Potpourri: News, market information, current events, and faces and places
PISEC to Address Counterfeiting, Brand Protection
By Joanna Cosgrove The Third International Product & Image Security Exhibition and Conference (PISEC), to be held November 6–8 at the Sheraton Hotel in Florence, Italy, will address product counterfeiting, brand piracy, and other issues that affect manufacturers of consumer products. Brand owners and packaging professionals will attend sessions on security trends and technologies led by specialists in the area of product integrity.
The overall aim of the event is putting companies in touch with the technologies that can help protect brand image and the bottom line. "[Cosmetic and personal care packagers] should be concerned," says Gabi Weck, PISEC conference manager. "The threats towards product integrity and authenticity are very real, and [companies] need to be aware of the solutions available to address these issues."
Incorporating security devices while maintaining a package's aesthetic appeal will be a key topic. "New security designs, such as high-quality holograms with eye-catching graphics, are difficult to copy and have [true] marketing appeal," says Richard Weatherly, brand security vice presi-dent at Westvaco Brand Security Inc. and a speaker at PISEC 2001.
Discreet options are also available, as Rob Karsten, sales and marketing director of Flying Null Ltd., a supplier of security technology, explains. "Our protection tags, which measure about one fiftieth of a millimeter in thickness and are as small as 10 mm2, can be buried [in packaging], invisible to the naked eye."
Cost-efficiency will also be discussed. "Security, practicality, and cost-effectiveness are [key] issues for brand owners," says Karsten.
While the event will focus primarily on advances in print-related security technology, it will also cover such devices as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and database management systems. "[Security] inks are becoming very sophisticated with high-security options. Holograms are incorporating new track and trace features, and radio-frequency technologies are receiving a lot of attention," says Weatherly.
In addition, presentations by security device suppliers, brand owners, and government officials, will address such issues as the 'gray' market and parallel trading. "These are major areas of concern to brand owners," says Karsten, who will present a seminar called Fighting Counterfeits in the Italian Supply Chain. "Increasingly, goods intended for sale in one market are being diverted to another, at the cost of the manufacturer. Cosmetics are [just one] of the [markets] at risk from parallel traders."
An exhibition will be held in conjunction with the conference. Suppliers will exhibit such packaging components as film, ink, holograms, and foils.
For information on attending PISEC, visit http://www.pisec-europe.com or contact Tarsus Martex plc, conference department, by phone at +44 20 88462700, by fax at +44 20 88462801, or by e-mail at conferences@tarsus.co.uk.
—Jennifer Kwok
NACD Presents 38th Annual Packaging Awards
Berlin Packaging supplied the winning bottles for Scents of Wellness. The National Association of Container Distributors (NACD; Philadelphia) recognized the accomplishments of several cosmetic and personal care packaging suppliers in its 38th Annual Packaging Competition. The awards ceremony took place at the 2001 NACD Convention held in Anchorage, AK, May 16–19.
Award-winning packaging for Tango Twist was supplied by Packaging West. In the cosmetics and personal care category, Berlin Packaging (Chicago) won the gold award for a PET oval bottle with a postfrost finish for Cosmetic Labs of America's Scents of Wellness products. The silver award went to Packaging West Inc. (Aurora, CO) for a 100-ml silk-screened glass bottle with a gold-and-white atomizer, and an LDPE soft-touch tube with a flip-top dispensing cap, supplied for Nordstrom's Tango Twist products. Twin City Bottle (Minneapolis) received the bronze award for soft-touch bottles, foamers, and push-up application sticks used to package Mossimo's Progressive Beauty brands.
In the novelty category, O. Berk Co. (Union, NJ) was presented with the silver award for a customized clear-colored 1-oz flint glass bottle with finger-grip indentions and roll-on over-cap for Art Stuff Roll-On Glitter from Bath & Body Works.
Circle of Champions Award to Be Presented
The Fragrance Foundation will present its Second Annual Circle of Champions Award to Guy Peyrelongue, president and CEO of L'Oreal USA, on November 5 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. "Unlike the Fifi Awards, which honor lifetime achievement, the Circle of Champions Award recognizes an individual who has made an extraordinary impact on the fragrance industry within the past 10 months," says Annette Green, president of The Fragrance Foundation. Each year in July, foundation members nominate and vote for award winners. The 2000 award went to Leonard Lauder, chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, for the company's structural changes and acquisitions. "Leonard set the mark for the industry on how to develop an international company in a vertical structure," says Green. For more information, contact The Fragrance Foundation by phone at 212/725-2755 or by e-mail at info@fragrance.org.
CTFA Publishes Regulatory Manual
The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA; Washington, DC) has published the fifth edition of the CTFA International Regulatory Resource Manual. The manual provides an overview of the regulations and requirements for the cosmetic market in 72 countries. Regulations covering product registration, ingredients, labeling, and packaging are outlined. For more information, visit http://www. ctfa.org.
ICMAD Elects Officers, Directors
Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors Inc. (ICMAD) has elected officers and directors for its board of directors. The continuing or newly elected 2001–2002 officers are: president Ian Ginsberg (Bigelow Trading Ltd; New York City); vice presidents David Schieffelin (Models Prefer Ltd; Oxford, CT) and Pamela Viglielmo (The Gramercy House; Fairfield, CT); secretary Lori Thaler (Corwood Laboratories Inc.; Hauppauge, NY); and treasurer Carmen Solo Corcoran (Solo Laboratories Inc.; Bellwood, IL). Directors elected for one-year terms include: Michael Benjamin (Temptu Marketing Inc.; New York City); Trae Bodge (Three Custom Color Specialists LLC; New York City); Trudi Bonnet (Neo Tech Cosmetic Manufacturing Inc.; Carson, CA); Jeffrey S. Dorr (Madcar Company, Inc.; Ronkonkoma, NY); Evelyn Kossak (Jolen Crème Bleach Corp.; Fairfield, CT); Gun Nowak (Face Stockholm Ltd.; Hudson, NY); Flori Roberts (The Roberts Group; Shrewsbury, NJ); and David Steinberg (Steinberg & Associates; Plainsboro, NJ). Directors elected for three-year terms include: Lou Della Pesca (3C Inc.; Hawthorne, NJ); Howard Hirsch (Kosma-Kare Waterjel; Carlstadt, NJ); Marva Kalish (Marketing Plus Consultants; Douglaston, NY); and Fred Seiden (Cosmetech Mably International; New York City). For a complete list of the association's board members, visit the ICMAD Web site at http://www.icmad.org.
Five Star Fragrances Acquires smellTHIS
Five Star Fragrances (Deer Park, NY) acquired the smellTHIS brand of fragrances from THIS LLC (Pleasantville, NY) in the first quarter of 2001. Five Star now handles development, marketing, and distribution for smellTHIS, and will market the brand to teens with distribution in such stores as Walgreens, Kmart, and Albertson's. James Berard, CEO of THIS LLC, will continue to direct creative and marketing affairs. For more information on smellTHIS fragrances, refer to "Staying Competitive in the Teen Market" in the May/June 2001 issue of CPC Packaging.
Mary Kay Certifies Arkay, DieterBakic
Mary Kay Cosmetics (Dallas) has certified vendor partners Arkay Packaging Corp. (Hauppauge, NY) and DieterBakicEnterprises (Munich) for outstanding quality, customer service, and product development. The certification is coveted within the industry because Mary Kay's certification standards are high, according to representatives at Arkay Packaging. Mary Kay gave Arkay, a supplier of paperboard folding cartons for the cosmetics market, a quality rating of 100%, an accuracy rating of 99.1%, and a score of 11 out of 12 points for customer service.
The cosmetic manufacturer also certified DieterBakicEnterprises , a supplier of custom and stock cosmetic packaging, as well as German subcontractors Heinz Plastics and Seaquist-Löffler, for the packaging of Time Wise, an antiaging product. The three Germany-based suppliers are the first European companies to meet Mary Kay's high certification standards, according to DieterBakic.
Glenroy Awarded For Flexographic Printing
The Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), the Wisconsin Graphics Excellence Awards program, and the Printing Industries of America presented Glenroy Inc. (Milwaukee), a manufacturer of packaging, balloon, and laminating films, with numerous awards for flexographic printing in 2001. In the wide web, screen, and coated paper category, Glenroy received an FTA gold award for flexographic printing for On-The-Go by Oxy. Wisconsin Graphics Excellence Awards presented Glenroy with a best of category award in the flexo wide-web-process category for work on the Vital Nutrients shampoo and conditioner duo-pack, as well as a certificate of merit for Johnson Products' Ultra Sheen product. Printing Industries of America awarded Glenroy a certificate of merit for the Vital Nutrients duo-pack in the labels, wraps, and rolled-products category.
CCL Container Consolidates
CCL Container (Oak Ridge, NJ), a supplier of containers and packaging components to the cosmetic market, has consolidated the sales and marketing departments for its tube and injection molding divisions. Under the new structure, CCL Container Tube Division represents the company's metal, laminate, and plastic tube divisions.
O. Berk Co. Reengineers Web Site
In response to user feedback, the O. Berk Co. (Union, NJ) has reengineered its corporate Web site, located at http://www.OBerk.com. A search engine enables viewers to locate containers and closures by type, size, finish, and market. In-stock inventory can also be purchased on-line at http://www.bottlestore.com.
FACES & PLACES
Outsourcing Services Group (OSG), a custom manufacturer of cosmetics and personal care products, has appointed Joseph Healy president and CEO. Healy will head the company's corporate headquarters and technical center in Allendale, NJ. Healy succeeds Chris Denney, retired president and CEO of OSG.
Jean Mortier has been promoted to senior vice president, international, at Unilever Cosmetics International (New York City). Previously, Mortier served as senior vice president, Europe, for Unilever. In addition, Peter Midwood has retired from his position as COO and president of business units for Unilever, after 31 years of service.
Cosmetic Essence Inc. (Holmdel, NJ), a contract manufacturer for the cosmetic and personal care industry, has named Richard R. Howard COO. An executive in the personal care industry for more than 30 years, Howard brings experience with logistics and supply chain management, sales and marketing, and acquisition integration to his new role.