1000 Lakes brewery works with Metsa Board’s Packaging Design Services for retail packaging of its artisanal gin; the packaging design looks as if a bottle is frozen inside an ice block, is made of Metsa Board Prime FBB Bright, features UV printing

Sample article from our Packaging Industry

August 29, 2023 (press release) –

1000 Lakes is a small brewery and distillery located in the idyllic countryside of Jyväskylä, Finland. Their goal is to use pure and clean ingredients in a sustainable way with an aim to be entirely carbon neutral. The company’s love for Finnish nature and clean waters inspired an innovative new look for the special retail packaging of their artisan gin.

To achieve a new distinctive look, the distillery worked together with Metsä Board’s Packaging Design Services at their state-of-the-art Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland. The aim was to create a package that not only looks good and stands out, but feels different to touch and fits the values of the brand.

Fresh ingredients, fresh design

The gin itself is made out of pure Finnish spring water, which inspired Graphic Packaging Designer Marko Leiviskä to come up with a new innovative packaging design where the bottle would appear as frozen inside an ice block.

“The purpose of a retail package is not only to protect the product inside, but to tell a story about it. It needs to stand out, but it also needs to represent the values of the brand. We wanted to create a package that fits the purity of the ingredients of the product inside. A package that is interesting to look at and interesting to touch: an experience for both senses." says Marko Leiviskä.

Specially printed, easily recycled

A fully coated bleached paperboard produced at Metsä Board’s Kyro mill (Metsä Board Prime FBB Bright) was chosen as the material as it is light in weight and easily recyclable but offers great stiffness and excellent printability suitable for the special features needed.

The printing was done at Markprint, a Finnish printing house specialising in UV-printing and sustainable printing methods. The visual ice block effect was achieved with several different levels of printing done with UV printing on silver PET laminated paperboard. A white under printing was used, followed by CMYK colours and two layers of spot white to create the icy look. The frosty touch and feel was achieved with structural varnishing. Despite the impressive look and feel, no plastic was used, making the package easily recyclable.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.