Hey, good looking

15 February 2016



Hey, good looking


Hey, good looking

The highly consumer-driven sectors of cosmetics and personal care are certainly influenced by the quality and appearance of packaging: new products can be successful thanks to the right eye-catching packaging, while even the most effective beauty product will struggle if it has no shelf appeal. Emma-Jane Batey investigates what's looking good in the cosmetics and personal care industry.

Record gains are predicted across the cosmetics and personal care sector in 2016, with the sun protection and anti-ageing categories likely to be particularly successful, due to an increased appreciation of the importance of former and the desirability of the latter. Emerging nations also bring great potential across the sector, with multinational manufacturers and internationally recognised brands doing well in Russia, China and India in particular. Increasingly sophisticated and varied distribution channels are supporting this global growth, with changes in online sales trends making beauty products more easily accessible to end users. The trend for traceable and sustainable ingredients is also extending to the cosmetics and personal care industries, with this increasingly evident in the packaging of the products too.

Keep it clean

A great example of how a small brand can make a big difference is seen with the long-established Natracare, based in Bristol. Founded by Susie Hewson in 1989, Natracare develops and manufactures the world's first certified organic feminine hygiene products. Hewson explains, "Back in 1989, I saw a documentary about the growing danger to human health and the environment of Dioxin pollution from pulping industries, with the chlorine bleaching of paper products. What made me especially angry was the unconcerned response of international feminine hygiene brands.

"I was so appalled that my immediate response was to research and develop an alternative that respected women's bodies and our planet. Natracare was the world's first alternative to conventionally produced feminine hygiene, including the world's first certified organic cotton tampons and totally chlorine-free sanitary pads and panty liners."

Producing feminine hygiene and baby care products, Natracare uses only organic and natural materials that meet the highest organic, environmental and biodegradable standards. This has led to it obtaining approval from a number of recognised organisations, such as the Vegetarian Society and the Organic Soil Association. This sustainable promise is very much extended to Natracare's packaging, too.

"We use 100% recycled board for all our packaging, and we only use plant-based inks," explains marketing manager Jessica Gitsham. "It's very much the ethos of the brand to be as gentle on the Earth as possible. We have to have safe wraps on our feminine products, so we use petroleum-free wraps, which are biodegradable. It's integral to Natracare that our products are high in quality yet low on environmental impact. There's no compromise on performance, and we do everything we can to make sure our consumers' experiences are positive."

Always improving

While multinationals' and packaging manufacturers' sustainability goals may not be quite as personally and emotionally driven as Natracare's, the result - reduced use of raw materials, and increased use of recycled or biodegradable materials - is thankfully the same. Take Pascalle Cosmetics, one of the UK's leading manufacturers of colour cosmetics and personal care products for high street retailers, including Boots, Superdrug and Wilkinson's. Pascalle, based in Stoke on Trent, is a driving force in the contract filling, private label and brand management sectors, with its flexible approach allowing it to consistently deliver a range of order sizes and packaging options.

Pascalle's 40,000ft² manufacturing site produces up to 900,000 units a week, with its range of services including consumer trend analysis, own-brand creation and product development. It also produces a monthly cosmetic trend report, which is a mine of information regarding the latest consumer trends in the cosmetic industry.

Business development manager Emma Dodd tells Packaging Today, "Our monthly fashion, beauty and cosmetic report is a great way to keep in close contact with our customers. We continually monitor developments in colour, texture and tone combinations, alongside fashion and seasonal trends, with all this running in close conjunction with the packaging of the product. We're seeing a particularly strong demand for palettes at the moment; for packaging that can be customised by the consumer, for eye and lip products, or according to customer demands."

Dodd highlights that a quick turnaround is of the utmost importance when it comes to cosmetics, with trend-driven brands at retailers like Boots and Superdrug keen to hit the shelves as soon as possible. She adds, "Obviously quality is key, but it needs to be high quality and quick to market. Each customer is different, and we deal with them all on an individual basis, with every product made to specification - from working together on a design brief and working up a palette specification, to production - and it all has to be reliable, flexible and fast. I think it helps that we're always open to new ideas and excited about innovation; we give customers whatever they want."

Boots, the UK's leading pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, has over 2,500 stores in the UK and is a hugely popular high street destination for the nation's cosmetics and personal care purchases. Its packaging manager, Annabel Burdett, appreciates that speed to market is just one of the considerations of its packaging, alongside performance, shelf appeal and a whole host of other characteristics.

"When executed well, packaging functionality can increase the likelihood of re-purchase and, in turn, drive brand loyalty," says Burdett. "We must satisfy the needs of the brands we develop in terms of the value of the product, market, regulations and the message that is to be conveyed with the package. Good packaging design is key. It needs to be bold, eye-catching, attractive, interesting and informative. It must provide a clear answer to our customers' needs while creating the desire to buy and to feel good."

Nice and natural

Suffolk-based plastic packaging manufacturer M&H Plastics also knows that shelf appeal is a key element in a product's success. Thanks to its worldwide network of agents and manufacturing facilities in the UK and the US, M&H has been a leader in custom-built and standard plastic packaging for the personal care and cosmetics industries for nearly 40 years. The company's latest product launch reflects its dedication to staying at the top of its game, as its partnership with Superdrug and Potter & Moore sees an innovative new range of men's moisturiser.

Leigh Melton, packaging manager for brand-owner Potter & Moore, says, "M&H offered the perfect solution to Superdrug customers, who are actively seeing more natural products with fewer preservatives. This innovative pack enables the product to stay fresh while offering environmental benefits over existing formats. Sales have been surpassing all expectations since it was launched."

Howard Frost, marketing manager for M&H Plastics, adds, "In a consumer-driven environment, distinctive packaging is vital, and in markets such as personal care and cosmetics, the quality and style of packaging is critical to a product's success. Our commission with Superdrug and Potter & Moore has seen us develop a fantastic co-extruded blow moulded bottle and injection moulded pump that give superb barrier properties. This 50ml Airfree Vega and Ecosolution pump offers a solution for products that are sensitive to oxygen. And all the pieces - of which there are only four, compared to the standard ten or so - are made of plastic, making it 100% recyclable in the plastics waste stream."

Beauty is certainly more than skin deep when it comes to packaging; consumers are increasingly driven to choose products that look good and do good -for the environment, and for their bodies.

 

 

 



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