Affaires Pâtissières chooses Epson to print its labels

Affaires Pâtissières designs, packages and markets tasty and easy-to-use, ready-to-cook ingredient boxes for home cooks and delicatessens. Thanks to its recipes, teamed with suppliers from major food shops, delicious pastry is even more accessible.

In 2013, the Affaires Pâtissières brand launched the first confectionary boxes containing everything needed to succeed as a fine pastry chef: pre-measured ingredients, recipe card, and utensils. The brand's iconic boxes include Paris-Brest intense praline and tropézienne insouciante.

With a strong customer base and its proven ability to innovate, Affaires Pâtissières aims to become the benchmark for fine pastry kits in France and beyond.

Each label used to be printed on an Epson Workforce Pro WP-4535 machine and attached to the packaging using a tedious system of eyelets.

Emmanuel Allasia, founding director of Affaires Pâtissières, was already an Epson customer when he contacted their customer services. Once the most appropriate technology was identified, he was directed to one of Epson's local partners, SKE SARL, to supply the hardware and media. This expertise allowed Affaires Pâtissières to :

− carry out tests

− calculate the cost accurately

− optimise the label design with regard to the inking surface

− continuously benefit from good practice

By purchasing the Epson Colorworks C3500 printer in 2015, Affaires Pâtissières has been able to expand its range of packaging by printing labels for jars and resealable soft bags.

In 2016, the company launched its first "mismatched" patisserie sets. Thanks to the flexibility of labelling, the consumer can now match each item as they see fit. In the case of Paris-Brest, the customer can choose their favourite flavour from seasonal products, and remove the choux pastry or diplomat cream if not needed.

In order to meet the needs of customers like authorised reseller Fauchon, the company director turned to Epson for a fast and accurate colour printing solution that is able to withstand handling and light.

The Epson ColorWorks C3500 is able to meet all the criteria of design and robustness.

The Epson solution provides an even more professional finish, as the minimum durability date and batch number are printed at the same time as the contents of the main label.

This solution is a guarantee of quality and reflects our approach in traceability and food safety.

One of the major strengths of the Epson ColorWorks C3500 is laboratory productivity. Partly thanks to this investment, it increased five-fold between 2014 and 2015.

These results are possible thanks to:

− the speed of printing

− the possibility of cutting the labels as they come out

− the immediate drying of the ink

− reduced waste due to fading

− reduced production steps, as batch marking is now integrated

These gains in productivity are valuable at a time when peak sales recorded over a month rose from 550kg net in 2014 to 4.6 tonnes expected this year.

In this regard, new acquisitions are underway to better manage the two custom label formats with SKE SARL.

In-house control of label printing with the ColorWorks C3500 is part of the Affaires Pâtissières' business model, based on direct food production with just-in-time delivery.

Thanks to a number of partners working on the Affaires Pâtissières project, product launch dynamics are not limited by the risks of overstocking packaging.

This flexibility allows the brand to react more quickly to seasons and collaborations, both on a small and large scale.

On-demand printing is as much about competitiveness as it is about supplying the big bakeries that have come to trust the brand.

In 2016, Affaires Pâtissières offered a personalisation service for the first time, making it possible to print the buyer's name on the product itself.

During the Equipmag 2016 exhibition in Paris, Epson allowed the user to print the recipient's name directly onto labels of more than 150 jars of Extranut, a new spread that doesn't contain palm oil.

The investment in Epson's Colorworks C3500 printer allows Affaires Pâtissières to strengthen ties with its community online and offline, through recipes and personalised products.

This has led to customers becoming more engaged through blogs and sharing their pride in creating new patisserie kits, focusing on regional specialities.