Few retailers play on the senses as successfully as Bath & Body Works. Brimming with luxurious lotions, candles, soaps and other soothing products in an endless variety of scents, a Bath & Body Works location is one giant sensory lure.
So when the company wanted to commission eye-popping, glittering holiday gift boxes to show off an assortment of body pampering treats, the job fell to H&H Graphics, where multisensory special effects printing techniques are our specialty. It was the kind of project we love: combining the glamour of glitter with added degree of difficulty.
The Glitter Challenge
The gift boxes were constructed of APET plastic, a lightweight, flexible material perfect for folding around health and beauty products, but a challenging surface for the application of inks and other coatings. The glitter had to be able to hold up to the scoring, folding and heat processes the boxes would undergo, without peeling or cracking. The client also wanted five custom hues with plenty of sparkle but a finish that was not completely opaque. And, it almost goes without saying, the boxes had to be touchable, reproducing the feel of glitter, without any glitter coming off.
Our research and development team took on the challenge, with beautiful results. When the project was finished, one million jewel-toned gift boxes lined the shelves at Bath & Body Works stores across the country.
Out-of-the-Box Troubleshooting
Here are a few highlights:
- Several months of R&D to develop a glitter coating that could bend without cracking or peeling, including heat and durability testing
- Color formations were revised more than a dozen times to achieve a perfect match in the translucent colors the client wanted
Have a Packaging Project that Could Use Some Wow?
At H&H Graphics, we love turning your biggest challenges into your biggest successes. We specialize in special effects that are proven to drive consumer engagement with a variety of impossible-to-ignore multisensory appeals, from scents, to textures to inks that conceal hidden images and messages revealed when exposed to heat, light or water. We specialize in “wow.”
We are a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), offering out-of-the-box results for packaging and promotions that need to stand out from the competition. To learn more about how we can add a little sparkle to your next project, join CEO Michelle Leissner for a free webinar on multisensory special effects strategies for packaging and promotions at 1 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 24. You can register for this event here.
