Design Forum:Packages Turn Up the Heat
Ambrosia is a colorful twist of tanning gel and lotion in a clear plastic bottle filled by Thibiant International Inc. From sunscreen that glitters to hair texturizer that makes waves, hot summer products are even hotter in presentable packaging.
Manufacturers are greeting the season with a plethora of new sun-care products to help consumers make the most of summer. These fun-in-the-sun items, designed for the personal care, cosmetic, and fragrance markets, have not only the season in common, but also packaging that helps the products shine.
Hot Packages Under the Sun
A new tanning product, Ambrosia from California Tan (Beverly Hills), combines two separate formulations, a gel and a lotion. California Tan felt that packaging the two products together in one clear plastic injection-molded container, supplied by RPC WIKO-USA (Exton, PA), would meet a specific need for some of their customers, as Sabrina Little, director of communications for California Tan Inc., explains.
"Some people like tanning gels because of their quick-absorbing action, while others prefer the moisturizing benefits of a lotion," says Little. "We wanted to introduce a product that combined the best of both worlds." To accommodate their consumers' preferences, the company enlisted the help of contract filler Thibiant International Inc. (Chatsworth, CA).
Packaging for Sungirl sunscreen (left) shows off the product's sparkly formulation, which disappears from the skin when it's time for reapplication. Sungirl Lip Bullets packaging is supplied by Roberts Container Corp. Photos courtesy of Natural Desires. The patented filling operation, which involves rotating the packaging on-line, creates a twist of peach-colored gel and cream-colored lotion. The shape and type of the package and the frequency of rotation dictate the look of the fill, explains Patrick Thibiant, president of Thibiant International. Varying these factors achieves different designs. The underlying concept, Thibiant says, is "dressing up the product so the appearance of it becomes part of the package." Filling a container with two or more products, he says, creates new product textures and a high-visibility impact for the retail shelf.
Also from California Tan is Sundial (launched in 2000) for tanning indoors. "Sundial is a 'hot action' tanning lotion that helps increase microcirculation on the surface of the skin, causing a reddening and heating effect upon application," says Little. The product, which California Tan says is not recommended for people with sensitive skin, comes in a refillable, dual-chambered package outfitted with a dial that allows consumers to dispense a desired ratio of tanning lotion and the Hot Action Complex simultaneously. "Refill chambers can be purchased separately at the tanning salon," adds Little. The packaging for Sundial is supplied by Variotech (Kaufbeuren, Germany) and filled by Levlad Laboratories (Chatsworth, CA).
Another company that is marketing product in a dual-chambered package this summer is Bain de Soleil. Its Radience Eternelle Self Tanning Crème consists of a tanning agent and a color enhancer, elements housed separately in two inner containers surrounded by an outer shroud. The formulas are dispensed in a homogeneous ribbon via the patented Twin Dispenser from RPC WIKO-USA. The dispenser is designed not only for aesthetic appeal, with its customized bronze outer housing, but also for optimal functionality. An injection-molded foot closes the container with the piston, and thus prevents the piston from escaping the bottom of the package.
The canister for Geomér's Self Tanner adds to the product's masculine appeal. The sparkly formulations for Sungirl made packaging selection easy, according to Ned McCrink, founder and CEO of Natural Desires. "We were lucky enough to have a product that has its own aesthetic appeal [built in]," says McCrink. "Our [approach] was to showcase the product by making the packaging and labeling secondary to the formulation."
The 2.2-oz-plastic bottles and the white caps for Sungirl sunscreen are supplied by Vantage Packaging Inc. (Temecula, CA) and Poly-Tainer (Simi Valley, CA), respectively.
Beach Blonde by John Frieda employs clear packaging that allows the unique aspects of each formulation to shine through. The sunscreen is cross-merchandised with the brand's Lip Bullets Shimmering Lip Protection on vertical hanging displays to maximize retail presence. Roberts Container Corp. (Chatsworth, CA) supplies the metallic-lavender packaging for Lip Bullets.
While Sungirl is marketed to a female demographic, not all tanning products for summer are packaged for women and girls. Geomér (Farmingdale, NY) understands that men too like to sunbathe, so the company developed its Self Tanner strictly for a man's specific skin-care needs. The all-natural formula is designed to exfoliate and moisturize the skin while darkening it with a rich, even tone. The product's packaging, also created with men in mind, is a bottle supplied by Lumson International. A canister from Cin-Made Packaging Group (Cincinnati) adds to the product's masculine appeal. Geomér chose the canister, says Laura Brewster, vice president of product development for the company, "because its shape is unique, making the product more noticeable on the shelf."
So Pink fragrance from Gap features packaging that is clean and feminine, with a citrus scent well suited for summer.On the cosmetics front, Mary Kay's new Gilty Pleasures line is designed to look as good as gold to summertime buyers. With its gold-toned packaging, the product is marketed as an affordable luxury. Products include the Eyelighting Trio of precious-metal shades for eyes, supplied in one compact; LipWear lip colors in slim gold-colored cases; and Born to Be Bronze Shimmering Crème, a blend of gold and bronze product designed to look as good on a vanity as it does on the skin, thanks to a glass jar supplied by Heinz Glas (Kleintettau, Germany) and an eye-catching bronze cap.
Also packaged for success this season is Beach Blonde by John Frieda (Wilton, CT), a line of formulations that create colors and textures for hair. "Transparent packaging for Gold Rush, Lemon Lights, and Ocean Waves enables consumers to easily visualize the products' concept and purpose," says Joseph Cincotta, director of research and development for John Frieda.
Gold Rush is a shimmering gel that gives any shades of hair instant accents of gold. Lemon Lights, a lemon-juice-based gel with real bits of lemon, adds subtle permanent highlights to blonde and lighter brunette shades. And Ocean Waves Sea Spray Texturizer shake-to-mix "bi-phase" formula adds body, shine, and styling properties to hair, which can be twisted, twirled, and scrunched into loose waves or a mussy beach style. Clear caps for the Beach Blonde products are provided by Polytop Corp. (Los Alamitos, CA) and CCL Custom Manufacturing (Rosemont, IL).
Also on the market in plenty of time for summer is Gap's So Pink, a citrus floral fragrance with a pink-tinted juice that shines through its packaging. "[The fragrance] has a clean scent that infuses pink grapefruit, orange, lily, and sweet pea with cool notes of jasmine and musk," says Anna Lonergan of Gap. "The packaging, like the fragrance, is clean, feminine, and modern. It allows the fragrance to be what it really is: so pink." Pochet of America (Wayne, NJ) supplies the bottle, Niob Ltd. (Berlin, CT) the cap.