AN Edinburgh-based bottling specialist has tipped its new innovation hub to help shape the future of spirits packaging in Scotland.
Young Spirits launched its new service, which is primarily aimed at drinks brands, earlier this year. The aim is to provide a dedicated space to support businesses in the development of new products.
With the help of Young Spirits’ talented team, brands can use the Innovation Hub to brainstorm ideas, design new concepts, and trial bottle and packaging solutions.
Located next to Young Spirits’ HQ, the hub offers access to interactive design tools to support brand and packaging visualisation; a materials library featuring sustainable solutions; a prototyping unit with production capabilities to trial and refine product runs; and a tasting and collaboration space.
“We recognised that there’s been a lot of changes in the industry, whether that was sustainability challenges or changing consumer preferences,” Young Spirits MD Barbara Russell Scott told Packaging Scotland. “We wanted to create a space where we could offer clients an opportunity to come and touch packaging, see what was available, see what they could do in terms of bringing products to life, but also offer liquid solutions as well.”
Barbara explained that the idea is to bring people together to harness ideas and experiment on various aspects including design and Artifical Intelligence to fast-track the new product development (NPD) process.
Smaller companies, in particular, have traditionally faced NPD barriers including finding a space where they can access suppliers, graphic designers, and bottlers all under one roof.
“For those smaller companies, we’re effectively a one-stop-shop,” Barbara added. “We can support them on the design and help with compliance, because sometimes that’s a real challenge, particularly if they are trying to get across multiple markets.
“For larger organisations, we have been contacted by some of the really big industry players where you would think they’d have very established new product development processes and procedures. I think for them, it’s that fast-tracking and ability to maybe trial something on a smaller scale and then scale it up.
“I think that’s probably a reflection that people are a bit more risk averse. The whisky industry has had a couple of years of downturn, and I think people want that opportunity to do a bit of a test first before they launch on a much larger scale.”
As well as drinks brands, the Innovation Hub will also serve clients in the company’s Beauti-Fill business, which provides bottling services to the beauty and fragrance sector. Barbara revealed there is crossover potential, with spirits brands having the opportunity to learn from some of the innovative processes within the beauty industry and apply them to their own sector.
Feedback from early users of the hub has been described as positive. Clients are benefiting from the additional support and external feedback, and working with a bottling partner from the outset of projects has helped to alleviate some technical challenges at an early stage, rather than having to unravel beautifully designed creations further down the line.
“Having that input from the beginning very much helps to move things faster and keeps the product on track and probably in cost,” Barbara said. “We utilise people from across the team, whether that’s the processing side, the pack tech side, or the bottling side.”
Sustainability remains a key focus for spirits brands. As part of the Innovation Hub space, clients have access to different types of glass that are available, including lighter weight solutions. Young Spirits has also carried out work around recyclable pouches.
“It’s something a bit different and pushes the boundaries a little bit more, especially when you move into the whisky side of things,” Barbara said. “With Extended Producer Responsibility coming into play, more clients are looking at packaging recyclability, looking to reduce carbon footprint, and probably more open to exploring different types of materials.”
Barbara pointed to the Nordic countries, where plastic spirits bottles are increasing in popularity. While the appetite to embrace more eco-friendly solutions is apparent, Barbara believes UK consumers are still heavily focused on aesthetics, especially when it comes to gifting.
One of the challenges for the hub, therefore, is helping clients produce more sustainable designs without losing that premiumisation factor.
“When I started out 30 years ago, if you said you were putting whisky into a plastic bottle, I think people would have been appalled! In some markets there’s much more willingness to look at it. In other markets, you mention plastic and people think really badly of it. I guess it’s looking at that whole lifecycle.
“For now, at a consumer level, particularly in the UK, I don’t think many consumers want to give up the gifting element of boxes and the bells and whistles that can be added to the packaging.
“We try to find alternatives like new materials that are more recyclable or have less of a carbon impact.”
Barbara said the ultimate aim for the hub is for it to become something of a catalyst for industry-wide collaboration around innovation. Young Spirits is expanding the AI design side and beginning to look at 3D modelling.
“For me, it’s very much about seeing the hub recognised as a space that helps to shape spirits development and innovation,” Barbara concluded.
