Renowned German Craftsmanship Provides Steady Progress Through Technology

By Christian Rommel

The Bitburger PET beer bottle weighs only 40 grams (1.4 ounces) empty, and uses the "Ever Lock" screw cap.

"Made in Germany" is an international synonym for quality, reliability, and longevity. Prussian virtues such as discipline, diligence, and order are valued throughout the entire world. The products born out of these values are often displays of fine craftsmanship. Only think of brand names and products such as Mercedes, BMW and Porsche cars, Miele washing machines, Adidas sports shoes, or Bosch tools.

The same positive attributions of German engineering also translate into the packaging industry. German packaging trends reflect the country's reputation of efficient use of creativity, innovation, and expediency to realize. As a cultural historian thinking of Germany, a number of packaging classics come to mind - the uniquely shaped bottles for Maggi soup seasoning or Odol mouthwash; the black and yellow cartons for Uhu all-purpose glue or the green and white packages for Aspirin headache relief by Bayer; the stylish design for Klosterfrau Melissengeist medicine or 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser cologne; the blue and white appearance of Tempo tissue handkerchiefs or Nivea skin-cream. With all these brand name products, it was only through the visually catchy, uniquely identifiable, and perfectly styled wrapping that the products themselves could gain global popularity and success.

As can be seen from a small example, German packaging technology, too, can boast a number of highlights that have set global standards. The Ritter Sport chocolate bar is sold in a distinctively quadratic shape and surprises the customer with a patented breaking mechanism that opens the package - an innovative and convenient way to get to the sweets. Additionally, in 1991, the packaging material was changed to purified and easily recyclable polypropylene, which distinguished the packaging of Ritter Sport enormously from the traditional combination of paper and aluminium customary in the trade.

In the medium term, the ecological awareness of the Swabian company directors even had positive financial effects. The weight reduction of the packaging from 4.5 grams to currently 1.4 grams per chocolate bar results in reduced costs in the purchase of raw materials, logistics, and in the fees for recycling that are charged via the so-called "Grüner Punkt" (green dot) system. The bottom line: a high quality end result both in form and function as well as in packaging technology. Continuing to today, globally operating companies such as Henkel, Melitta, Dr. Oetker, and Beiersdorf have to think how to please the customer and the market.

Brewing German pride

What would be a report about packaging in Germany without discussing beer? The most groundbreaking invention in the highly sensitive product segment of beer is a new "big neck" bottle with a 38 mm wide opening (the standard is 28 mm) and a "Ever Lock" screw cap. Made of PET, the empty bottle weighs only 40 grams. On the inside, it has a very thin silicon oxide coating which makes the bottle gas-proof and prevents the beer from getting into contact with the plastic of the bottle. This felicitous combination of technology and design was produced by Tetra Pack Germany and is used by the Bitburger brewery, among others.

No need for a bottle opener when you're downing a few Erdinger Privatbrauerei beers, which have a bottle opener in the base, designed by Saint Gobain Oberglas.

A hit in the area of convenience packaging was landed by another brewery, the Erdinger Privatbrauerei. In order to allow customers to get faster access to Germans' favorite beverage, the outlines of a crown cap were laid into the bottle base. In this way, the bottle comes with an integrated opening device which easily allows opening other bottles with it. This invention, realised by Saint Gobain Oberglas AG in Bad Wurzach, clearly improves the handling and usability of bottled beverages.

In a newly developed, reusable crate, the Beck's brewery in Bremen has managed to combine traditional elements with an increased pleasure to modern perception. Enhancing the visual effects of silver-metallic colors and carving the longer side walls of the crate produces a much more modern and interesting design. Another improvement is the design of the handles, which frees the product from its traditional image of its user as narrow-minded and square.

No-label looks

The progress made in the German packaging industry can best be measured when looking at the awards given out at the Deutscher Verpackungswettbewerb (German packaging competition), an annual contest organized by the Deutsches Verpackungsinstitut (German packaging institute) in Berlin since 1963. The last five years have been highly successful competitions, with over 1,000 entries to evaluate.

An attractive alternative to the cup with adhesive labelling, regularly used to package dairy products, has been taken on by Nestlé Germany. The label that covers the cup all the way around is not glued onto the cup but pressure-welded together with the cup itself. The result is an easily recyclable solution using only one material. The visually appealing new product developed by Polarcup GmbH in Alf/Mosel unites ecological and economic advantages.

At Steinbeis PPL in Holzkirchen, the "no label" look for brand name products dominates developments. Using highly transparent polypropylene film and special adhesives, their solution is the first that is able to withstand damage normally caused by temperature changes and long storage in ice water, the concrete case for application being Mumm champagne.

Customers and packaging experts alike take much pleasure in the novel composite package by Van Leer 4P from Göttingen for ice cream scoops from Lagnese-Iglo. The three-part solution made of a preformed carton base, a conic tubular carton jacket to save space and a spray cast closing cap for optimal extraction guarantees product safety, manageability and brand recognition through form and labelling.

Package design contest winners

The K-Fee chewing gum with caffeine borrows the familiar look of roasted coffee tins, with an energizing design by Bega Can.

In addition to the competition for the best ideas in packaging, a new platform for design enriched the contest even further. In 1999, the now annual Deutscher Verpackungsdesign-Wettbewerb (German packaging design contest) was initiated, among others, by the Deutsches Verpackungsmuseum (German Packaging Museum) in Heidelberg and the Messe Düsseldorf/interpack.

A new product on the market is a cleverly designed oval-shaped package for writing utensils by Neudel Verpackungen in Neckarbischofsheim. In a very simple way, they have created a visually appealing package for advertising purposes. The Peter Schmidt Group in Hamburg is Germany's leading agency for package design. They developed a clear and distinct package design for the Appolinaris & Schweppes GmbH in order to reposition water in the drinking culture. The design displays the bottle as a nonverbal means of communication, as a brand name experience: simple, beautiful and independent, notwithstanding the product's long tradition. The special shape of the bottle emphasises the quality of the product it contains.

These Wella shampoo bottles break the mold with a square profile, but the minimalist typography follows the Wella corporate strategy.

In its design, the can for K-Fee - a brand of chewing gum containing caffeine - interestingly corresponds to its larger tinplate equivalent for roasted coffee. The clad carton tube with its two plastic covers convinces with its clear design and will most likely strike a strong chord with younger consumers. The can made by the Bega Can GmbH from Bad Salzuflen not only looks energising - the design is akin to that of a battery - but it also carries both the brand name as well as ideas of energy and power equally well.

A comfortably plain but very distinctive plastic bottle has been designed for a line of cosmetic products of the Wella AG Darmstadt by the Sauer Company from Neustadt/ Coburg. The quadratic shape with rounded edges makes for a positive physical feel but also allows sufficient room for the presentation of the product itself. The balanced typography follows the corporate strategy of Wella while not decreasing the visual aesthetics of the packaging. In a highly fought over market such as that of shampoos this design concept stands out positively both with its unusual and economical form as well as its differentiated coloring.

Washing detergent Persil Megaperls celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Henkel KGaA Company with a collectible series of round barrel-shaped carton boxes.

A successful attempt to combine established traditions and new product developments can be seen in the packaging for the washing detergent Persil Megaperls. The idea was to use the package design as a medium to communicate the 125th anniversary of the Henkel KGaA Company in Düsseldorf. A series of round barrel shaped carton boxes with a number of different nostalgic motifs not only ask to be re-appropriated once the detergent inside has been used up by the customer, they even have the potential to become collector's items. The design of the product also indirectly communicates to the customer that the company has a long tradition and high competence in the area of washing detergents.

Complex concepts and holistic packaging

As innovations in the packaging sector go, one excellent and highly complex concept for a new machine must be mentioned. This concept has successfully solved the problem for a new type of cigarette package. The center of this compact system, made by the Alfred Dille Company in Langenhagen, is the fine cutting of a new oval-shaped pack for West cigarettes. The filling of the individual packs follows the high-speed packing standards that are common in the tobacco industry. This new cigarette package which has set new global standards is designed and used by the Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH in Hamburg.

These examples are only snapshots of the German packaging industry. The individual demands towards packaging in the different sectors of the market are too complex to allow for general conclusions. Nevertheless, one element seems to stand out: Germany's packaging companies and their customers (the companies producing brand name products) might not be trendsetters for fashionable knick-knacks, spectacular designs, short-lived fashions, or effect-hunting seasonal products. Instead, what always comes to the forefront are solid craftsmanship, quality products, and the art of intelligent engineering.

What counts is technological progress, the potential to reduce costs and the optimization of production processes for a mutual benefit. In a nutshell, Germany demands the so-called "intelligent package," and the catchword is once again "holistic packaging." The principles of research, design, and production in Germany do not just demand to cater for visual pleasures, but also call for functionality in connection with excellent layout and presentation. The actual achievement might often not be directly visible, but it often lies in the gradual improvement of the details. This is exactly where Germans prove their strength: to introduce well-researched technological solutions and to realise them economically. In some countries, the finest hours of design might fly by like comets; in Germany it is the fixed stars that dominate the picture.

Christian Rommel is managing director of ROX Asia Consultancy Ltd. in Hong Kong, a German consulting firm specializing in services in the Asian print and packaging market. Visit www.roxasia.com.