Customization and smart colors

The customization market, the first attempts...

"The oxymoron may be surprising. Personalization refers to customization and luxury, while mass evokes the opposite, industrial series, standardization and non-choice. And yet, new technologies have opened the era of personalization for all, a kind of "hacking" on a large scale. "People are given the impression that they have access to the made-to-measure," notes Aude Legré, brand strategy director at Peclers Paris, the trend agency."

"The message was received five out of five by Citadium, which targets Millennials. For them, the Printemps subsidiary has set up a whole space dedicated to the "customization" of sneakers. NikeiD, the online customization service of the world's number one sports shoe manufacturer, had opened the way. Uniqlo is doing the same during shopping events where customers are invited to create the design that will be printed on their T-shirt.

In the automotive industry, too, customization is becoming standard. DS has made it the cornerstone of its move upmarket. "For the DS 3, there are, apart from the engine, 3 million different combinations, roof color, body color, dashboard, rims....," explains marketing director Arnauld Ribaud. The new DS 7 Cross Back model, whose presidential version with Emmanuel Macron was discovered, is offered to the public in four different style and price ranges with, for the interior fittings, a whole choice of varied "inspirations" that leave future owners little chance of coming across a model identical to their own on the road.

For the brands, the objective is always the same. "Create more intimacy with consumers to ensure their loyalty," notes Jean-Marc Liduena, senior partner in charge of "consumers & industrial products" at Deloitte France. Sometimes this much sought-after intimacy comes at too high a cost. Coca-Cola has experienced this. After creating a buzz by offering consumers to put their first name on the label of the bottle, "they quickly stopped because of the additional costs that this entailed for the bottlers," says this marketing specialist. Coca-Cola scaled back its ambitions and retained only the 250 most commonly given names to be found on the shelf. The confectioners had less difficulty in launching themselves into ultra-customization. After the 3D printers installed in the stores to create its sweets, Lutti is back with My Fizz box, boxes to compose yourself in a few clicks. Consumers choose their favorites (Colafizz, Koala, Bubblizz, Rabbids...) as well as the decoration of the box."

New technologies: intelligent color change materials

In this world of personalization and customization, the potential offered by new technologies, such as intelligent color-changing materials, is considerable.

Thermochromic materials allow an object to change color under the action of temperature and photochromic materials under the effect of light. The product can be mass-produced in a single color and be customized in the store. A simple physical modification (heat treatment, optical treatment,...) allows to inscribe a message, to create a feeling of belonging, an exclusiveness.

In the near future, the combination of these intelligent materials will make it possible to generate objects that can be modified indefinitely in color. Depending on the time of day, an object will look serious or casual! The market potential is limitless.

In this context of valorizing the intelligence of colors, OliKrom accompanies manufacturers in all sectors in their innovation process, from the idea to recurring production, including support services for analysis and quality control.

The expertise of its team allows it to adapt to the demand and to design the intelligent solution adapted to the specifications, then to formulate and produce on an industrial scale the inks, paints and functionalized masterbatches.