Greek label designers take Gold awards for fine wines and gourmet foods
Two label design studios have realized their creations with materials from UPM Raflatac – and taken top prizes at the first Pan-Hellenic ‘Gold Label Awards 2011’. The competition was organized for the PRIVATE LABEL exhibition by Helexpo and the packaging magazine ‘All Pack Hellas’.
Labels for winemaker Domaine Gerovassiliou – designed by Red Creative and printed on UPM Raflatac’s Castgloss WSA – won first prize in the Wine Labels category. Design company Artstudio won a Gold Label award for a prestigious food brand, Stefos Botargo, using Silvervac.
Elegance for indigenous vines
Domaine Gerovassiliou is situated in Epanomi, tending a 56 hectare vineyard with emphasis on Greek indigenous grape varieties and cultivation in accordance with ecologically sustainable management practices. The aim is to produce high-quality wines from grapes cultivated exclusively in a privately owned vineyard; wines that carry the distinct characteristics of the specific microclimate in Epanomi. A quarter of production goes to worldwide export.
Domaine Gerovassiliou set out to communicate uniqueness, authenticity and consistency of quality in the label designs for their Avaton and Malagousia wines. They chose Castgloss WSA to carry the brand, as proposed by their design partner Red Creative.
Red Creative, based in Thessaloniki, provides services in the field of print and digital visual communication. Established in 1989, the firm is today considered to be among the top design studios in Greece, with numerous awards and distinctions at the national and European levels.
Smooth and discreet – yet distinctive
The designers say Castgloss WSA was selected particularly for its finish: “We felt it complements the design and also blends smoothly with the gloss of the bottle surface. Elegance equals quality, and the high quality of the content is communicated through the elegance of the design. It has the right amount of reflectiveness and smoothness for a discreet yet distinctive appearance.”
A demanding, precision die-cut was required for the “belt” wraps around a conical-shaped bottle. The labels were printed by Al. Payiantzas SA “SELLOPLAST”, a family business in northern Greece, established in Thessaloniki and specializing in the wine label Industry.
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Caviar of the South
Botargo is the most valuable food of the Mediterranean. It is considered the caviar of the South and has equal culinary value. In Messolonghi, Western Greece, STEFOs BROS & CO LP takes carefully selected roe pouches from the grey mullet, lightly seasons them with fresh local sea salt, and massages them to remove any air. After a few weeks curing, some of the roes are smoked before they are preserved in pairs in natural beeswax, or grated and stored in glass jars. The result is premium Stefos Botargo.
The creative artists at award-winning Greek graphic design studio Artstudio were tasked with capturing the essence of the brand. They describe their mission as ‘a devotion to discovering the spirit and soul of a company or product, transforming it into a brand and communicating it effectively’.
Artstudio’s broad portfolio ranges from corporate identity, brand strategy and logo development to packaging design, publications and exhibition work. They specialize in the food and beverage industries, especially wine labelling and premium food products, as with the Stefos Botargo label.
Silvervac mirrors brand essence
According to Artstudio, a good quality label material supports the label design, highlights its creative aspect, adds elegance and meets their graphic design requirements, simple or elaborate. A decade’s cooperation with UPM Raflatac began with wine labelling, and expanded to extra virgin olive oil to ‘raise the aesthetic standard and reflect the quality of the content’.
Artstudio’s winning Stefos Botargo labels were printed using Silvervac RP 51 HG65, choosing what they describe as ‘a premium product for a premium product’ – an excellent quality paper to mirror the essence of the brand. While the label has thin gold elements, they opted for a premium paper rather than gold foil to produce an elegant, eye-catching result.
The labels are printed by Forlabels in 3,500 m² facilities in Schimatari, around 60 km northwest of Athens. Combination-type equipment assures quality, fidelity and production speed, and integrates various processes such as thermal printing, cold foil printing and lamination.
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Frontrunning prototype materials at www.prolabelstudio.com.