A candle collection meant to evoke the production of an XO cognac, La Spiritueuse, a new brand created by Cognac-based packaging designer* Céline Delcourt (CD Design) and marketing executive Vincent Voisin, launched its debut range this month.
“When we came up with the idea for La Spiritueuse, our aim was to blend the values of the world of spirits with the world of perfumery, while offering an olfactory journey through Cognac country,” explains co-founder Céline Delcourt. A designer specialized in spirits packaging — namely cognac — Delcourt and her partner called on an independent perfumer in Grasse to translate each step of the production process into a scent: the vineyard (La Vigne), distillation (L’Alambic) and the ageing process (Le Chai). The candles contain a fragrance concentration of 10%.
Delcourt also designed the brand’s packaging to reflect cognac codes: the 245g candles are poured into jars that are in fact actual cognac glasses (the format used for drinking the spirit on the rocks or as a cocktail) lacquered matte white. An aluminum plaque (Mill), tinted in a custom copper color to recall the color of the still, is affixed to the front of the jar. Each candle is topped with a covering disc made of oak (Tourlonias 1895) engraved with the logo, and which can double as a coaster.
Belgian manufacturer Century Box supplied the recycled paper boxes decorated with an embossing of the brand’s logo and a “light” hot stamping. A flash code developed by Century Box allows the consumer to access details on the packaging’s environmental impact. To secure the candle inside the box, the brand opted for honeycomb kraft paper (Raja). Each candle comes with a scented ceramic medallion (Les Parfumables) hung on a textile cord (Olivier Maisonneuve) that is color-matched to the same copper hue as the jar’s plaque.
The candles, poured in Grasse, are packaged at an ESAT in Cognac, a center that employs handicapped workers.
Sold at a retail price of €75 on La Spiritueuse’s e-boutique, the collection is also available at La Cognathèque in Cognac and at wine vendor La Calle in nearby Saintes. “We’re starting small,” notes Delcourt, and we’ll see how the sales go over the holidays, but we’d like to expand the range with larger formats and perhaps diffusers as well,” she concludes.
Céline Delcourt is a member of the Formes de Luxe Award 2020 jury
Box Century Box
Paper insertRaja
PlaqueMill
CoverTourlonias 1895
Ceramic medallionLes Parfumables
Textile cordOlivier Maisonneuve
