Midleton Very Rare

For many years, Midleton Very Rare was presented in a wooden case that had become part of the brand’s ritual, presence and prestige. The task, then, was not simply to replace one pack with another, but to move an established luxury format towards a more responsible model without losing the qualities people already associated with it. That evolution happened in stages. The first step replaced the original wooden case with a paper-based structure that preserved the familiar double-door opening and on-shelf presence while removing wood, PU badge labels, elastic, plastic vac form, EVA, non-woven elements, gloss lamination in transit and shippers, and metal hinges. Printed badges were introduced, and the new pack was 50% lighter. Life Cycle Assessment showed that this version reduced fossil fuel use by 53.34%, greenhouse gas emissions by 53.23%, and water use by 39.82% compared with the wooden pack. The next generation took that work further in order to align with Pernod Ricard’s 2025 Sustainability & Responsibility guidelines. Magnets were removed, leaving a 100% paper-based, fully recyclable pack built from grey board, white kraft paper wrapping, paper pulp fitments, and unlaminated white kraft E-flute corrugate. Although the pack is intended to have the long life of a collector’s item, it now has a much clearer end-of-life route through paper recycling. In practical terms, that matters because luxury packaging has often depended on mixed materials that communicate value on shelf but complicate disposal. This project suggests another route, where structure, restraint and careful material choices can carry the sense of luxury, while iterative LCA helps guide each step of change with evidence rather than assumption.