Lenzing redefines TENCEL brand

The Lenzing Group (Lenzing) redefined TENCEL, as its textile premium brand at the 2018 Fibers & Yarns in Mumbai. The redefining of the TENCEL brand is a key milestone of Lenzing’s new brand strategy to enhance product brand offerings, foster connection with customers and consumers, and drive consumer demand. TENCEL is well positioned to be a major growth engine in the textile sector, with a brand portfolio that caters for distinctive usage – TENCEL Active, TENCEL Denim, TENCEL Home, TENCEL Intimate, and TENCEL Luxe, all enabled by two versatile and highly compatible fibres, TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell.

Designed and based on the findings and insights of an extensive market research, the brand architecture is an important step for Lenzing to transform from a business-to-business (B2B) fibre producer to a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) brand. The brand architecture not only addresses the growing trend amongst retail brands and consumers to seek out for products that make them look good and feel good, but also do good via sustainable and transparent production processes, like the processes used for producing TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell fibres. According to research findings, while LENZING Modal is known as a fibre with good quality and long-lasting exquisite softness, TENCEL is a well-recognized and appreciated brand name among stakeholders, customers and consumers in key target regions of Lenzing. Hence, TENCEL is adopted as Lenzing’s textile specialty brand for apparel and home applications, and is aimed to help create a unique and differentiating brand in the Modal and Lyocell fibre markets. The redefined TENCEL product brand, along with the tagline “Feels so right”, will enable Lenzing to embark on communication around messages that move beyond fibre types and characteristics towards everyday use and benefits that brands and consumers value.

“With a longer-term strategy to enhance connection with customers and consumers, 2018 will be a game changer year for Lenzing,” said S.Jayaraman, Regional Commercial Director for South Asia and South East Asia. “Globally, the wood based cellulosic market is still small compared to the overall fibre demand and we expect greater growth in the foreseeable future. Specifically, the South Asia market is poised to capture an even larger share of that growth because it has all the necessary ingredients for success in the textile industry – from infrastructure to cost competitiveness, from population size to people expertise.”

Under the new brand strategy, TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell fibres will be key ingredients in the TENCEL branded product portfolio. Derived from certified and controlled wood sources, both TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell standard fibres are produced via responsible production processes and are compostable and biodegradable under industrial, home, soil and marine conditions. Enabled by industry innovations, including REFIBRA technology, Eco Soft technology, Eco filament technology and Micro technology, textiles produced under the TENCEL brand offer premium standards of sustainability and natural comfort to meet evolving consumer demand.

“We are charting a bold new course to simplify our product portfolio and elevate our brand to bring more value to consumers and industry partners,” said Vernon Yeo, Head of Marketing & Branding for Asia, Middle East and Africa Region. “As Lenzing’s flagship brand in the textile sector, TENCEL will grow beyond fibre types and functional characteristics, it will become a true consumer-focused brand with a promise of something more functional and emotional. By elevating TENCEL to a promise to the consumer rather than a product message to the value chain, we can start to excite consumers, retailers and brands about the holistic benefits of botanic fibres. Guided by the brand promise of ‘Feels so right’, TENCEL brings greater degree of comfort and higher performance to consumers while making them feel good about the choices they make. We hope to create a stronger connection with the industry value chain and consumers through our expertise around sustainability, especially in TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell fibres. In the long run, we plan to build TENCEL not only into a trusted B2B brand, but also a preferred consumer brand, which provides B2B customers with ease to maximize marketing effectiveness and enables consumers to identify ‘feel-good’ products made with sustainable materials.”

Moving beyond fibre to distinctive everyday usage or application in consumer-focused branded offer, including TENCEL Active, TENCEL Denim, TENCEL Home, TENCEL Intimate and TENCEL Luxe, have been created under the TENCEL portfolio. New swing tags and marketing materials will be launched on a retail level to provide clarity on product benefit claims containing TENCEL branded fibres. The swing tags, along with more detailed guidelines on B2B and B2C usage, are now available on Lenzing’s new e-branding service platform, which caters to B2B customers and retail partners, offering faster, more sustainable and more user-friendly solutions for certification and licensing.

“By applying the new brand strategy, we will take a more personalised and targeted approach to reflect the TENCEL brand essence of ‘softness’ and ‘feeling good with a natural touch’ with local B2B customers, retail partners and consumers,” added Avinash Mane, Head of Commercial, South Asia. “We will work closely with the local industry value chain and retail brands to educate consumers about TENCEL featured value propositions like product quality, functional benefits and sustainability. Co-branding programs such as swing tags or packaging, and co-marketing campaigns with retail brands will enable us to reach out to consumers directly. With more brand exposure and ongoing consumer education from this year onwards, consumers will see more of us through the TENCEL brand in apparel and home textiles and/or in our partners’ retail outlets in the South Asia region.”

The redefining of TENCEL as Lenzing’s textile flagship brand will be effective from today onwards. This will be the first step of Lenzing’s new brand exercise, where the same approach will also apply to nonwoven and industrial applications, which will be announced at a later stage.