James Cropper is no ordinary packaging specialist. And Bruichladdich is no ordinary whiskey distiller. Both have built a reputation for innovation in their respective industries since they were founded in the 19^th century.

This shared passion for disruption and innovation means the partnership between the two, combining to create a new molded pulp wrap for Bruichladdich’s Luxury Redefined range of 18, 21, and 30 year-aged expressions, makes all the sense in the world.

Both companies have a rich history of combining tradition with forward-thinking innovation, taking a craft perfected over generations and using it to innovate. James Cropper specializes in using paper and has been based in the same Lake District-based paper mill since the company’s founding in 1845. It has always utilized state-of-the-art technology to push paper manufacturing and material science forward.

Bruichladdich, meanwhile, has made its name as an Islay-based single malt distillery that does not use the region’s traditional peat smoke during production of its flagship spirits. Much of its production process relies on original Victorian machinery, first installed when the company was founded in 1881.

Importantly, both companies also align on the need to make more efficient use of the raw materials they consume. Bruichladdich has made waves in the spirit world in its quest to reduce its environmental footprint by cutting down on packaging wherever possible, starting what it calls the “One Tin Lighter” initiative to remove its tin secondary packaging from its core single malt lines. While it is technically infinitely recyclable, tin’s sustainability credentials have begun to come under the microscope owing to the emissions created when producing and transporting it. Bruichladdich decided to shift away from tin – a shift that brought it into the orbit of James Cropper as it looked for a secondary packaging solution that aligned with its sustainability mission.

Rebels with a cause

The headline-grabbing bottle wrap that was created following this partnership between the two companies was a first for the spirit market – a colored bottle wrap that combined lightweight, ultra-precise design with intricate finishing techniques such as enhanced embossing and debossing. It is produced using 100% fresh fiber and is significantly lighter than its tin-based predecessors without compromising on strength or durability. And, as it is completely glue-free, sealing shut with a single front-facing clasp, the whole pack can be recycled in the domestic recycling stream.

Of course, these are far from the only concerns when designing a premium whiskey pack – aesthetics and desirability are hugely important, too. After all, undesirable packaging leads to unsold products, and unsold products are unnecessary waste – no matter how sustainably they are produced. Fortunately, this is something the project team at James Cropper, led by packaging designer Heather Allen, was able to deliver.

“The nature of the design means you can see the top, and it almost acts like a decanter,” says Allen. “We’ve been told that trades at bars have continued to use the packaging – they’re decanting it still in the wrap. It’s so beautiful that people aren’t disposing of it.

“This is a pack made – essentially – out of many of the same materials as a flat sheet of paper,” she adds. “It’s an evolution of a substrate that people have been making for centuries, and we’ve been making for close to two centuries. The whiskey-making process and molded fiber-making process are very similar in that sense.”

These shared values did not mean that the design process was simple – far from it. Any challenges were quickly overcome thanks to the highly collaborative approach taken by both companies, working alongside design agency Thirst, which quickly refined the initial vision into something that was feasible to produce.

Leah Law, bid coordinator at James Cropper, was key to this collaboration. “Our customers don’t always have knowledge of the moulded pulp industry, which is why these two-way conversations about what you can or can’t do are so important,” says Law. “Bruichladdich came to us with an initial idea that Thirst had created, which had the clasp on the back and a lot of text on the front. Due to the molding angles required, it wouldn’t have been possible to deliver this to the standard that we would be happy to send to a customer.

“Luckily, there is a close relationship between all three parties involved, so after a few conversations and iterations of the design, we came up with a final product that still fit their brand identity,” she continues. “We went away and innovated our production processes too, so we could get closer to the original vision. We developed a new tooling technique that enabled us to change the dates debossed into the wrap for the 18, 21, and 30-year old products. That was something we didn’t have before.

“We see ourselves as facilitators of this process,” Law concludes. “Even if we have to make changes to the initial vision, we want to do everything we can to help brands bring their ideas to life through packaging and create something truly unique.”

This commitment to continuous improvement and innovation is a hallmark of James Cropper’s work. For example, it has invested in an on-site color lab, which worked to ensure each wrap was precisely color matched to the others – a rarity among paper manufacturers, who traditionally rely on subcontracted color management services. “Color is important to us. Being able to have different colors associated with the different vintages of whiskey made a massive difference to this project. We were able to play with different colors to see how our fiber reacted to the colorants – that was a big part of this project,” Law adds.

A delicate balancing act

This level of collaboration is important as the packaging sector navigates uncharted territory, with new environmental legislation around secondary packaging set to be introduced in markets across the world. “I think the balance between sustainability and luxury packaging is one the industry has to be careful with,” says Stefan Pryor, head of Projects and Design at James Cropper. “That’s where customer relations come to the forefront, because a company like Bruichladdich takes sustainability seriously, but they also know the value of their product and all the craftsmanship that goes into producing it, which has to be reflected in the packaging.

“We’re happy to be the leading players who can provide that balance to the market. We’re so proud that we can pull something so beautiful out of something as simple as molded fiber using intricate moulding and precise color matching.

“Customers know we can do luxury. But now they come to us and ask, ‘Can you mimic that and make it more sustainable?’ The whiskey market has a journey ahead of it to produce new kinds of packaging that is made to the highest quality standards without impacting the planet too much. We want to write that story for our customers. 

“I don’t think anyone at the business would say that this wasn’t a challenging project at times, but I’d say we’ve risen to meet it, and we’ll continue to do so,” Pryor continues. “I think we consistently work on projects that demand our fiber works differently, and for our products to offer a complete solution.

“Say a customer has a box containing a watch or whatever it may be, that’s a complete solution. Trying to mimic that in molded fiber involves a huge number of intricacies because the material is completely different. As we don’t add plastic, how do we provide the rigidity or the durability required. Answering these questions means reinventing the wheel with almost every project. But that’s what James Cropper is capable of as a business. We innovate and continually create bespoke projects that are first-to-market in many cases. The success of the Bruichladdich project has just reaffirmed what we’re about as a business and partner to brands.”

Leading the way

The design continues to pick up award wins and nominations, including two wins at the Pentawards, and an Environmental Packaging Award win in 2024.

However, Allen says the most telling indicator of its success is the influence the project has already had on the rest of the industry. “One of the biggest things I’ve noticed since the Bruichladdich wrap hit the market is the use of color within molded pulp fiber,” she says. “Previously, while color has always been massive for our paper business, that wasn’t the case for molded pulp – until our Bruichladdich wrap was revealed.

“Blending heritage with a modern twist is something that really interests me as a designer. One of the most important things we do when taking on a new project is researching the background of the brand. That means we can incorporate heritage elements with innovation to tell the story that the brand wants to tell.”

Pryor agrees. “We can draw from decades of experience to do this. Our team includes experts on tool building, color science, materials, fiber, and more. We constantly innovate the different fibers we use, ranging from cellulose, virgin, fresh fiber, all the way through to recycled denim, cotton, and of course, coffee cups,” he adds. “Every minutia of detail is considered and carefully crafted by our team, because we have all of this expertise and capabilities under one roof. Nowhere else can offer that at this level.”