Decorative Tubes
By Bajeerah Lowe, Associate Editor
Tubes provide dispensing ease and full release of various personal care formulas, but the shape options for this mode of packaging remains limited. Product differentiation and brand image are instead realized in material choice, decoration and closures. The year's new tubes have used these options to create unique looks for toothpaste, hair and skin care products.
When launching Brocato Latina, its hair care line exclusively for Latino women, Beautopia Inc., Minneapolis, MN, wanted packaging that would jump off the shelf. "The packaging needed to speak directly to the Latino customer," says Janine Trutna, marketing director, Beautopia. In order to create this image, Beautopia's creative team hit the streets. They went into the Hispanic mercados, a retail collaborative of businesses owned and operated by Hispanics. The team looked at how products were being presented, in terms of packaging, copy and colors, and came up with several different combinations. They then took the different packaging options back to the mercados and conducted street surveys. "The end result was that the Latino market really likes a mix of bright colors," says Trutna. "To maximize the amount of color, we chose natural bottles and tubes to allow the color of the product to show through along with multi-colored caps and a three-color decoration. The result is fun, upbeat and eye-catching." For additional assimilation, Spanish is used as the primary language on the packaging.
An upscale look is achieved with Softtouch tubes provided by Tubed Products Inc., Easthampton, MA. "Softtouch is a specially blended material that provides a unique matte look and soft, velvety feel without the use of any coatings," says Janet R. Szych, sales and marketing coordinator, Tubed Products. "Beautopia looks at packaging as an essential element of a product's or brand's image," says Trutna. "Our packaging needs to quickly express the image of the brand and speak to the target market...We want the product to speak to the target customer from the shelf, so we try to make the packaging as unique as possible."
The Relaxing Balm features a Tubed Products' patented dispensing closure that remains attached to the tube and is simply twisted open to dispense the product. The closure makes an audible click when opened and closed. The Moisture Treatment has a two-inch dispensing nozzle and stock closure from Tubed Products allowing the tube to be displayed in an upright position.
Silver Sparkles
Although the oral care market is highly competitive, toothpaste tubes are traditionally white with minimal design aspects. But Church & Dwight's new Arm and Hammer P.M. Dental Care, formulated to be used at night to fight sticky plaque and odor causing germs, called for the creation of a non-traditional tube for a new breed of toothpaste.
Rather than choosing the common white pigmented laminate, C&D decided on a non-pigmented laminate with a clear outer film, allowing the silver foil to accentuate the tube's graphic elements. "We looked at several types of packaging including standup tubes and specialty packaging before choosing this tube," says Frank Lindsey, senior manager, packaging group, Church & Dwight, Princeton, NJ.
Translucent inks were used overtop the silver laminate "to give a high glamour and glitter look," says Lindsey. The night sky image was achieved through six-color printing on a rotary letterpress using photoplymer printing plates, according to Bob Almer, director of sales, Betts USA, Florence, KY. Achieving the appropriate opacity and brightness for the white print that is overtop of the dark night scene decoration provided a bit challenging.
A look of complete decoration is achieved by printing from the shoulder all the way to the end seal, which proved to be a challenge. "Until now, laminate tubes have kept ink away from the shoulder," Almer says. The shoulder seam is hidden with the use of the large blue cap, which also provides easy removal and replacement and an aesthetically pleasing look. "The blue cap really completes the package," says Almer.
Silver foil tubes were also chosen by The Beauty & Health Works Co., Plano, TX, for its Phyto Systeme hair care line. "We look for highly aesthetic, yet functional, packaging for all our products," says Cy Bulsara, president and CEO, The Beauty & Health Works Co. "This packaging is a great combination of both."
The SilverLine tubes from Cebal America, Norwalk, CT, use laminate webstock which combines aluminum foil and various polyethylene resins. The outer layer of the laminate is clear which allows the aluminum foil in the construction to be visible. The decoration for the hair care line was created by Briley & Stables Creative, Richardson, TX, to portray the company's commitment to providing natural products. The art was printed by offset printing on the flat laminate before the laminate was formed into the tube.
While the tubes provide the upscale look of metal, they also have the ease of laminate. "There are very few tubes in the marketplace that have a foil see-through look, but interest is growing," says Michael Hoard, market manager, Cebal. The tubes are topped with flip top caps, allowing for one handed use.
Winning Metal
L'Oreal's Lancome Division won top honors in the metal tube category for its Vitabolic skin creme in The Tube Council of North America's 1999 competition. The tube was manufactured by Montebello Packaging, Oak Park, IL, and incorporates a unique cap and dispensing system. Before its first use, the tube cap assembly is disengaged and an orange spacer ring removed. The user than reapplies the closure and, in doing do, pierces the protective neck seal allowing the product to flow into the plastic neck applicator orifice which has now locked onto the metal neck collar. The overcap keeps the product fresh after opening. The cap assembly is manufactured by Risdon, Naugatuck, CT. The tube is pearlized white with gold, gray and orange graphics.
Dual Chambers
Beverly Hills, CA-based California Tan required a special tube to house its Forbidden(tm) dark tanning formula. Because the product's ingredients (champagne extract and caviar protein) can't mix until application, the company chose a dual chambered, black laminate tube from CCL Container, Oak Ridge, NJ, that blends the moisturizing emollients and tanning compounds together as the tube is squeezed.
The laminate tubes are constructed of five layers of film with one colored layer. "The colored webstock effectively camouflages the tube's seamline for improved package aesthetics," says Jim Cooper, vice president, sales and marketing, CCL Container Tube Division. "The new look complements the laminate tube's strong barrier properties." The product name is hot-stamped on the black tube in gold and surrounded with lattice-like detail, also in gold. The promotional copy is also hot stamped in gold, while the remaining copy is silk-screened in a cream color. "Together, the black and gold lend a very sophisticated look to the package, perfect for the upscale clientele it's being marketed to," says John Moore, purchasing manager, California Tan.