Legendary Finnish design house Marimekko turned to Stora Enso for co-creating a new, scalable and recyclable packaging portfolio for a range of their products. The innovative and stylish boxes made of renewable certified materials such as fibre-based corrugated board feature Unikko, Marimekko’s most iconic print. Thanks to a worked-through design process, in-house knowledge and production, Stora Enso can provide a fast route from idea to production for clients.
Stora Enso and Marimekko teamed up with the goal of updating Marimekko’s gift packaging with a Nordic design solution and enhanced user experience eliminating unnecessary paper, ribbons or stickers while also protecting fragile products such as plates, vases, trays, and mugs.
Expressing Marimekko’s brand identity with a premium feeling for customers was key.“We are delighted to be able to launch our new gift packaging celebrating the 60th anniversary of Unikko, our most beloved print,” says Eija Salmela, Marimekko’s Head of Concept, Home & Production Planning.
“We strive to bring joy to the everyday lives of people through bold prints and colours. Together with Stora Enso, we have created packaging that can do just this as it hopefully finds a second life and purpose in the homes of our customers,” says Salmela, who led Marimekko’s team which worked closely with Stora Enso.
Meeting unique customer needs
Founded in 1951, Finnish design house Marimekko is known around the world for its bright, colourful prints on textiles, clothing and home furnishings. The popular floral print Unikko created in 1964 by designer Maija Isola is a strong global symbol of the brand.
The new gift packaging portfolio includes four new box sizes featuring the Unikko print and covers a wide range of Marimekko’s different products.
“The biggest challenge was to make a flexible packaging portfolio to fit the widest range of different products from a cost-efficiency and sustainability perspective,” says Stora Enso’s Anna Kjellberg, Design Project Manager, Business Expansion Division Packaging Solutions, who directed the cooperation. “How could we make as few sizes as possible but still fit and protect as many different fragile products as possible?”
Two carriers were also created so that the beautiful multipurpose boxes, likely to become coveted items on their own, wouldn’t be hidden in a shopping bag. The durable packaging is created locally.
“From a sustainability perspective, the portfolio was developed with renewable material and with production in Finland and Europe using wood fibre from Nordic forests, which results in shorter deliveries,” says Kjellberg
As the user or consumer is central in any business packaging development, Stora Enso carried out field observations and interviews with Marimekko to fully understand their needs.
“From Marimekko staff working in the stores to the consumer bringing the product home, all have different needs. We carried out field observations and interviews to understand those needs and set the best ground for the new design. The power of close interactions and face-to-face meetings letting the customer (Marimekko) fold boxes, touch material, test to pack and brainstorm together must never be underestimated,” says Kjellberg.
Together is better
Stora Enso values close collaboration.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that the customer is interested in the development and also very much involved and supporting the process. They know their products best. We, with our design and materials knowledge and inhouse production, can speed up any development process, giving the customer a real one-stop shop for design,” says Kjellberg.
“Our process offers the fastest route from idea to production.”