1. As a beauty company, people are often surprised to know that we also work extensively with Wine & Spirits. Could you tell us a little more about the history and how this came about?

There are actually many good reasons that show how the two industries go hand in hand together – one of these being that our extensive background in beauty and fragrances provides a unique approach in the development of iconic solutions for the Wine & Spirts industry. When we started building the Wine & Spirits business 15 years ago, we identified first the opportunity to apply our expertise in zamak onto the primary packaging category. As we progressively built our Wine &Spirits portfolio, we also saw a need in the POS and POSM night categories (e.g. lighting products), and thus began our journey in developing a supplier base specializing in both of these two categories. Today, these two areas are some of our proudest and most advanced developments.

When working with customers, we also see many who have ventured across both industries as there are many synergies there.

2. What would you say are some of our areas of expertise?

Our teams have been identified as experts in POSM for Wine & Spirits and in particular, for night animation (lighting labels). We also have a strong know-how in zamak items, particularly in primary packaging, as we leverage our expertise from our luxury beauty product portfolio. We are able to provide beautiful packaging solutions for products such as prestige cognac, which has a food compliance requirement, as our standards in quality are particularly high.

Another area of expertise that we have is our ability to work with multi-materials in a single product – such as metal, plastic, and soft materials. By combining different textures, we are able to create desire and differentiation.

Whether it be primary or secondary packaging, I would say that the real value that Meiyume brings is the intangible feeling of luxury to tell the story of your brand.

3. Can you tell us more about the digital solutions and analytics that our Retail Solutions team provide?

We have been building our data analytics and insights capabilities to help brands better understand their customers since a few years ago. On this digital journey, we have come to understand that there is little value to data if we do not translate them into actionable insights for our customers. It is key for brands to understand consumer behaviour as it allows them to be more reactive and adaptable to changes that happen any time and any place in the world! Our retail solutions encompass a variety of technologies, such as facial analysis and real time measurement of store and shelf traffic.

One of the interesting highlights that came from our analysis is that Wine & Spirits brands are now beginning to notice the opportunity in the female demographic. No longer are alcoholic drinks associated only with traditional masculinity, there is now a shift in mentality in expanding the target market for Wine & Spirits. Our digital solutions can push specific content on screens depending on the demographic of the consumer in store, which is a powerful marketing tool for better brand engagement.

4. Tell us about one of your proudest projects!

Back in 2012, I was working with a Wine & Spirits customer on a complex multi-material primary packaging project. We faced a massive food compliance issue at the end of the development, and I was in charge of the project from the French side. Working through these challenges, it has been a real opportunity for the whole team involved in the project to significantly progress in our understanding and navigation of food compatibility regulations and chemical considerations. Our customer, who sets the some of the highest product compliancy requirements in the industry, has congratulated us for our expertise in this discipline, and even asked Meiyume to be part of one of their internal initiatives in improving their compliance process.

Now we are regarded as one of the few suppliers who has really mastered the knowledge around compliance constraints. We had identified the importance of this area 10 years ago and really drove this in as a key focus topic – I am proud of where we are at today.

5. And finally, what is your go-to drink for a Friday evening out?

I believe that the kind of drink you want depends on the mood you are in and also the kind of evening you want to spend.

But I love spicy cocktails like Moscow Mule!