COTY: VALUE ENGINEERING FOR CARDBOARD UNITS

Looking your best without costing the earth

We totally re-imagined the premium cardboard units created for Coty. By researching and embracing new materials and processes, we were able to engineer a more sustainable solution without compromising on quality or customer experience.

Coty is a beauty company that makes cosmetics, fragrance, skincare and hair products. They aim to disrupt the beauty industry, creating space for individuality and diversity. As an established client of more than 15 years, Impact Retail have designed and manufactured millions of cardboard units for Coty.

After working together for over a decade the two companies took a fresh look at the materials and processes in their production model to see how they could value engineer their point of sale and spotlight units.

APPROACH

Value engineering is a team-centred approach, at its heart is creativity and expertise ... people coming together to change processes, materials and equipment to make great new products that innovate and inspire without costing more. Our expert team, made up of designers, account managers and CAD engineers, scrutinised what we were doing with Coty to figure out how we could make their point of sale and spotlight units better than ever before.

Starting with the briefing and design process, moving through to selecting materials and printing, we considered how we could work smarter but still innovate.

DESIGN & MATERIALS

Our starting point is to make sure that we’re using the best grade board for the job we are doing. We redesigned all our Coty units, changing their construction, which meant we completely rethought the materials we were using. We researched a number of different options with our network of suppliers, looking for a thicker board on the inside to maintain structural integrity and then a more lightweight board on the outside to create a quality branded finish.

We were able to use lower grade materials on the parts of the unit which are not seen by the customer or retailer, this compromise allowed us to invest more on the exterior. Small changes which made a big difference when manufacturing units at scale.

COMMON COMPONENTS

Although the units we create for Coty look very different on the outside, we came up with a common internal structure, which brought a huge amount of benefits. Costs are kept down by using the same stock materials, which reduces waste.

We also simplified the internal components, finding clever ways to use less individual elements, reducing production time. Our assembly process was significantly faster as the simplified components were quicker to assemble. Our team were also able to work more quickly as the internal structure of each unit was the same.

As well as finding ways to improve processes, as a business we have always tried to find new ways to reduce our impact on the environment. When sourcing materials we want to use the most environmentally friendly, cost effective solution for the client ... two things that are not always compatible!

A couple of retailers are leading the way on this – no plastic and paper mixed together on a unit and if you’re using a mirri board it has to be bio mirri or eco mirri – that’s what they are doing, so that’s our benchmark.

Sarah Baldry, Design Studio & Point of Sale Manager, Coty

RETHINKING MIRRI

Coty, like many brands and retailers care deeply about their impact on the environment and increasingly materials have to be more sustainable.

Initially we moved to using eco mirri for Coty but even this is not ideal. It’s expensive and inflexible as a design material, which is why we’ve been working to create a better solution.

We’ve found a way to print a metallic effect directly onto any board size. This means just a small patch of mirri, in a range of colours, can be printed as part of a much bigger design, it also reduces the amount of materials needed and increases quality – no more joins between small sheets.

“We’re always reviewing different printing techniques, different machinery, the way we plan things on the print sheets ... we look at this for every job we do.”

Lucy Leach, Coty Account Director

QUALITY

Value engineering the cardboard units we make for Coty has enabled us to create premium products for them whilst improving what we do across our entire business.

“It’s been good, we’re happy with what Impact Retail have done ... nothing’s changed quality-wise. That’s the reason that we keep using them, because the quality is consistent.”