With a specially- engineered solution, Avery Dennison has helped Moët Hennessy to solve one of the most difficult challenges in wine labelling. The result is, according to the customer, attractive and truly functional neck labels around the foil cap wrappings on the company’s leading champagne brand, Moët & Chandon, and all their premium champagnes. Neck labels for champagne bottles make stringent technical demands on self-adhesive labelstock that include exceptional holding power round the tight mandrel and compound curves of the bottle neck, and adhesive properties that will enable the label to hold to the foil wrap, and at the same time ‘tie’ itself to the glass without creasing. The key differentiator: superior aesthetic qualities
For the Moët Hennessy bottles, achieving a smooth and elegant result is particularly difficult. According to Moët Hennessy Process Engineer Gilles Cateau: ‘The shape of the Moët & Chandon “cravate” is very special. It is extremely precisely and finely cut out, with two sharp black points facing downwards. It’s a unique expression of the marque.’
Solving the technical challenges
A special Fasson self-adhesive labelstock was proposed by Avery Dennison for the task, which offered the benefits of a strong film facestock and a high-performance adhesive. It combined Fasson PE150, a top-coated 150 micron white polyethylene film, with a solvent acrylic adhesive, Fasson S700, carried on a white glassine release liner. This laminate gave Moët Hennesy’s printers the opportunity to demonstrate their skills at printing and converting film labelstock, and at the same time provided stable, accurately-positioned high-speed label dispensing on the packaging line.
‘A real qualitative improvement’
Says M Cateau: ‘The Fasson labelstock we are using for our champagne bottle “cravates” is perfectly suited for use on our production line and also delivers the high quality of presentation which we strive for on our champagnes. ‘The Fasson adhesive gives a finish that is much superior to the wet-glue solution we used before, which left visible traces of glue on the glassware. We have experienced a real qualitative improvement since we have been using the Fasson solution. Our “cravates” remain intact, and stick fast, on our bottles – a critical requirement, since they are the primary symbol, and key identifier, of the Moet & Chandon brand around the world.’
