"Delectable, yes - of course - but sushi has to be so much more," says Kim Rahbek Hansen, CEO of Denmark's Sticks 'n' Sushi chain. "It has to appeal as much to the eye as to the palate. We want our restaurant to have a fun, festive feeling, and that means we need professional staff, people who whistle while they work. Our concept is a positively designed overall experience that encompasses every detail: the premises, the dishes, the menus and - for takeaway - the packaging. That's our recipe for success."

Quality and Elegance are the keywords, every step of the way. The ingredients are top quality and clean hands are an absolute must. The restaurant runs through a lot of soap and hand cream. Takeaway accounts for half of sales, and that's where the packaging comes in. "The packaging is essential in creating the overall impression," says Kim Rahbek Hansen, "both for the customers and on the street, where it's an ambassador for our brand." This is one place where you can see Packaging Impact in action all around town.

Whiter white for blacker black

The board material is Frövi White, Korsnäs' new white cartonboard with a coated reverse side. "We used to use Frövi Bright, but since we're covering the entire reverse side with black ink, a white coated reverse side gives us a better, deeper black," says Benedikte Pais, designer and managing director of Pais Design. "We have used Korsnäs board for several years and have come to appreciate its strength properties. We're seeing them again in this new grade. The packaging comes in four sizes. For the largest, we have been able to go up to 410 g/m_, meaning we're using an even stronger board." The large packaging can hold up to 3 kg. "In this case, we need a thick board to stand up to the weight," says Benedikte, "but I think we tend to forget about the subconscious signal it sends to customers - the hand feel - when they pick up the packaging. It has to feel solid to do justice to the product, even if a thinner board would do from a purely functional standpoint."

Function with a sense of humour

Sticks 'n' Sushi's packaging puts a smile on customers' faces, with fish cut-outs on the handle and arranged in a decorative pattern on the packaging. An extra creasing makes it easy to insert and remove the tray of sushi. The black package interior and black tray form a perfect backdrop for the artful sushi. Packaging and contents in harmonious symbiosis - that's top-quality design.