Lumson: Pragmatism and Innovation

According to a recent press release, “The year 2025 came to a close amid a complex market environment for the Lumson Group, characterized by demand that was not always consistent across different geographic regions and product categories. Despite this environment, the Group was able to confirm the strength of its business model by maintaining a solid level of activity and continuing to invest in the development of its product portfolio, innovation, and the quality of its services”. As for the current year, “It looks set to be a year of consolidation,” the press release states, “and of continuing our growth. The signs are generally positive, although it remains necessary to maintain a cautious approach given the uncertainties characterizing the international economic and geopolitical context”. An update with Matteo Moretti, owner and CEO.

The Lumson Group is currently built on a solid industrial structure comprising five production sites. It employs 550 people and generated revenue of approximately 130 million euros last year. “This industrial presence is a strategic asset for us,” explains Matteo Moretti, “because it allows us to directly control the expertise, technologies, and production processes, while ensuring continuity, flexibility, and the ability to support our customers, even on the most complex projects.”

Over the past two years, the Group has pursued a major investment program to strengthen its industrial capabilities, improve process efficiency, and develop new expertise. “A significant portion of these investments,” emphasizes Matteo Moretti, “has been dedicated to modernizing production technologies, automation, improving plant efficiency, and strengthening our ability to respond quickly and flexibly to our customers’ needs.”

At the same time, the Group has continued to invest in research and development of new products, materials, distribution systems, and decorative solutions, with a growing focus on sustainability, recyclability, and changes in the European regulatory framework.

“Digital transformation is also another major strategic focus,” emphasizes Matteo Moretti. “We are currently upgrading our information systems and business processes with the goal of improving integration across different functions, data quality and availability, traceability, and the ability to make decisions ever more quickly.”

As for the issue of tariffs, the Group is monitoring it closely. “We operate in an international market,” explains Matteo Moretti, “and we are therefore inevitably exposed to the consequences of decisions affecting trade between different regions of the world. However, to date, the impact on our business remains generally manageable, thanks in particular to our geographic diversification, the strength of our industrial structure, and the constant dialogue we maintain with our customers and partners.”

“Our approach is pragmatic and prudent. We analyze situations on a case-by-case basis, continuously monitor developments, and work with our customers to identify balanced solutions, seeking to minimize as much as possible the effects on competitiveness and the continuity of supply.”

Airless: A Very Strong Connection!

The Italian Group is undoubtedly one of the companies that has had—and continues to have—a very strong connection to this type of packaging. A story that began in 2009 with TAG System, the first airless system in a glass bottle, which would foreshadow its XTAG model in 2024—the first airless refill system with a glass pouch—not to mention the back-to-back launches in 2022 of XPAPER, the first airless system with a paper-based bottle, and ENVERS GLAS, an airless jar with a glass pouch—which followed the TAL System, the first airless system in an aluminum container—and then, in 2023, APP LIGHT, an airless system designed for weight reduction and the use of recycled materials. The result: a 25% reduction in weight and 80% post-consumer recycled (PCR) HDPE.

This strategy, which involves constant innovation in the field of airless packaging, has led to the implementation of a complex production line. The decision to use a pouch system and its seamless integration with a glass container required extensive R&D efforts. Since 2011, when the former PMP company was acquired, the Santa Maria de Sala plant has been at the heart of the pouch production process and employs more than 70 people. The plant, which occupies 6,000 m² of building space, manufactures pouches and rigid containers. It houses about ten decoration machines and twenty blow-molding machines equipped for the production of multilayer products.

“Generally speaking, in terms of innovation, we have participated in recent months in numerous projects developed in collaboration with national and international brands,” explains Matteo Moretti, “particularly in the categories of skincare, makeup, and, more recently, fragrances, including the development of high-performance dispensing systems, airless solutions, refillable packaging, lightweight components, products made from recycled materials, as well as projects featuring sophisticated designs and a high level of customization.”

The Group also notes that it is working on more modular “product” platforms, on packaging developed in line with future European regulatory requirements, on systems that facilitate the separation of components and recycling, as well as on new decoration technologies with a lower environmental impact.
The Fragrance Segment

Among the new areas of activity, packaging for the fragrance industry stands out as a significant opportunity for growth and expansion of the Group’s product offering.
“Fragrances are the growth engine of the beauty sector,” explains Matteo Moretti. “In terms of global growth, fragrances are outpacing skincare, hair care, and cosmetics.”
In fact, young consumers and men are showing increasing interest in this category, thereby broadening its audience and long-term growth potential.
Fragrances are also chosen because they are considered an “affordable luxury.”
And innovation is creating new opportunities, as refillable products, solid perfumes, and other emerging formats are redefining how consumers discover and use fragrances.

The Environment, an Integral Part of the Industrial Strategy

“Sustainability is now a structural component of packaging development,” emphasizes Matteo Moretti, “and can no longer be considered an incidental element or one separate from industrial strategies. Our main strength lies in our ability to address this issue through an integrated approach that encompasses design, material selection, production processes, decoration, logistics, and end-of-life management.”

The Group is working on several fronts: reducing weight and the number of components, using recycled and recyclable materials, developing single-material solutions and refillable systems, optimizing industrial processes, and reducing the environmental impact throughout the packaging’s entire life cycle.
“Our industrial structure and in-house expertise also allow us to support our clients from the earliest stages of development,” emphasizes Matteo Moretti, “in order to find the best possible balance between sustainability, functionality, aesthetics, safety, formula protection, and industrial feasibility.”

The Group believes that sustainability must be concrete, measurable, and compatible with the actual needs of the product and the consumer. “That’s why we rely on major collaborations and industry initiatives, notably RecyClass—of which we are a Platinum Member—as well as CETIE and SPICE, which enable us to measure the environmental footprint of cosmetic packaging throughout its entire lifecycle.”

As for the debate surrounding plastic—while it is understandable and necessary—Lumson’s CEO believes it is essential to approach it in a technical, balanced, and non-ideological manner.
“Plastic is not a single, homogeneous category. There are very different materials, structures, applications, and performance levels. In the cosmetics sector, moreover, packaging must meet particularly high standards in terms of safety, compatibility with formulations, product protection, preservation, dosing, and the quality of the user experience. The goal, therefore, cannot simply be to replace one material with another, but to reduce the overall environmental impact of packaging by evaluating its entire life cycle. In some cases, this means reducing the amount of plastic used; in others, increasing the proportion of recycled materials, simplifying structures, improving recyclability, developing single-material solutions, or introducing refillable systems.”

The Group notes that it is adapting to this shift through investments in research and development, close collaboration with its customers, suppliers, and technology partners, as well as constant monitoring of regulatory developments, particularly the new European framework on packaging.

This approach is part of the company’s broader commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. “Receiving the EcoVadis Platinum Medal,” Matteo Moretti emphasizes, “is a significant recognition of the work we have accomplished. It positions us among the highest-rated companies in terms of sustainability according to the EcoVadis methodology.”