Applications: Innovation Does a Bottle Good
Packages like the tonic bottle for the Soy Smoothie Straightening Tonic feature scuff- and water-resistant shrink-sleeves. The packaging for Healthy Sexy Hair is inventive and still caters to consumers' needs and tastes.
By Jennifer Kwok, Associate EditorPackage designers strive not only to create attractive products that consumers will want, but also to innovate and advance the state of the art. Sexy Hair Concepts (Chatsworth, CA) founder Michael O'Rourke has achieved such a balance with the launch of Healthy Sexy Hair, a line of soy-based hair-care products. Shampoo, conditioner, and tonic are some of the products designed to attract the health-conscious consumer and introduce inventive design concepts. The line's packaging components—styles typically used in food and medical packaging—convey the message that the products nourish the body, and also create a distinct look that stands out in the personal-care market.
"Boring packages shortchange the consumer," says Donna Federici, senior vice president of marketing for Sexy Hair Concepts. But the company is well aware that new, exciting packaging should not go so far as to be intimidating. "We bring packaging to an innovative yet friendly level that makes it easy for [consumers] to participate," says Federici. "If [the execution of] our ideas is too advanced, consumers may take too long to embrace it."
The packaging for Healthy Sexy Hair incorporates shrink-sleeves, milk-style bottles, tonic-style bottles, and test-tube-type packages, all designed for uniqueness and ease of use. In fact, O'Rourke draws on his 30 years of hairdressing experience—as well as on the feedback of the stylists in his own worldwide salon chain, Carlton Hair International USA—to package products that are deemed by the experts to be easy to operate.
The SoyMilk Shampoo and Conditioner bottles are reminiscent of old-fashioned milk bottles. Supplied by Arroyo Packaging (Anaheim, CA), the 250-ml high-density polyethylene stock bottles provide "a classic milk-bottle appearance, accentuating the soy [ingredients]," says a representative from Arroyo Packaging. The Soy Smoothie Straightening Tonic is housed in a custom-molded 4-oz high-density polyethylene bottle also supplied by Arroyo Packaging.
The shampoo, conditioner, and tonic bottles are labeled with scuff- and water-resistant PVC shrink-sleeves produced by Ameri-Seal Inc. (Chatsworth, CA). "I believe that Sexy Hair Concepts is one of the first companies to use a shrink-sleeve to decorate a personal-care bottle," says Ameri-Seal president Howard Millstein. "They've really set a [trend] for the industry." Rotogravure-printed in six colors with graphics provided by Sexy Hair Concepts, the shrink-sleeves were applied by Ameri-Seal using a steam-tunnel process that allowed the sleeves to shrink precisely onto the bottles.
Bold, easy-to-read graphics are also a signature feature of the packaging. For example, the aluminum can supplied by CCL Container's Aerosol Division (Hermitage, PA) for the Soya Want Full Hair Firm Hairspray was chosen, in part, because its height can accommodate large graphics. "The can is ergonomic and also provides a billboard effect for the graphics," says Fred Spohr, director of marketing and Midwest sales for CCL Container's Aerosol Division. The one-piece can is rust repellent and hermetically sealed. In addition, the can's brushed-aluminum surface provides a suitable substrate for dry-offset-printed graphics.
SeaquistPerfect Dispensing (Cary, IL) supplied the valve, actuator, and hood for the can. The company customized its stock WS-25 actuator and low-profile hood in a translucent finish. The actuator is designed to look natural and be consistent with the product's healthy theme, remaining visible beneath the hood. The same components by SeaquistPerfect Dispensing were supplied for the Soya Want Flat Hair Flat Iron Spray aerosol can supplied by CCL Container.
Other creative packages in the collection include a jar for the Soy Paste Texture Pomade, a clear SAN stick package for the Soy Butter Pure Shine product, and a test-tube-style container for the Soy Fuel Power Conditioner Booster. The clear, silk-screened 35-ml PETG test tube, supplied by Roberts Cosmetic Containers (Chatsworth, CA), reveals the product's vibrant blue color, and is designed to give the product a medical industry look. "Sexy Hair Concepts is the first company to use a test-tube package for a hair-care product," says Sheri Roberson, key account manager for Roberts Cosmetic Containers.
O'Rourke feels that Sexy Hair Concepts' package designs should be more than an outlet for artistic ideas. They must also keep his clientele interested in Sexy products, he says. "We want to be opinion leaders," says O'Rourke. "[The industry] needs a benchmark. We take risks [like Healthy Sexy Hair] to be just that.".