Twenty-five years of wood for beauty

This year, Quadpack Wood celebrates 25 years of working with wood for the beauty industry. It is a journey that began with humble origins and grew into a global benchmark for wooden beauty packaging. Starting as Technotraf, producing furniture components in an historic textile factory in Catalonia, Spain, the company made a strategic move into beauty. Today, it is a trusted packaging partner for the world’s leading cosmetics brands. Since becoming part of Quadpack in 2013, the factory has combined artisanal craftsmanship with industrial scale innovation, redefining what wood can achieve in premium packaging.

The story began with a breakthrough: its first ever wooden cap developed for Burberry Touch for Women. This elegant wooden closure introduced a new sensory and aesthetic dimension to beauty packaging. More than that, it created an entirely new category, where natural materials signalled authenticity, warmth and luxury.

Other pioneering brands recognised the potential and helped drive momentum. With L’Eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake, Quadpack Wood took a bold step forward, crafting a full wood fragrance bottle that demonstrated both technical mastery and creative vision. Scaling up to meet the exacting standards and volumes of global luxury brands required major investment in precision engineering, quality control and process optimisation. The factory rose to the challenge, becoming a trusted partner for high profile launches worldwide.

The move into makeup marked another milestone. For Guerlain’s iconic Terracotta collection, the team developed bespoke wooden compacts that elevated a cult bronzing product into a collectible object. The compacts combined intricate milling, refined finishes and flawless functionality – proving that wood could perform just as beautifully in colour cosmetics as it had in fragrance.

A new chapter opened when Shiseido challenged Quadpack Wood to eliminate plastic and intermediate materials from its caps, for its new L’Eaux d’Issey fragrances. The ambitious two year project resulted in a ground breaking, patented technology that transformed wood from a decorative, non functional component into a monomaterial mechanical solution: Woodacity. By rendering wood capable of delivering precise mechanical performance, Woodacity transformed sustainable design possibilities. 

Innovation continued with Woodacity Hidden, a premium edition that conceals the internal structure from view. Guerlain adopted the new closure system for its limited edition Habit Rouge Spirit, marrying technical sophistication with seamless aesthetics. Most recently, in collaboration with Puig, the technology was extended to create a monomaterial cap and collar assembly for Adolfo Dominguez’s ADN fragrance line – another step towards fully circular beauty packaging.

Behind these achievements lies a factory as forward thinking as the products it creates. Clean manufacturing processes are powered by 100% renewable electricity, supported by an emissions control system that surpasses regulatory requirements. An onsite biomass boiler uses production scrap to fuel temperature control systems and wood drying ovens – a circularity action that allows more value retention from by-products, reducing external waste treatment and lowering fossil fuel dependency by minimising waste. Wood is sourced exclusively from sustainably managed European forests and the factory is certified by both FSC and PEFC. Only non endangered wood species are used, each selected for optimal density and hardness to ensure performance and longevity in packaging applications.

The creative potential of wood remains virtually limitless. Equipped with the latest wood turning and CNC milling machines, and enhanced by advanced decoration technologies, Quadpack Wood transforms raw material into tactile, emotionally resonant packaging. From subtle engravings to complex geometries and sensorial finishes, its capabilities are showcased in the BeautyWood 2026 collection, a testament to craftsmanship fused with cutting edge engineering. As a proud embodiment of Quadpack’s B Corp values, the factory balances innovation with responsibility, proving that luxury and sustainability can go hand in hand.

The next chapter of wood for beauty will be driven by creative freedom, with less limitations in machining and decorations, paving the way towards new technical solutions. ‘We are incredibly proud to have spearheaded the wood category in beauty packaging,’ said Denisa Stircea, senior category specialist. ‘For 25 years, we have pushed the boundaries of what wood can do, creating cutting edge solutions that enhance brand storytelling, engage the user and respect the planet. Quadpack Wood represents our commitment to innovation with purpose – and our journey is still unfolding, with new ideas taking root and new solutions on the horizon. We are excited to keep expanding the possibilities, crafting beauty that is as responsible as it is inspiring.’