Camus is a well-establised, family-owned Cognac house, producing a range of finest quality Cognacs that have aided the brand to draw international acclaim as a global leader in producing exceptional spirits. Having grown from Jean-Baptiste Camus’s initial business as a small-scale winegrower and distiller in 1863, the family-run business now draws inspiration from 5 generations of the Camus family expertise and passion, selling over 3million bottles per year in over 140 countries.
Long regarded as the highest expression of distilled grapes into brandy, Cognac is a wine brandy made exclusively from grapes renowned for their aromatic complexity and grown in the region of the same name. Protected under French law, the production of this exclusive spirit requires exquisite precision and passion to produce a premium end-product.
Producing premium Cognac from Île de Re, an island off the Atlantic coast of France close to LaRochelle, Camus have been making Cognacs in this area since 2004 to take advantage of the salty, iodine-rich mineral soils. In the years following 2004, the brand has embarked on a strategy of premiumization of their ranges, which naturally requires a regular rejuvenation of their packaging.
When approached by Camus to discuss options to upgrade their packaging and provide premium embellishments to their products we were delighted to suggest several high-end decoration solutions that would add prestige and an additional luxurious feel to their beautifully crafted bottles.
After collaboration with both the client and their design agency we were tasked with producing a small, highly elaborate charm to further accentuate the premium nature of a new Cognac range. Upon receiving this brief, we were able to produce several accurate representative drawings of embellishment solutions and following a period of design cooperation and sample productions, the final design was agreed upon and put into manufacture.
It was decided that the ideal solution would be a die-cast metal charm in the guise of a traditional seal, designed to attractively hang around the bottle neck. The intricate metal charm would be an ideal way to emphasise the premium nature of the current packaging. With highly accurate colour matching and finishing techniques, the metal charm fully accentuates the gold foil accents on the labelling and enhances the current gold transfer on the bottle.
The final product is enchanting in its design. Only 10mm in diameter with a debossed image and lettering that required extremely precise engineering, the charm perfectly epitomises the attention to detail and exactitude that goes into the production of each Camus Cognac.
Each metal seal charm was to have cord placed through the centre of the product allowing it to be looped around the bottle neck, this required that each seal was crimped together allowing the charm to sit perfectly flat against the bottle. Finishing the look, tiny aglets were produced to adorn the ends of the cords and add further premiumization to the packaging. These were created and manufactured to the same exacting standards as the charm, plated in the exact same colour and creating a beautiful, harmonious element to the final solution.
Durability was a consideration for this product, especially due to the design intricacy and delicate nature of the petite charm. To ensure that each product could withstand any environmental challenges we added a protective lacquer that was then extensively tested to ensure each charm reached the end user in pristine condition.
Following a successful initial order and product launch in France, the client was extremely pleased with the reaction of the consumer to the embellishment, and our relationship has continued with further premiumization projects.
