SULAPAC – insight, strategy, branding, design
The next global ingredient brand
The business target
How to become the #1 sustainable material replacing conventional plastic?
Sulapac is a completely new material innovation sharing the best features of conventional plastics, yet it biodegrades fully leaving no permanent microplastics behind. The company had sound intent and groundbreaking solutions. As one of Wired’s hottest start-ups in Europe, and backed by Chanel and international media companies, Sulapac needed a long-term partner in scale up strategy and chose Kuudes.
Our task was to define
How to stand out in customers’ minds
What is the category we want to lead
How to communicate all this
Insight-driven positioning
Our insight work covered the market and competition, different customer groups, including end-consumers, converters and brands, as well as Sulapac’s own organisational culture. We made stakeholder interviews, met the outstanding advisory board and used trends, benchmarks and the Kuudes Informed Consumer study to understand consumers’ values and motives relating to sustainability.
We had many questions in mind. What is Sulapac’s role in saving the world from plastic waste? How can you stand out when everyone is communicating they are sustainable, what is the functional or emotional benefit of using products made of Sulapac material? And finally, is Sulapac actually a solution, a product or is it an ingredient brand?
Insight distilled
- People reward brands that can offer sustainable products that do not compromise on usability and aesthetics
- Alone, we can not save the world from plastic waste, but we can aspire brands, manufacturers and end-users to do it together with us
- The true value for people using products made of Sulapac is the feeling of making the sustainable choice
From a brand with a mission to save the world
to a purpose-driven ingredient brand that picks its battles
To refine the new Sulapac strategy, we explored radically different positioning scenarios with the Sulapac team in Kuudes Concept Lab workshops.
We discovered that the naked ambition to save the world from plastic waste would require mass-market products. With a rapidly growing number of solutions for replacing conventional plastic, consumers find it difficult to decide which is genuine or better. Without a strong brand we would be forced to compete on price.
To become the recognised leader, the Gore-Tex of sustainable materials replacing plastic, we had to focus on the part of the problem we solve. We hit on the fundamental dilemma: People are ready to make the sustainable choice if the solution meets their quality criteria.
We positioned Sulapac as an ingredient brand that stands for the right choice without any compromises. For brands, we add value by serving as a guarantee for superior quality in their products and packaging. As an ingredient brand, our primary business is not to invest in own factories and branded products, but rather partner up with forerunner brands to drive the change towards a plastic waste-free future.
Like nature.
To support the refined strategy and strengthen the transition, we created a visual identity and the “Nature knows best” communications concept. We learned that the key to the plastic waste-free future is sustainable design and demonstrated that Sulapac innovates by learning from nature. With the new visual identity, we also communicate the superior quality, sustainability benefits and transparency of Sulapac.
We accelerate and inspire the plastic waste-free future with sustainable materials that are beautiful and functional. Like nature.
Together saving the world from plastic waste
Solving the global plastic waste crisis is not a competition. It’s too big for that. Sulapac’s newly refined mission is a call for joint movement. We can only achieve a plastic waste-free future by collaboration between companies, governments, academia and, of course, individuals. Sulapac has the right strategy and is well positioned to lead and inspire change and get its myriad applications adopted around the world.
For more information:
Jari Danielsson
CEO, Kuudes Nordic
jari.danielsson@kuudes.com
+358 40 730 9612
