Danish tap water brand Postevand redesigns FSC cartons to reflect “purity and simplicity”

27 Mar 2020 --- Danish water company Postevand, directly translating to “tap water,” has collaborated with brand studio Barkas to redesign its identity through its enhanced environmentally friendly packaging, using simple and clear visual language to reflect the purity of the tap water. The cartons’ new design exemplifies how Innova Market Insights’ highest ranked packaging trend, “The Language of Environmental Sustainability,” can be expressed, not just with written on-pack content info, but also the packaging design itself.

“We have always been about making things clear and simple. Barkas understood that and basically we were already on the right track, but needed an updated and even more simple way of communicating our mission,” Jesper K. Strange Kjeldsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Postevand, tells PackagingInsights.

Barkas chose a white background for its cartons, opting out from any colorful visual designs to draw consumers’ attention to the Postevand brand name. On the back of pack, the company’s core message is highlighted: “Always drink tap water whenever possible,” printed in vertical black block letters as “Drik altid vand fra vandhanen, når du har muligheden.” Content and packaging information are provided in Danish on the right-hand side of the carton for regional customers. In a bid to extend its message to global consumers, the same appears in English on the opposite side. 

As part of the logotype, Barkas also introduced the concept of “Copyleft,” as opposed to copyright, symbolizing an open-source approach. By giving the symbol more importance in the logotype, the brand studio was able to emphasize Postevand’s sentiment that tap water should be “available for anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

Click to EnlargeThe blueprint of Postevand's new carton design.Corporate respect for the planet
Among the few countries in the world with the capacity to do so, Danish-based Postevand can base almost all of its tap water on the recovery of untreated clean groundwater, which only undergoes oxygenation and filtration and bears an International Food Standard (IFS) certification.

Groundwater forms when rain seeps from the surface into the soil through the many layers of sand, gravel, clay and lime where it accumulates as groundwater. Rich in naturally occurring minerals, Postevand underscores the fact that “water does not taste the same in Denmark.”

“We use groundwater from Thise in Central Jutland, Denmark. Our water is not filtered but undergoes UV lighting before tapping. UV lighting is a gentle and environmentally friendly method of disinfection,” the company states. 

Carbon neutral cartons
The new cartons are still Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified like the old packaging, but are now made from 95 percent bio-based materials and ISCC-certified. “We had the opportunity to get an even better carton and that's why we saw the opportunity to re-brand,” Kjeldsen explains.

Made of 61 percent FSC-certified Scandinavian-sourced paper and 34 percent ISCC certified renewable PE, the cartons consist of renewable, carbon neutral-certified materials. Aluminum makes for the residual 5 percent. CO2 emitted throughout the cardboard production is minimized by using only renewable energy. The 100 percent BPA-free cartons can be both recycled and refilled, as Postevand encourages its consumers to reuse their cartons for multiple purposes before end-of-life disposal.

For every 100 cartons sold, the company plants a tree in Denmark to maintain groundwater protection and contribute to a circular economy. “We are wasting more than ever and are spending money on things we don’t need. It's a paradox when we know that climate change is affecting us now and even more in the future,” Kjeldsen concludes. 

As consumer awareness for closing the loop steadily increases, Coca-Cola Sweden interpreted the “Language of Environmental Sustainability” trend by launching 100 percent recycled PET bottles with labels reading “Panta mig igen,” meaning “Recycle me again,” in place of brand names and logos.

By Anni Schleicher

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