TAKEAWAYS
1. Laizhou Distillery regards the concept of ‘Born with Nature and along with Nature’ as their sustainability commitment and takes carbon neutrality as its long-term goal.
2. Its Chinese vodka brand LING-LIE is unique in blending the introversion of Chinese culture with the masculinity of white spirits, seeking a worthy sustainable packaging solution to showcase the product concept.
3. The innovative vodka LING-LIE chooses UPM Raflatac Rafwine Bagasse as the front label, giving sugar cane waste a new life. This fiber-based label also integrates a unique texture to elevate consumer experience.
4. LING-LIE adopts UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ as the back label, making it the first Chinese spirits brand to extend a wood-based film label on its packaging. This drop-in label solution provides excellent reduction of carbon footprint without comprise to the product performance.
Increasingly stringent policies and consumer awareness of environmental protection are driving society in a sustainable direction. Label, as an important information agent, is becoming a starting point for brand owners on their sustainable journey. Laizhou Distillery respects nature and sustainability in all aspects including product development and packaging. That’s why the brand integrates these two concepts into the design of its dedicated vodka LING-LIE.
This Chinese vodka LING-LIE combines the inner depth of Chinese culture with the outer strength of white spirits, whose inspiration stems from Xiling Snow Mountain. The selected full wheat and clean water is purified through the 334-layer seven-tower distillation with copper utensils, and filtered with bamboo charcoal before bottling. How to resemble the hardness and sharpness of the mountain peak through paper label, and meanwhile maintain a long duration for storage became a headache during the product design.
"We compared countless materials and were finally impressed by UPM Raflatac’s sustainable and innovative labeling solution," says Mr. Xiang Renquan, Associate Director of Product Design at Bacchus Liquor.
Front label – UPM Raflatac Bagasse combines high performance and circularity
UPM Raflatac Rafwine Bagasse is applied as the front label on LING-LIE’s bottle, perfectly matching the essence of the product - originated from rocks and flowing water. The rough texture of the label looks like the dark pattern of the following water, creating mixed feelings of the hardness of rocks and the softness of mountains and rivers. Besides that, this label material is created from fiber-based pulp derived from sugar cane waste (up to 85% -90%), making it a natural labeling solution to embrace circularity
Rafwine Bagasse’s great anti-moisture performance is also proved by harsh tests, ensuring a premium brand image during long-term storage.
Back label – UPM Raflatac Forest Film supports the brand entering a new sustainable chapter
The back label of LING-LIE is even more impressive. It uses UPM Raflatac Forest Film, a wood-based film label material made from UPM BioVerno naphtha, a residue of pulp production, originating from sustainably managed forests. Certified by ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certificate), this label material uses sustainable resources to replace an equivalent amount of fossil resources in its production.
As the first Chinese spirits brand to extend a wood-based film label on its packaging, the brand owner was also impressed by Forest Film’s excellent reduction of carbon footprint without comprise to product performance.
"As a drop-in solution, Forest Film is identical to fossil-based PP on printability and label performance. It can quickly be applied without any changes to our existing design and equipment. Otherwise, Forest Film can help to reduce 35%* carbon footprint (including biogenic carbon) compared with standard PP label, which is an attractive sustainable highlight for us," Ms. Wang Jielu, Associate Director of Packaging Technology at Bacchus Liquor mentioned.
Based on this successful project, Bacchus Liquor is looking forward to more cooperation in the future. Ms. Wang Jielu added, "We are also developing a number of new products. In fact, this label material is applicable to numerous applications, and we will have more opportunities for cooperation next year."
* According to UPM Raflatac’s LCA calculation, October 2023. The LCA calculation principles were critically reviewed according to ISO 14040/44 and following ISO 14067, and the process of generating LCIA results was validated by DEKRA in 2023. Includes content supplied by Sphera Solutions GmbH; Copyright 2023. Results are indicative and information is subject to change without notice. LCIA results may not be compared to other data providers without prior discussion with UPM Raflatac.