Page 28 - Packaging News Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

28
DESIGN | www.packagingnews.com.au | November-December 2021
Cowpunk eco-styles
new pack identity
Australian winery Cowpunk Wines has launched a natural wine range with an inventive, sustainable and accessible brand strategy and packaging design by Denomination. Colleen Bate reports.
TO highlight the difference in the wine style, the bottle comes with a swing-top closure, making the bottle 100 per cent resealable and re-usable with the aim of even- tually having refill stations at selected retailers. It also carries a “re-use it” message on the back
label and shipper, encouraging consum- ers to re-use the packaging as opposed to simply recycling it.
“The simple two-colour print on the label cuts down on ink usage, no gloss varnishes or treatments are used on the finishing, and the stock is a natural 100 per cent cotton paper with impurities and slight variations in tone,” explains Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination, the company behind the brand design. Freshness is the key benefit of natural wines, therefore the labels are hand- stamped with the year, month, and day, the grapes were picked, echoing the use by date on fresh foods.
“The packaging identity itself harks back to early hand-made ranch signage often welded into shape using steel or old bits of iron,” Curlewis says, noting that a series of icons, inspired by cattle brand- ing, replaces the traditional back label copy. The short and simple infographics is used on both the labels and shippers.
A “roll it” icon demonstrates to those who are new to natural wines that the bottle needs to be agitated before open- ing – a counter-intuitive step for many people – and also becomes an icon for the natural wine “movement” when used on merchandising.
The swing top closure which borrows from the fresh food category of pickles and preserves, creating a homely yet appealing personality for the brand and a real point of difference on shelf.
“Cowpunk’s natural wines are sus- tainably made, so Denomination, which is also working to future proof the indus- try, was the perfect partner for this project,” said Nicholas Crampton, co- owner of Cowpunk Wines.
Natural wines are made with mini- mal intervention from the winemaker with no traditional “fining” or preserva- tives, which gives the wines a distinctive cloudiness and an immediate freshness. Highly popular with hipster drinkers and sommeliers, and with a profusion
The packaging identity itself harks back to early hand-made ranch signage often welded into shape using steel or old bits of iron.”