‘Robi, water at the touch of a button’ or ‘Pure and simple from the tap’. Under the brand name ‘Robinetto’, Edelhart and his team are active in the B2B market, offering solutions in the form of water taps intended for hospitality, festivals (including Tomorrowland), offices, schools and other public places (including SNCB — the National Railway Company of Belgium).

Since 2023, they have also been active in the B2C market with ‘Robi, water at the touch of a button’. “It’s a household solution that enriches tap water in order to imitate the taste of bottled mineral water. With this product, Robinetto aims to help bottled water drinkers start drinking tap water. Robinetto is: ‘Pure and simple from the tap’. The name and slogan are catchy and reference the water tap, something we want to move all water drinkers towards,” says Edelhart.

“The idea was born out of the BoomBar project where, as an organisation, we started looking for sustainable solutions for drinking-water facilities at festivals. The idea was easy to expand to other sectors like hospitality, events, offices and so on, to make a difference there too,” adds Edelhart.

“The B2B branch offers a product portfolio featuring tap solutions (including a unique design) and dispensers for various locations with different requirements. The B2C side will be launching an under-the-sink filter solution, which is easy to install. This will later be expanded to include more models.” “Robi is sold mainly online. For B2B customers, there is also a website offering a very quick overview of the different types of water taps and dispensers, each with their own versions to meet different requirements,” explains Edelhart.

Packaging in three parts

“We always intended to bring Robi to customers via retail, but we were still looking for a suitable way to package our organically shaped water tap. Topa took our requirements into account from the very start and we were put in contact with the right person, who could help us with our problem,” says Edelhart. “Space on shop shelves is limited, but robust and eye-catching packaging is still paramount. The project brief was set out in detail, with strict limitations and dimensions. Topa got straight to work with the information they had been given and came up with a surprising design,” Edelhart says. “Another difficult issue was the ‘button’. This can’t be pushed together for compactness in the packaging, as the battery would run out, but it also had to be completely scratch and fall resistant. Our product also has a vertical orientation and, thanks to Topa, that’s reflected in the packaging,” Edelhart continues.

“The Robi contains electronics. With these kinds of products, it’s important that the printed circuit board is held in place, so no components can come loose during impact. So a cardboard box is definitely necessary for protection. The customer also needed packaging that met the standards for both retail and e-commerce,” adds Topa. “For us, a packaging solution isn’t created in a day, it’s a long-term process in which we work together with the customer. First we present an initial design, which can then be optimised to meet the customer’s needs. Eventually, the design is produced at our Topa institute and finalised, after sufficient testing.”

The end result was a packaging solution in three parts. A larger gift box for the water tap, an inlay for the Robi box and a smaller box for the button. “For Robi, standard packaging wasn’t a possibility. We have a product with a very specific shape and strict limitations in terms of shelf space at our warehouse. The button also needed to be really well protected against damage. Topa showed us a kind of cardboard that can handle a knock, along with some lighter filling materials, which are also recyclable. The boxes were made in advance, stacked and delivered to the production line, really handy,” says Edelhart.

Social impact business

“Topa took our requirements into account from the very start. For us, the focus wasn’t specifically on productivity or printing. It was more about robustness and sustainability. The latter is very important to Robinetto, otherwise known as ‘De Leiding BV’,” says Edelhart. De Leiding BV, the company Robinetto is part of, was set up in 2018 as a social impact company with the goal of reducing the waste mountain and CO₂ footprint caused by production, packaging and transportation of bottled water. So for Edelhart it was a given that the packaging needed to be 100% recyclable. The box can now be sealed without tape and there is no printing to be seen anywhere.

“Topa respected our requirements and never pushed us to use plastics in the packaging, even though this would have been easier. It’s also a climate-neutral company so choosing to cooperate with them was easy. We’re very happy with the final result. Our button is packaged well and each component has its own logical place. The packaging fits perfectly with the product, 100% recyclable and suitable for shipping.”

Do you also have a packaging problem or are you looking for advice to optimise your packaging process? Then be sure to contact us by phone: +31 252 245 200 or email: info@topa.nl