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Tubes: Squeezing Out the Competition

Protect Your Product

Manufacturers know that just because a product is pristine prior to shipping, there's no guarantee that it will stay that way in a store. To protect products from elements that brand marketers can't directly control, like pilfering and environmental damage, tube suppliers are offering several safeguarding features.

Cebal Americas (Norwalk, CT) offers its Cebalcap, which is snapped onto tubes rather than screwed on so that caps cannot be easily removed.

To enhance the security of its tubes, Cebal offers the Cebalcap with shrink bands. Perforated for easy opening, the shrink band is applied to the oriented, snap-on dispensing closure before the closure is applied to a tube. "A shrink band on a cap conveys to end-users that the integrity of the product they are buying has been maintained," says Bertrand Daru, marketing manager for Cebal. "Using both the Cebalcap and a shrink band can protect your product. It also decreases the need for secondary packaging." And, he adds, with all of the options for printing graphics, the shrink bands can be decorated with a customer's logo or the standard phrase sealed for your protection.

For child safety, Cebal has also partnered with Rexam Closures & Containers (Evansville, IN) to design a special tube head style that accommodates Rexam's child-resistant push-and-turn closure.

To defend tubes and their products from sunlight, JSN Packaging Products Inc. (Irvine, CA) can apply a UV inhibitor, developed by one of its resin suppliers. "Because a lot of salon products are exhibited in store fronts and windows, those tubes are exposed to UV rays," says John Ulibarri, sales manager for JSN Packaging. "Under prolonged UV exposure, the color of a tube and even the color of a product can fade, especially if the product is made with natural ingredients."

The UV inhibitor is added to a tube's resin during extrusion. Since the UV inhibitor is clear, it can be applied to clear, natural, and tinted tubes without affecting their color. The tubes can then be printed and decorated with a high-gloss, matte, or soft-touch finish.

The demand for barriers in tubes is also growing, especially for antiaging products whose ingredients require special protection. Many such products, however, contain active ingredients like tretinoin, which are not compatible with certain tube materials, so tube suppliers are stepping up with improved tube barriers that are compatible with a range of product ingredients.

"The market for antiaging products is definitely growing," says Anna Sipowicz, product manager for Montebello Packaging (Oak Park, IL), a specialist in aluminum, laminate, and plastic tubes. "Tubes are a good fit for these types of products because tube dispensing provides precise, direct application."

Montebello Packaging offers several material options for tube barriers. Like many other laminate tube suppliers, one of Montebello's most popular styles is the aluminum barrier surrounded by a plastic outer layer, generally polyethylene. For H20 Plus's Line Defense Retinol Eye Complex, Montebello created an aluminum tube with a special nasal-tip applicator designed for controlled application. The tube won the Tube Council's 2002 Showcase Award. MAC Closures Inc. (Waterloo, QC, Canada) custom created the tube's color-matched silver cap.

Not all formulations, however, are compatible with aluminum. According to Sipowicz, Montebello is currently working with other barrier materials to expand clients' options. Launched early this summer, Cleartone's Deep Pore Oil Extracting Mask and Acne Clarifying Gel required tubes resistant to both moisture and oxygen. Instead of an aluminum barrier, Montebello created Cleartone's tube using Alcan Packaging's (Shelbyville, KY) Ceramis barrier material, which was better suited to the product's formulation. The tube's cap was supplied by SeaquistPerfect Dispensing (Cary, IL).

The trademarked Ceramis system comprises a silicon oxide coating on a film such as polyethylene, polyester, or nylon. The film can then be applied to tubes as a barrier. For the Cleartone tube, polyethylene film was coated with an opaque Ceramis coating. A clear Ceramis coat can also be applied to tubes made of clear films, allowing a product's color to clearly show through the tube.

"Ceramis is an inorganic material that is a good barrier against gas, moisture, and aroma," says Tim Morris, national accounts manager for Alcan Packaging. "You get the same barrier properties of aluminum foil, but with Ceramis, you also have the option of using it on clear tubes."

Ceramis is suited for flexible tubes as well as rigid containers. Films coated with Ceramis are flex-crack resistant and maintain their shape, ensuring that when a tube is squeezed, the coating will not break.

To protect oxygen-sensitive products like retinol and vitamin C, in 2002 Cebal Americas introduced its plastic airless tube to the North American market. The 1-in.-diam airless tube includes a valve feature that is inserted into the tube's head. Once a consumer stops squeezing the tube to dispense product, the valve seals, preventing air from being sucked back into the tube. The result is reduced potential for product contamination. In addition, it gives manufacturers the option of reducing the amount of preservatives that are typically needed to protect products from oxygen.

The airless tube is available in monolayer polyethylene or coextruded polyethylene, which provides the option of adding a barrier layer for added protection. One brand that chose Cebal's airless tube is Sonia Kashuk, for its Pro-Nutrient Serum. The tube was named the Tube Council's 2002 Personal Care Tube of the Year.

Bonus Features

New innovations are also being made in tube accessories. HandsFree Applicators Inc. (Fountain Valley, CA), which first grabbed the industry's attention with its oval tube and foam applicator hybrid, recently introduced another tube concept, a men's shaving tube . The 35-mm tube features HandsFree's trademark foam applicator and also has a shaving razor sonically welded to the tube's end.

Following in the footsteps of the foam applicator tube, which won the Tube Council's Most Innovative Tube Award in 1998, the tube was named the council's 2002 Showcase Tube of the Year. For the award-winning tube, HandsFree, which also manufactures its own private-label products, customized the tube for its men's shaving product.

"Though we decorated the tube for a men's shaving product, we plan to heavily target women with this tube," says Bijan Hosseini, president of HandsFree. "Customer research has shown that men are much more finicky about switching razor blade brands, but that women are more open-minded to different types of delivery systems."

The tube allows customers to first spread on the shaving product with the applicator and then shave with the razor. The foam applicator is available in a range of textures, colors, and materials, including Yukalon, an upscale sponge used by some beauty brands for foundation. A buffer-style applicator is also offered for exfoliating.

For the men's shaving tube, the razors were sourced from American Safety Razor, a private-label razor company. However, marketers can request that their own razors be used instead.

Norden AndBro (Pitman, NJ) is HandsFree's production partner for both the foam applicator and the tubes. HandsFree designs and owns the patents for the applicator tube components, and Norden does the tube decorating and holds patents for the tubes' machinery and manufacturing process.

Though no manufacturers have used the tube yet, Hosseini says that some prominent companies have expressed interest. "In a discussion, Arm & Hammer suggested that this would be a good package for a hair removal product," he says. "They came up with the concept of attaching a squeegee on the end of the tube instead of a razor, so that once customers apply the hair removal product, they can simply scrape the excess hair off their legs."

Toothpastes Get Trendy

Until now, teeth brushing has been a routine that many people consider a necessary nuisance. The makers of GoSMILE, one of the first dentifrice brands to be sold in upscale stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, is about to change all that.

This September, the company is launching its first luxury toothpaste. Like the brand's chic tooth-whitening kit, the new GoSMILE am/pm toothpaste is designed to put some style in the otherwise mundane act of oral care. Through chic packaging, the company hopes to make teeth brushing a practice that customers can enjoy.

GoSMILE am/pm is the industry's first toothpaste that, like some cosmetic facial creams, comprises two separate products that are fashioned for daytime and nighttime use. The am toothpaste has an invigorating lemon, lime, orange, and peppermint cocktail flavor, while the pm features a more calming blend of lavender, chamomile, and vanilla. Both premium formulas contain anticavity, fluoride, and tooth desensitizing and whitening ingredients. In addition, the products contain natural essential oils like cranberry extract, which according to GoSMILE prevents certain periodontal diseases.

A tube structure was required that would accommodate all of the toothpastes' specialized ingredients. "We found that tube materials like PVC weren't compatible with all of the ingredients," says Dr. Jonathan Levine, chairman and CEO of GoSMILE (New York City). "For the essential oils, we had to choose a tube material that the oils wouldn't attack."

The company decided on a five-layer tube by Vegla Packaging Inc. (Rutherford, NJ). The am tube is white and the pm tube is metallic blue.

Everything about GoSMILE's am/pm tubes looks more cosmetic than standard toothpaste tubes. Instead of the collapsible laminate tubes so popular with other toothpaste brands, GoSMILE instead chose a noncollapsible tube that stands on its cap. "We wanted the tube to retain its new appearance," says Stacey Levine, president of GoSMILE. "Our goal is that customers will be proud to display the tube on their bathroom counters and as a result, they won't forget to use the product."

Convenience is also a feature of the am/pm tubes. Instead of the usual screw-off cap, the am/pm tubes' flip-up cap makes convenient, one-handed use possible. Also, since the tube stands on its cap, the product is always near the tube's orifice so that customers don't have to squeeze and roll the tube to dispense the toothpaste.

"For GoSMILE, the whole concept of packaging toothpaste in a more attractive, cosmetic-looking tube is to inspire people to brush their teeth more and for at least the interval of time recommended by dentists," says Jonathan Levine. "If customers feel that a toothpaste tube looks good on their bathroom counters and feels good in their hands, they will want to use it."

High-End Looks

Of course, the look of a tube is still what catches a customer's attention. Tube suppliers are continually evolving new ways to decorate tubes.

"We are developing new colors for tubes, pearlescent effects, and shimmery tubes with sparkly particles," says Daru of Cebal Americas. "For laminate tubes, we have also developed pigmented webs for added product differentiation for products that require protection from moisture, oxygen, or flavor loss."

CCL Plastic Packaging, located in Los Angeles, offers its plastic Jewel Tone tubes, which are available in seven intense hues of turquoise, citrine, sapphire, emerald, ruby, periodot, and pink tourmaline. Custom color combinations are also possible, as well as a high-gloss overcoat to heighten the tube's color intensity. "Current trends call for high-end looks for tubes," says Jim Cooper, vice president, sales and marketing, for CCL Plastic Packaging.

For plastic tubes, CCL Plastic Packaging's designs are constantly improving to meet demand--and are winning awards. This year, the supplier won the Tube Council's coveted Ted Klein Tube of the Year award for the 7-oz tube it created for Victoria's Secret Rapture Golden Pearl Shower Cream. The five-layer coextruded plastic tube was honored for its luxurious decoration and customized structure. Several decorating techniques were used, including offset printing, hot stamping, and spot-labeling in one-color foil.

The tube features an end seal with a rounded shape. Cooper says that other options for tube ends are a sloping or an angled shape. The five-layer barrier structure was fashioned to prevent the shower cream's fragrance from permeating the tube. The tube's closure was supplied by Zeller Plastik (Libertyville, IL).

CCL Plastic is also experiencing demand for cheater bands, which are graphics that are printed on a tube's end to hide empty space in the top of the tube. "Consumers do seem to be getting more aware about the way that tubes are filled and how much product a tube holds, and manufacturers don't want their tubes to have the appearance of being partly empty," Cooper says.

Labels suppliers are also being recognized for their contributions to tube decorating. One label supplier, Ampersand Label (Garden Grove, CA), was singled out with its own 2002 Tube Council award for the most innovative component of the year. The winning package was a tube for Dermatologic Cosmetic Laboratories' Acne Healing System. The tube features a FlexView label, part of Ampersand's MultiVision label line.

Designed specifically for use on plastic tubes, the patent-pending FlexView is an extended-text waterproof label that conforms to a tube's flexible surface without channeling when the tube is squeezed. "The FlexView label provides our clients with the additional space needed to meet global or regulatory packaging requirements, without the cost of a secondary carton," says Paulette Carnes, president of Ampersand Label.

Carnes encourages package designers to consider pressure-sensitive labels as an option to hot stamping and other types of decoration. "You can often do more with conformable film labels now than in the past," she says. "The new raw materials produced by film manufacturers are fabulous. The metallized conformable films even give the appearance of shiny or brushed metal."

Tube suppliers are also improving their printing techniques to rival the graphics that can be achieved on labels. Tupack (Vienna, Austria), which specializes in producing plastic tubes, has introduced Photoprint, a computer-aided offset-printing process that attains a print quality comparable to printed labels. Tupack offers such techniques as combining offset-printing and silk-screening, adding soft-touch finishes to highly transparent tubes, and silk-screening metallic colors with the quality of hot-stamped foils.

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