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Wyborowa vodka breathes fire over ice
Wyborowa, the star of Polish vodka, a Ricard brand, is launching a new limited edition at the end of this year. An edition that propels the brand into an unusual, contemporary universe and which outlines the distinctive character of this Polish vodka: the letter W refers both to the brand’s name and to the word, wodka, the Polish spelling of vodka. The limited edition bottle is draped in a full-length Sleever® , whose metallic ice-blue shades set off the deep-red W. To cap the exploit, for the first time the Seelcap® remains one with the top after opening.
A metallic sheath encompassing the top
The main marketing aim in this highly fashionable, and thus highly disputed, sector of vodkas is to increase the awareness of Wyborowa and reinforce the brand’s premium image among customers and consumers (the collectible will be launched in mass-market retail and nightclubs). Ricard wanted to remain true to the cold colors, traditionally associated with white alcohols, whilst making the most of sleeve technology, with a pioneering combination of a sleeve and a Seelcap® fixed to the top by a bespoke adhesive system. The result is a 360° shimmering array of metallic electric blues that draws the eye to the elegant claret-colored W of the Wyborowa brand, which burns as if encased in ice. The sole transparent feature of this new decor is a narrow vertical window down the length of the bottle that reveals the alcohol within.
Tailor-made decorating services
Wyborowa 2007 collectible is a perfect illustration of Sleever International’s capacity to offer a full range of made-to-measure services. Firstly, a development and recommendation phase was carried out by Sleever Studio with the customer to obtain a perfectly homogenous blue, free of any concentration around the neck or shoulders of the particularly complex Wyborowa bottle. This required a design accurate up to 2/10ths of a millimeter to ensure the faithful transcription of the decor and 3D anamorphing for the transparent window. The sleeve was printed in 9-color helioengraving, including two metal silver shades to create the overall metallic effect that catches the light so well even in the most muted ambiences.
It was decided to use an SI-PET-TG/050-Z film for the bottle sleeve because of its 360° visual characteristics and uniform shrinkage on a form with differences in diameter of up to 60% and an SI-PET-SF/075 for the Seelcap® because it is capable of withstanding the constant opening and closing of the bottle. The customized decor was carried out in the new Decosleeve plant on a Powersleeve® Evolution 3 machine, whilst inclining the bottle, followed by Powersteam® steam application for the sleeve and Powerskinner® infrared application for the Seelcap®. The process was completed by the addition of a ruff on the promotional collectible series.
Throughout this ambitious project, Ricard was able to rely on a single contact, the Sleever International project manager, a spirits’ market specialist, who provided expertise in terms of packaging, marketing and engineering in order to ensure the project’s overriding success.
