Grioni-MYC

MYC

A GLOBAL PACKAGING INNOVATOR

EXPORT MAGAzINE MET THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDERS OF MYC, WILSON CHEN AND ANDREA PEREGO, AS WELL AS SONIA CERATO, GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR, ANDREA VENTURELLI, MYC EUROPE TECHNICAL MANAGER AND PIERPAOLO BERETTA, MYC INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER TO DISCUSS THE COMPANY AND ITS RECENT ACqUISITION OF GRIONI

Wilson Chen Andrea Perego Sonia Cerato Andrea Venturelli Pierpaolo Beretta

EXPORT MAGAZINE: MYC is made up of a team of experts with many years of experience in plastic and aluminum manufacturing. When did this ‘adventure’ begin and who were the founders? WILSON CHEN: MYC Packaging Innovation was founded at the end of 2012 with the ambition of producing beautiful, innovative, and functional makeup packaging. Andrea Perego joined the company a few months later: Andrea and I had worked together for so many years, we shared the same values and the same dream, it was easy for us to join forces and bring our project to life. Now, almost 10 years later, we are really proud of our achievements and excited about the future.

EM: How important is it to be a packaging innovator and how can your strengths be summarized, in both operating units, in Italy and in China? ANDREA PEREGO: Nowadays brands and consumers are increasingly informed and demanding when it comes to quality, performance and sustainability. In order to meet these changing needs, I think innovation is the only answer. At MYC, we are always trying to think differently and improve what exists already, so we never stop testing new materials and technologies. Innovation is really part of our DNA: our products are conceived, designed and patented in our creative hub in Italy and then they are made into industrial reality in our production units in China. In our new plant in Italy, we would like to sponsor zero mile innovation, using local raw materials whenever possible and benefiting from our strategic location in the Italian cosmetic valley.

EM: Specifically, what are the services offered through the Italian site to fulfil and, even better, to anticipate the clientele’s requirements? AP: Agility is the key word! From our Italy-based plant, we want to offer high flexibility in terms of order quantities and services, different personalization options thanks to our in-house decoration lines and what we call hybrid solutions, combining components made in China with components made in Italy.

EM: Tell us a bit more about your creative hub in Italy, what services do you offer from there? Pierpaolo Beretta: our mission is to transform ideas into real products. We support our customers with graphic concepts, 3D rendering and prototyping, we help them visualize their product before developing it. We also like challenges and always try to push beyond the boundaries when creating a new design. It’s a combination of art and engineering, with a clear focus on final consumer. EM: Does this new route mean expanding your portfolio? SONIA CERATO: Grioni’s products perfectly complement MYC’s portfolio. Lip primary packaging has always been MYC’s workhorse, now we can boast of an enlarged collection comprising new sustainable materials and more skincare-oriented solutions. Lip balm, in the first place, but also versatile sticks in different formats with airtight closures suitable for multiple applications, from colour to treatment and sun protection.

EM: In recent years the market has undergone a great acceleration. How do you succeed in being ‘speed to market’? WC: The synergies between Italy and China are the key to our success. They have always been our distinctive feature and now that we have a production site in Italy, they will be even stronger. Time-to-market for us not only means optimizing processes to increase productivity and reduce leadtime, it’s also about working closely with customers from the very beginning of a project, it’s about sharing, trying to anticipate challenges, and thinking about the full picture. We don’t only focus on packaging manufacturing itself; we create solutions having in mind compatibility with the formula, the filling process and the consumer’s experience. EM: You recently acquired Grioni on the Italian market, another production company in the packaging sector. Can we interpret this as a desire to add new services for customers, including the production in Italy of some types of packaging? AP: Absolutely. With production sites located in both China and Europe we can be extremely versatile and offer different solutions according to the target market and product positioning. Hybrid solutions or mould making in China and production in Italy, these are just some of the examples of our new services. 25

EM: Many manufacturers are developing and making new types of packaging with materials and concepts of sustainability. Is this your case as well? Does this mean reviewing in part your industrial processes, while keeping the highest standards of excellence? ANDREA VENTURELLI: We recently launched our sustainability programme called LIF which stands for Low Impact Future. MYC is committed to LOWering its IMPACT on the environment to build a positive FUTURE for the generations to come. It means redesigning manufacturing processes to reduce emissions, waste generation and energy consumption and implement circularity, applying eco-design principles and offering safe and reliable eco-materials without compromising on luxury and quality. Our METALLICA LINE is the perfect example: unique mono-material solutions made from 100% aluminum, a precious circular material that can be recycled forever without losing its properties (see picture). MYC AND GRIONI: TOGETHER TO DEVELOP NEW INNOVATIVE PROJECTS FOR THE COSMETICS INDUSTRY As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one” and in this case we are talking about two leading companies in cosmetics packaging joining forces, following MYC’s acquisition of Grioni, to become even stronger, more innovative and more flexible. MYC, founded by Wilson Chen and Andrea Perego is a packaging innovator that designs, develops and manufactures cosmetic packaging solutions. The Italian company Grioni has been active in moulding plastics since 1963 and now specializes in moulding and decoration, selling lipbalms, and more complex lipsticks, stylos or pencils. Grioni brings to MYC its more than 60 years of experience in plastic manufacturing and its Italybased production facilities join the Chinese company’s manufacturing sites. The Italian firm’s expertise also comprises in-house decoration (silk-screen printing, hot stamping, 5-colour offset and spray coating) and moulding. Thanks to this agreement, MYC will be able to penetrate a more skincareoriented market and extend its product portfolio, with new sustainable solutions and materials. The key advantages for Grioni from this acquisition include brand restyling, global expansion, a global sales force, penetration in make-up and higher mass market (for example thanks to the aluminium components of MYC), competitive mould-making in China and production in Italy and hybrid solutions, with more technical components made in China and more “commodity” components made in Italy. The resulting advantages for the MYC Group are increased manufacturing capability, a greater global presence, a stronger technical team, even stronger synergies between Italy (creativity, design and innovation) and China (competitive manufacturing), more patented innovation and increased flexibility for customers.

C.S.