Northern Lights captured on holographic carton | 22-12-2020 |

Finnish spirits company Arctic Brands Group is using unique holographic metallization effect on cartons for its Arctic Blue Gin. The ‘result is as close to an actual northern lights flare as printed materials can accomplish,’ according to Mark Beamesderfer, packaging services director for the Americas for the material supplier, Metsä Board.

Crisp and iridescentshimmering shades of green and blue on the carton,for the Group’s premium handcrafted gin, is already lifting brand sales in Finland and winning accolades throughout the packaging community, according to the report in US magazine Packaging World. It uses a unique holographic metallization effect with 1% of the aluminum of traditional foil laminates, so helping to protect the environment that it depicts.

The paperboard producer Metsä Board worked with Arctic Brands previously on a carton for its Arctic Blue Gin for distribution in Finland and Europe. The carton depicted a Finnish landscape printed with a range of techniques that conveyed a 3D illusion.

For the brand’s launch in the North America Metsä suggested the use of holographyfrom specialty US paper converter Hazen Paper Co, to create a special edition version of the gin. Metsä created the structure, graphics, and embossing of the carton, which is made from MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright paperboard. The Northern Lights image was achieved by printing on top of Envirofoil, a plastic-free holographic metallization effect from Hazen,  carries 20 times less material per square inch than metallic ink, making the carton fully recyclable, it says.

As the viewing angle changes, the holography flashes and moves like an animation. The optical effect is created with a sub-micron embossing grid in the transfer-metallized layer. The ultra-thin coating layer provides visual impact typical of much thicker structures. AM Packaging printed and converted the package at its plant in Chicopee, Mass.

The carton was was released for the 2019 Christmas season in travel retail locations in Finland. “Now all our products are sold in this package here in Finland and in Japan,” explains Arctic Brands Group brand manager Toni Eurasto. Roll out in the USA has been delayed until 2021 due to the pandemic.

The carton won the 2020 AIMCAL Product of the Year Award as well as a ScanStar 2020 award from the Finnish Packaging Association.