Fyne Chats: Our New Packaging, Unwrapped
As Fyne has evolved, so has our direction—we still have the same sustainable values we started with, but now we offer an even wider range of collections, bridal pieces, custom men’s jewellery, and other bespoke services. That’s why we recently decided to freshen up our look with a rebrand, launching a new logo and colour scheme in collaboration with Maison024.
As part of our redesign, we’ve transformed the packaging for all our products, adding a new luxury feel to the unboxing experience. We’ve worked hard to create sustainable yet premium packaging, ensuring our jewellery always arrives in style.
Designing our Packaging
In line with our timeless and minimalist style, we’ve opted to use a palette of earthy tones, which not only align with our new rebranding but feel more inclusive for all. Although femininity is core to our values, we wanted to use colours that reflect everyone who wears Fyne jewellery.
Sustainability
As part of our ongoing work to make Fyne as sustainable as possible, we sought out packaging options that would reduce our carbon footprint and fulfil our mission to deliver a premium, luxury experience.
-The challenges-
Limitations in the packaging industry meant it took a lot of work to find suppliers with a low minimum order quantity, which is essential for us due to the bespoke nature of our business.
Sustainable packaging options that worked for our designs also proved challenging to find, particularly as the industry is still developing many key materials. For example, we needed help sourcing sustainable materials for jewellery pouches and the insides of our boxes.
Finally, the prices for sustainable packaging are still incredibly high, and as a small business, we had to be mindful of the expense of using premium boxes across all collections (even our lower-priced items). Finding the balance and being mindful of our budget was a challenge, as it’s so important to us that quality is never compromised.
-The final results-
Despite these difficulties, we are delighted with our new packaging, using some of the most sustainable and innovative materials available to us right now. We worked alongside packaging supplier Sealed, who guided us through every step of the process, allowing us to perfectly balance sustainability and luxury.
So, who better to talk us through the packaging design process than Sealed’s co-founder? In our latest series of Fyne Chats, Eisha loops us in on how Sealed is filling a gap in the market, overcoming industry limitations, and the process of creating unique packaging for Fyne.
Eisha, can you tell us about Sealed?
Hi, I’m Eisha, the co-founder of Sealed, an online B2B platform specialising in procuring customer packaging. Sealed works with businesses to create high-quality, sustainable packaging without compromising durability. We offer low minimum order quantities and a bespoke service, making us the perfect match for brands like Fyne, who are seeking premium packaging that suits their made-to-order approach.
What inspired you to launch Sealed?
Before I founded Sealed, I worked as an operations manager in the hospitality industry. I was in charge of procuring lots of items, one of which was custom packaging for the brands I worked for. I’d spend countless hours scouring the internet, visiting local industrial areas, and contacting international manufacturers to source custom packaging that met the brand's needs. Unfortunately, I would often be met with high minimum order quantities, quality issues, and unapproachable vendors. Investing in custom packaging and trusting manufacturers that understood what we were trying to create wasn’t easy, and that’s when the idea of Sealed was born.
Our goal at Sealed is to make procuring custom packaging as easy as possible. We want to create a packaging marketplace that enables businesses to seamlessly source all kinds of print and packaging. At the heart of it all, we're obsessed with packaging and do the heavy lifting to source the highest quality items and offer the best options to our clients in a streamlined process.
"The beautiful thing about packaging is that not only does it serve as a form of protection for your product, but it also creates the ‘wow moment’ for the consumer."
Tell us a little bit about some of the industry limitations and how you work to overcome them.
The beautiful thing about packaging is that not only does it serve as a form of protection for your product, but it also creates the ‘wow moment’ for the consumer. We like to offer brands various options to create the impact they desire by choosing: luxe paper vs sustainable paper, four-colour printing vs foiling, pvc sticker vs paper sticker, and so much more!
We believe bringing a concept to life through print collateral and packaging shouldn’t be a hurdle. Often a business has to go to several different vendors for their varied packaging aspirations and, more often than not, deal with unresponsive vendors, quality control protocols, and frequently delayed deliverables—it's easy to get trapped into the bottomless pit of the highly fragmented packaging world.
At Sealed, we have a hands-on approach to tackling the above problems. We maintain frequent, transparent and thorough communication with our brands and suppliers. We are proactive and provide solutions to every packaging need a brand may have. With our expertise, brands can focus on their business, leaving us to bring their customer packaging to life!
"Nowadays, brands are more conscious about reducing their environmental effect. While sustainable options do exist, it can be challenging for brands seeking a premium unboxing experience to find a viable, sustainable option that also offers room for creative freedom."
In terms of sustainability, how difficult is it to source sustainable and durable packaging? What are the main issues?
Nowadays, brands are more conscious about reducing their environmental effect. While sustainable options do exist, it can be challenging for brands seeking a premium unboxing experience to find a viable, sustainable option that also offers room for creative freedom.
Traditional packaging is often more durable, lightweight, and cost-effective than sustainable packaging, making the switch difficult. For brands like Fyne, achieving sustainability in their packaging can become costly and, at times, compromise the durability of the packaging. This is why we worked closely with Aya throughout the process, finding compromises and solutions to offer premium and durable packaging whilst taking a sustainable path.
Fortunately, we are seeing incredible growth and innovation in the industry. There are several ways a brand can now reduce its environmental footprint: ordering locally, creating reusable packaging, opting for uncoated papers, choosing biodegradable materials, using non-toxic inks and adhesives, and using FSC or PEFC-certified materials.
What was the process of sourcing Fyne's new packaging?
Sourcing Fyne’s packaging was such a delight. Aya’s vision was clear from the get-go. She wanted to ensure we created packaging that was on par with her brand's sustainable ethos but remained extremely luxurious and premium.
For the jewellery boxes, we sourced paper from a paper mill that is ISO 14001 certified by the international environmental management standard. Furthermore, the mill only carries ranges of paper that are FSC certified. By choosing this paper, we maintained the responsible management of the world’s forests.
We also opted not to print on the box, which significantly reduced the carbon footprint of this packaging. Inside the boxes, we created durable inserts with vegan suede that can be reused for a long time.
For the outer packaging and collateral, we maintained our choice of choosing either recycled or FSC-certified papers. We used non-toxic inks for printing and did not coat any packaging with lamination.
Overall, the look, feel, and durability of FYNE’s packaging turned out to be extremely luxurious, all the while doing as little harm to the environment as possible.
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