Nuncas, where sustainability is at home

With over a century of history and a solid base of loyal customers, Nuncas today is a reference point for the world of housekeeping, which does not aspire to compete with multinationals but to distinguish itself for quality and environmental and social commitment. We discussed it with Luca, Carlotta and Aurelio Manzoni, respectively, CEO, Marketing and Communication Manager and Sustainability Manager of the family-run company in Lombardy.

By Achille Perego | On PRINTlovers 96

'Since 1920, 100 years the home of the heart.' This is how what has become a reference brand for housekeeping lovers introduces itself - although, to be precise, the number of years has become 103 this year. That is to say, for those - a solid base of loyal customers, growing over time - who are willing to spend more because they love their homes, floors, furniture and silverware. But also the fabrics of curtains, sofas, or clothing, including sportswear.

And although the vast range of more than 250 Nuncas-branded products includes products for cleaning the kitchen, washing the dishes or making the oven shine, Luca Manzoni does not like the description 'detergent factory' for the company he runs as managing director together with his wife Rosy Cassata, the founder's niece and creative director. Also working with them are their children Aurelio and Carlotta - the fourth generation – who are in charge of sustainability and marketing & communication, respectively.

Headquartered in Settimo Milanese, with an Industry 4.0 production plant in Rho, 75 employees and around €28 million in revenues, Nuncas was founded in Milan in 1920 by Nunzio Cassata, hence the acronym Nuncas. 'The initial activity,' says Luca Manzoni, who has been in the company since 1985, 'was importing leather from America for bags and shoes. Then, in the 1930s, due to international sanctions against Italy and the consequent import blockade, Nuncas became a chemical company, producing first the white colouring and then the wax for white shoes.' Today it is a company that 'thinks and produces, with constant innovation and significant investment in Research & Development, a range of products intended in particular for fabric and room care'.

It is a company that innovates without forgetting its roots and wants to make itself known through its brand identity, which, as Carlotta Manzoni reveals, is currently under review. And to be appreciated with the products and packaging for which, with the restyling started about ten years ago, the label has taken on a solid, informative value. A business card to describe the seriousness of a company that, through scientific research and chemistry, develops not only effective products for home and fabric care but also good for the environment.

'Looking to the future with the eyes of those who want to minimise environmental and social impact, ensuring maximum effectiveness and the best results in use' is the Nuncas Green Living manifesto. The company's DNA has always been devoted to sustainability, even before it became fashionable, and set out in all aspects of the UN's ESG values: hence the social, economic and obviously environmental ones. The significant investments made over the years to produce green energy have confirmed this: a 200 kilowatt-hour per year photovoltaic plant; the new production plant in Settimo Milanese, which is one of the first in Italy with zero impact, points out Carlotta Manzoni; and above all the creation of increasingly eco-sustainable products for the home and the person. They are also reducing the impact on the environment of the packaging, made of recycled and recyclable plastic for the Vegetable Line and gradually extending it to all the over 250 products in the Nuncas catalogue. The wait for bioplastics to be technologically advanced continues because today, adds Aurelio Manzoni, 'they cannot yet be used, due to their perishability over time, to safely contain household cleaning products and textiles and thus comply with European regulations'.

The Linea Vegetale has received the important Ecolabel certification, the European Union's eco-label that rewards the best products and services regarding their environmental impact. 'Being certified at the European level with such a label is part of our innovative path of household products,' Aurelio Manzoni further explains. 'Giving the consumer a further guarantee of our products' high quality and performance standards and their reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle (LCA) is a primary objective that we have always set ourselves, beyond this further certification that confirms the good path taken so far.'

On the packs of the Linea Vegetale, launched in 2010 and which received the prestigious Packaging Design Award in 2013, the consumer can get more in-depth knowledge of the company's path in this sphere and on the Green Living Internet page of the company website ( ) one can find the green manifesto with the company's intentions in the field of sustainability and the concrete applications on the products. The Linea Vegetale, in fact, does not stop at Ecolabel certification, but since its inception, can boast further attention to the environment. Thus the consumer will find on the packaging: "Ecolabel", "Hypoallergenic" product, "100% Recycled Plastic Bottle", and "Responsible Formula".

More specifically, the eleven Ecolabel-labelled products for laundry, surfaces and tableware have a formulation that meets the European criteria required by the certification to impact the environment as little as possible while guaranteeing effective results. The Linea Vegetale also consists of five other references with the same formulation characteristics, originating with the same green DNA and ready to receive the same certification as soon as the EU decides on the creation of dossiers for their categories.

The four products in the Outdoor line for those who care about the garden, leisure and the environment also have a 'green' soul. Made from renewable vegetable sources and food industry waste such as beet sugar, coconut and palm oil, they feature a formula without harmful volatile solvents and are fragrance-free. Furthermore, they are packaged in recycled and recyclable plastic and can be used outdoors without harming the environment.

Nuncas, from the products to their packaging, has no ambition to compete with the big multinationals in the sector, aware that these are different markets. 'Our products, although sold in specialised shops and large-scale retail chains, do not compete on price. Our mission,' Carlotta Manzoni emphasises, 'is instead to simplify the domestic lifestyle with innovative, top-quality products developed to protect the environment and those who use them.'

A luxury brand of home cleaning? 'I would not use the term luxury. Our customers are not necessarily rich. What sets them apart is the same love for the home and what it contains. As well as for clothes, even sportswear, and for animals. So much so that we are the only ones to have produced a cleaning and detergent line in collaboration with the Veterinary Institute of the University of Milan,' Manzoni replies. In the 1980s, a personal care line was also launched under the Vittoria Verde brand, now being reviewed and relaunched, starting with online sales. Nuncas was among the first companies in the sector to enter e-commerce back in 2011, thanks also to the innovative packaging created, with an American patent, for the safe shipping of bottles that 'float' in water. And on e-commerce - both direct from the portal and on Amazon's platform - much is aimed at revenue growth to 40 million euros over the next four years; this growth will also pass through the physical sales channels. But the new plan also envisages opening a second flagship store like the 'boutique' that has been active for the last ten years in Milan, in San Giovanni sul Muro, which 'is giving great satisfaction and is much appreciated by customers'.

This is a journey to forge an increasingly close and personalised relationship with consumers; over time and with the change in consumption and distribution networks - from word of mouth and the fundamental role of small shops in conveying the image and quality of Nuncas products - it now involves social networks and digital communication, which has now also replaced the use of paper for catalogues and brochures in the company.

Personalisation concerns not only the content but also the container. So plastic, starting with recycled and recyclable plastic, warns Aurelio Manzoni, 'should not be demonised. Indeed, Nuncas has chosen it for all its product lines instead of glass and aluminium'. 'Customising also means making the self-adhesive label,' adds Carlotta Manzoni, 'a formidable means of conveying a great deal of information to the consumer, from the history of the company to that of the product, from its efficacy and composition to how to use it. This information has a role a bit like medication labels and is provided today through QR-Codes on the label that refer to video tutorials. The labels are mostly printed in four colours Pantone plus on FSC-certified paper and up to seven colours and gold and silver enhancements such as those used for a limited series of products (such as Stovilnet) launched to celebrate the company's first centenary. But when you think of the gold effect - they are now being re-proposed thanks to printing technologies that make it possible to create this effect without the costs of gold ennoblements.

Nuncas has always chosen partnering companies whose reliability in service has been recognised over the years for its printing and papermaking orders. Thus, since the 1990s, the labels have relied on Euroadhesiv of Crusinallo di Omegna; for plastics, which see containers equipped with side embossing to facilitate use, on Lario Plast (formerly Nova Mandelli) of Alzate Brianza. For twenty years, the benchmark company for cartons has been Scatolificio Mingazzini of Rho, while for three generations, cases have been commissioned from Grafica Antonini of Lainate. Cases and cardboard cartons serve as second-level packaging for products such as the first hand- and machine-wash fragrance (Drops) that avoids the use of fabric softener, or for the liquid detergent for Aury jewellery. This packaging is necessary not only for shelf presence but, since they are small bottles, to have the space to inform the consumer about the product and the company while maintaining its historical icons such as the Swan - the Nuncas symbol, which is still on the bottles of Livax floor waxes - or the female figure smiling on the label of another historical product such as Sfeltro to combat the felting of wool and cashmere garments.