Design Interview: Anthony Sosnick
Anthony Sosnick Anthony Logistics For Men
By Jenniifer Kwok, Associate EditorIt seems only natural that a man would be best suited to design products and packages for a personal care brand specifically for men. As a consumer, Anthony Sosnick, creator of Anthony Logistics For Men (New York City), spent years seeking—and never finding—a complete grooming line tailored for men's tastes and so he decided to create his own.
"Not only did I find that there was a huge lack of high-end grooming products for men in the market, but most of those products were either part of a small line or mere extensions of a fragrance line," says Sosnick.
In November 2000, Anthony Logistics For Men launched with 30 products, which may be considered a lot for a company starting out. Since the company's goal is to be a "one-stop shop," however, Sosnick says that it was important to be able to offer men products for all aspects of grooming, including shaving and facial, body, and hair care.
"Men are looking to buy products from one brand because it's easy and they know they can trust the brand's products," says Sosnick. "Anthony Logistics For Men [which currently retails around 50 products] offers a complete grooming system for men."
Cohesive packaging promotes the brand's complete image. Uniform labels feature a simple gray or orange color band and plain black text. "When we conducted focus groups, we found that a lot of labels have long paragraphs of confusing text," says Sosnick. "Men want things to be simple and to the point."
Each container's front label concisely states the product's objective, strategy, and method of use. While succinct, the text is also witty. For instance, the objective for the All Purpose Facial Moisturizer states, "Objective: Invest wisely. Face it, it's your future."
Each back label features the symbolic blue ribbon for the Fight Against Prostate Cancer, just one of the charitable causes the company supports with its proceeds.
The custom-designed containers are created with men in mind. For Anthony Logistics, this means using extra-wide tubes and bottles that look manly, says Sosnick. The packages' functional features can be appreciated by either gender. Only plastic packaging is used for transport convenience. Because studies show that men tend to lose caps, the color-matched caps are attached to the tubes. And many of the closures have a self-cleaning mechanism that sucks excess product back into the container to eliminate unnecessary mess.
Being an independent company rather than part of a large corporation grants Sosnick design freedom. "I can make my packages look a little more edgy, with more of a personal touch," he says. "I think of myself as being my target customer." The company also relies on customer feedback garnered from its Web site as well as during in-store promotions for such retailers as Barneys, Fred Segal, and Sephora.
Judging from the brand's success, there are many men like Sosnick searching for products that they can appreciate. "The men's personal care market is estimated as growing 11% faster than the women's market," says Sosnick. "Anthony Logistics For Men was one of the industry's pioneers that focuses its line solely on men's grooming needs."