South Korean bakery Butterful & Creamorous (B&C) has teamed up with Valentino Beauty to paint its Shanghai flagship store orange. Four classic items from B&C that don the new orange colour look with the “V” logo will be available at all B&C branches across China. Between 20 and 26 January, visitors to the stores have the chance to win a lucky bag that includes two 1.2ml fragrance samples, for both men and women. Paper bags, cups and boxes with the Valentino logo are also included with the co-branded items.
This collaboration came less than a month after Valentino pinkified Harrods’ Shanghai Tearooms with the signature Pink PP colour of its Fall/Winter 2022-2023 collection. To celebrate the new year, Valentino Beauty has released a new “Go-cushion Glow” foundation in the Valentino Solar Coral colour and Rosso Valentino in an orange gift set. A campaign featuring brand ambassador actor Tan Jianci (JC-T) also emphasised the orange choice as a warm springy colour.
B&C has been very popular in China due partly to its iconic paper bag that features a large “&” logo. Not only is it known for special edition packaging of its own, but also for its experimentation with co-branding concepts – such as the giant croissant with MaxMara last year, its three-way collaboration with a Shanghai tea brand Aunty Bian Milk Tea (卞阿姨奶茶), as well as traditional Chinese dessert brand Shanhai Cha Dian (山海茶点).
According to a recent survey, much like for previous luxury brand collabs, branded packaging remains an essential component for boosting consumer appeal. While sample hand-outs have also proved to be a successful strategy for frequent luxury collaborator Manner Coffee. By painting the Western style storefront of its Shanghai flagship in the “warm spring orange” of Valentino, B&C will likely become a new “check-in” spot and gain even more social media buzz.
