted to take an ordinary piece of packaging like a rectangular soapbox and turn it into both a work of art and an environmental statement,” says Penney. The bar soap packaging is 100% recyclable and manufactured using 100% wind energy. It is made with 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) material and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), ensuring the paper comes from sustainable forests. Penney even found a mold inhibitor coating that was all-natural.
Penney turned to the Moxie Sozo design firm in Boulder, CO, for branding and package design that was both natural-looking and eye-catching. Charles Bloom, art director at Moxie Sozo, knew that with no advertising budget to support it, the package had to sell the product in many ways. The goal was to be novel but not ridiculous, and to make sure the company mission was conveyed first. “The main thing was to get noticed,” says Bloom, “but we wanted to strike a balance.”
Bloom feels that the culture around Boulder, CO, has helped the Moxie Sozo firm gain a thorough understanding of “healthy” and how variations in those messages work. He hoped to translate an all-natural message through an artisan-like presentation. “We like to talk to the natural ingredients,” Bloom explains, adding that Penney wanted an accessible friendliness to the packaging as well.
Breaking with the boring
LEAP’s Penney saw a great deal of sameness in the personal care category, and wanted to achieve something “opposite.” He found a design firm that shared the same sustainability values in Moxie Sozo, who suggested the idea of having unique animals represent the varieties of the soap. Penney and Moxie Sozo both agreed to include a lot of copy to express all the values of the brand.
“We need to have the shopper reach out and grab the packages, and turn it around, to look at the other side,” Penney stresses. He appreciated the creativity and artistic abilities of the Moxie Sozo designers, and avoided putting “handcuffs” on them. The package design survived many iterations to achieve the hand-painted first impression it has now.
The word LEAP signifies taking the next step, or next leap, in sustainable and organic products. The Certified Organic bar soaps contain one of the highest amounts of fair-trade Shea butter on the market. Curtis Packaging in Sandy Hook, CT, printed the boxes on 50% PCR Tullis Russell trucard stock that produced bright whites and vibrant colors.
Retailers like Whole Foods seem eager to expand distribution, expressing their frustration with the lackluster design in the category. Bloom explains that as Celestial Seasoning was the first to introduce a “lush” style of packaging for its category, so may LEAP start a trend in the soap category. “We are possibly ushering in a new era of personal care design,” says Bloom.
LEAP Philosophies
LEAP has developed may mission statements that it calls “Philosophies,” such as a People Philosophy and a Philanthropy Philosophy. The LEAP Packaging Philosophy is: If there were bad “p” words, “packaging” would be one of them. But since we need to use it, we must use the most sustainable packaging available to us—while using the least amount possible—which allows us to safely and effectively deliver our products. Our goal is to use 100% recycled, recyclable, and/or renewable materials that have the lowest carbon footprint and the best sustainable waste option for the end-consumer. Bottom line: lower the impact of the “p” word.
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