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The first-place winner was Amber Wilk, a student at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, for her entry, Aura Skin Therapy and Massage Oil. Mike Santos, a student of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM; Los Angeles), won second place for his Dada Gel-Styling product. The third-place award went to Tanya Goodall, another student from FIDM, for her Jardin Body Wash.

Trade shows are also recognizing young designers. In October, the organizers of Luxe Pack Monaco held the trade show's first design awards. Called the Monaco Luxe Pack Design Award, the competition was geared toward young designers with no more than five years of professional experience. The competition was open to all young professional designers, not only those who specialize in perfume and cosmetic packaging. Entrants had to create a design for a perfume bottle that conveys the competition's theme, "Monte Carlo Dream," inspired by the enchanting area in Monaco.

The top finalists from five countries—Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States—were each given funds to develop a three-dimensional model of their bottle designs. At the trade show held October 22-25, France's Xavier Ricolfi, who graduated from the National School of Applied Arts and Art Professions, School of Industrial Design, and founded Noeme Design Studio in 2001, received the grand prize for his entry. His design was a rectangular glass bottle designed to sit horizontally. Floating among the fragrance inside the bottle are jewels.

Winners of these design awards received monetary prizes. Ricolfi received more than $10,000 for his Luxe Pack award. Some designers, like Goodall, who like the other ICMAD winners received a monetary award, said that they would invest the money in their careers. Goodall said that she would use her prize money to buy computer design programs.

Perhaps more important than financial gains, however, awards give students recognition in an industry where designers continually strive to stand out.

Says Ricolfi, "This competition gave me an opportunity to express myself. A prestigious competition like this one is also a springboard, an opportunity for a young freelance designer to meet people in the luxury business. It's a way of showing my work more easily."

"[Winning awards] definitely gives students more confidence in their work," says ICMAD winner Wilk. "Awards look great in portfolios, and they [get] students job opportunities."

For many entrants, the awards were their first major foray into cosmetic package design. Some award-winning students, who may not have settled on packaging design as a career, say that the awards may inspire them to pursue it. "I've always considered package design as an option," said ICMAD winner Santos. "Winning this competition has opened the doors a little wider for my interest in it as a career."

Providing a Solid Foundation

The excellence exhibited in these entries can be taken as evidence that design schools are providing students and young designers with sufficient training in package design, even if they aren't specifically pursuing package design. Most of the schools we interviewed taught graphic design on a comprehensive scale, providing students with a solid background in things like logo design, part and parcel to a successful package.

Marlene Morbitt-Dunn, chairperson of the graphic design program for FIDM, says, "We teach students to look at the creativity needed to market a product, through things like logos and branding, to create a package that will look good sitting on a shelf."

Schools like Atlanta's Portfolio Center take an all-inclusive approach to training. "The approach to teaching design at Portfolio Center is extremely comprehensive," says Hank Richardson, president of Portfolio Center. "Of course, as they go along, students tend to become interested in a particular aspect of design, but our initial focus is the 'overall' of creating solutions that are clear, useful, and helpful across every platform, regardless of the problem itself. Once a student learns to think of design in these terms, it doesn't matter if he or she is designing an annual report, an airplane, or a fragrance bottle."

Richardson adds that students learn about the range of factors that affect package design, "from the introduction of creative strategy to consideration of form and the mechanical aspects of design and form building. [They also study] behavioral analysis to virtually everything the consumer experiences that might have to do with a brand--for example, identity, advertising, Web sites, retail environments, product bags, sales slips, and information material."

Many schools' graphic design majors include courses specifically on package design. The Art Institute of California Los Angeles (Santa Monica, CA), for instance, includes Introduction to Package Design courses in its graphic design coursework and trains students in things such as computer design. "We teach students to look at a package from all angles," says Susanne Manheimer, department chair, graphic design, for The Art Institute. "Part of the courses focus on cosmetic packaging. Students are required to research packages already in the marketplace and then either use what they've learned in graphic design to create an original package or to redesign an existing one. They come out of our program as well rounded designers."

The ICMAD winners spoke about how their graphic design training helped them create their entries. Wilk describes how her American Academy of Art training fed into her design. "My package design class provided me with the skills I used for the logo design. I also learned about how to make products stand out from all others in the market. I decided to use the striking image of bright candles on a black background because most cosmetic bottles are pastel colors, so black definitely stands out. Also, the beautiful image of the candles draws your eye to it because you rarely see photographic images on cosmetic bottles."

Goodall, who studies at FIDM, says, "While designing, I considered, among other things, balance, contrast, color, and the way the design would look when it was wrapped around the bottle. I asked myself, 'What will the consumer see when the bottle is sitting on the shelf?' These are basic things that every designer should consider, and they are certainly taught at FIDM."

Industry Supports Schools

In addition to holding design competitions, industry professionals are also sponsoring students with scholarships and donations to design schools, which are still recognized as a source of future industry talent.

The New Jersey Packaging Executives Club held its scholarship dinner on September 25 at the Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange, NJ. The scholarship recipients were five college students, all enrolled in various packaging programs: Rachel Craft, Clemson University; Justin Shalty, Michigan State University; Sean Hickey, Rochester Institute of Technology; Haines Ahn, Rutgers University; and Min Kim, Rutgers University.

On September 8, The Fashion Institute of Technology's (FIT; New York City) cosmetic and fragrance marketing department held its annual fundraiser to benefit the department's educational development fund. The event was attended and supported by representatives from major companies, including Cosmopolitan Cosmetics USA Inc., Chanel, Estée Lauder, Firmenich, Fragrance Resources, Thierry Mugler, Puig USA, Arcade Marketing Inc., Drom Fragrance Inc., and Unilever Cosmetics International.

"We get tremendous support from the industry," says Joyce Brown, president of FIT. "It makes for a really dynamic commitment on the part of the college and the industry to strengthen the next generation of leaders. It's an ongoing partnership that students really appreciate."

"This program is a quintessential example of industry and higher education working together for the benefit of both the students and the industry," says Peg Smith, department chair at FIT.

John Boiano, production director, global advertising, at Unilever Cosmetics International, says, "The students act as windows for us, through which we can anticipate future trends."

The Fragrance Foundation's Annette Green, chair and founder of the Cosmetics and Fragrance Action Council at FIT, says, "Before this program, people just fell into the industry by accident. The industry has worked together, and FIT's degree program, chaired by Peg Smith, has been able to establish the fragrance industry as an important profession in the minds of students. The next generation of young people are committed and will make a big difference in the future of the industry."

HBA Honors Packages, Industry Leaders

Mass-market class took center stage at HBA's Annual Industry Awards Dinner this year. Olay Regenerist from Procter & Gamble won the Grand Prize in the fourth Annual International Package Design Awards. It received this honor after taking the top spot in the Mass Skin Care category.

Libby Perzyk Kathman designed packaging for the Regenerist line. The line uses pumps from Rexam Dispensing Systems (Purchase, NY) and secondary plastic sleeves from AGI/Klearfold (New York City). "The shape of the Regenerist package and the materials used to produce it . . . speak to the product's uniqueness and premium positioning," says Peter Hargraves. He is P&G's section head for beauty care packaging. "They are noticeably different from the white paperboard tuck cartons that dominate the skin-care category. [The packaging] grabs [consumers'] attention and makes them want to touch it."

Other winners included Aveda's Uruku lipstick, which took the title in the Cosmetics category. Kanebo International's Advanced Recovery Concentrate won in the Skin Care: Limited category. Intuition from Schick was selected as leader in the Personal Care category. And Crave from Calvin Klein took top honors in the Fragrance category.

Many of the winners credited suppliers for their part in package design. John Delfausse, Aveda's vice president of packaging, accepted the Cosmetics category award. "Aveda Uruku is no ordinary lipstick. Its packaging uses 90% postconsumer recycled materials," he said. He thanked suppliers UFP Technologies Inc. (Georgetown, MA), Teel Plastics (Baraboo, WI), and Risdon-AMS (Watertown, CT).

Accepting the Fragrance category award for Crave by Calvin Klein was Noreen Dodge, global marketing director, new business planning, for Calvin Klein Cosmetics Co. She thanked designer Fabien Baron of Baron and Baron. She also recognized suppliers Rexam Dispensing Systems, Risdon-AMS, Kruger, and Qualipac.

Sharon DelValle accepted the Personal Care category award for Schick's Intuition. She credited Dr. Glennis Orloff, Schick's director of new product development. "She listened to women to find out what they really wanted from a shaving product," DelValle said. She also thanked package designer Brian Foster.

The night opened with the recognition of several leaders in the beauty industry. Harvey Gedeon, senior vice president of global research and development for The Estée Lauder Companies, was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement in Product Development Award. William Lauder, COO of The Estée Lauder Companies, presented the award to Gedeon.

Evelyn H. Lauder, senior vice president for Estée Lauder, was honored for her contributions to breast cancer research. HBA organizers made a $10,000 donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which Evelyn Lauder founded in 1993. Evelyn could not attend, so her husband, Leonard Lauder, received the donation on her behalf for the foundation.

Suzanne Grayson presented Dr. Albert M. Kligman with the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Beauty through Science.
Jill Scalamandre, group vice president of global marketing for Avon Products Inc., presented Kathy Kordowski with the Packaging Executive of the Year Award. Kordowski is vice president, package engineering and marketing services, for Avon. "Kathy can do more than 800 packages a year. She is extraordinary," said Scalamandre.

Reuven Sacher, vice president, oral care, Colgate-Palmolive, presented the Annual New Product R&D Technical Team Award to the Simply-White R&D team. The team includes John Curtis, associate director, technology; Peter Santarpia, technical associate; Michael Collins, senior technical associate; and Robin Cabanas, manager, technology.

More than 600 industry executives attended the dinner held at the New York Hilton.

Growth Predicted for Cosmetic, Toiletry Packaging

Demand for cosmetic and toiletry containers is predicted to grow 2.6% to 23 billion units by 2007. This prediction comes from Cosmetic & Toiletry Containers, a new study published by industrial research firm The Freedonia Group Inc. (Cleveland).

The 310-page study, published this October, attributes the projected increase to growth in cosmetic and toiletry product shipments and further development of nontraditional sales channels. New launches for males, teens, and tweens will also contribute to the increased container demand.

The report also approximates that in 2002, the hair care, oral hygiene, and skin care sectors accounted for two-thirds of cosmetic and toiletry container demand. In the future, Freedonia predicts an increase for skin care product containers due to the population's expanding over-45 age group. Demand for liquid-soap containers is also expected to rise, especially for formulations that offer skin-care benefits like moisturizing and exfoliation.

Demand for plastics, currently the primary container material used by most beauty markets, will continue to advance. Freedonia predicts that the popularity of plastics will continue to replace demand for glass, metal, and paperboard. This is in part due to plastic's cost-efficiency and the continued development of resins that resemble glass. According to Freedonia, demand for plastic tubes will also compete with that for plastic bottles, as more prestige brands start using tubes.

Finally, Freedonia predicts a decline for paperboard container demand as more brands eliminate secondary packaging for personal care products. Increased competition from plastic boxes and blister packs will also contribute to the decrease.

For information about purchasing Cosmetic & Toiletry Containers, visit www.freedoniagroup.com or call 440/684-9600.

BIW Honors Southern California Entrepreneur

Beauty Industry West (BIW) bestowed its Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Michelle Bartok, founder of Innovative Body Science (San Diego). The award was presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles on June 10.

"BIW initiated this award two years ago because we wanted to recognize West Coast entrepreneurs uniquely within our organization," says Susan Raffy, president of BIW and director of product development for Guthy-Renker Corp. "This was the first year that we opened up the selection of the award recipient to our entire membership. We felt that this made Michelle's award even more significant because she was recognized by her peers." The previous award winner was exclusively selected by BIW's board members.

Bartok founded Innovative Beauty Science in 1986. The firm formulates, manufactures, fills, and packages private-label retail and amenity products for hotels and spas. The company's clients have included The Body Shop, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Mandalay Bay and MGM hotels, the Silverado resort in Napa, CA, and the Hualalai Four Seasons resort in Hawaii. For packaging, the company stocks approximately five different bottle families and also facilitates custom molds for customers. "We're a turnkey resource," says Bartok.

According to Bartok, the number of spas and hotels with private-label products continues to grow. She offers this advice to marketers: "Hotels that don't offer spa services should offer name-brand products, since these products often have more-established credibility," advises Bartok. "For spas and hotels that specialize in spa services, however, offering private-label amenities is a great way to get guests to sample your products and to get them into the spas to purchase the retail sizes."

On winning the BIW award, Bartok says, "It's great to feel that I've earned the respect of my peers. I've been in business for a long time, and this award validates my business and the fact that I'm still here and doing business the way that I choose to."

"She's one of our homegrown success stories," says Raffy of Bartok, who has been a BIW member since the organization was founded. "Like a lot of companies that get their start by formulating products in their kitchens, Michelle started her business on her own. She now has at least 20 employees. She's recognized nationally and is competing with businesses 10 times her company's size and is still getting the business."

BIW is a nonprofit association founded in 1989.

Roberts Metal Shines in Best in Metal Awards

Beauty packages supplied by Roberts Metal Packaging (London) won several awards in the Best in Metal Awards, sponsored by The U.K. Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA; Berkshire, UK). The packages created by Roberts Metal were the only cosmetic and toiletry packages to be honored in this year's awards.

A metal container for Lush's solid shampoo bar won in the awards' health and beauty category. The inside and outside of the round brushed-aluminum tin, measuring 64 X 20 mm, was coated with a clear FDA-approved lacquer. In addition, since the tin's metal is noncorrosive, the container can be taken into the shower.

The winner of the awards' closures category was a package for Davies Gate GardenMade Hand Salve. Roberts Metal created an embossed 70-mm-diam aluminum lid, also coated with a clear, FDA-approved lacquer. The lid is noncorrosive and is 100% recyclable.

Finally, a package created for Kaufman Containers for manufacturer Herban Cowboy won the bronze award for technical innovation. The 36 X 20-mm screw-lid aluminum container was fitted with a clear SAN window, allowing customers to see the color of the blemish concealer housed within. According to Roberts Metal, some of the production challenges involved cost-effectively automating and controlling the precision piercing, gluing, and window-fitting operations.

Bright Package Idea Wins Ex-Tracts Award

The Ex-Tracts trade show's Best Product Awards honored soap marketer Bathology (Oakland, CA) for outstanding creative packaging. The award was presented on the first day of the show, held September 19-22 at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The award-winning package was a secondary carton that houses Bathology's handcrafted vegetable-glycerin Soap Bulb soap. To match the lightbulb-shaped bar of soap, Bathology's chief creative director, Bill Paradise, designed the carton to resemble a lightbulb box. On the carton, the "25 Wash" graphic indicates how many washes the soap provides. It also mimics the logo commonly used for a lightbulb's watts.

The SBS paperboard carton was manufactured by Thai Kitchen, which owns the Bathology brand, in its in-house facilities.

"We're thrilled to win this award," says Mitchell Merrick, national sales manager for Bathology. "We appreciate that our industry peers who judged the awards thought that the package was innovative. The award has generated a lot of buzz for us."

Mary Kay Honors CCL Plastic

Mary Kay Inc. bestowed its annual Vendor of the Year award on CCL Plastic Packaging Inc. (Los Angeles), a division of CCL Industries. According to CCL, the plastic-packaging component supplier was honored for its outstanding performance for Mary Kay during 2002. It marks the first time that a tube manufacturer has been given the award.

The award honors excellence in customer service, delivery, quality, product development, and pricing. "Mary Kay has been a customer of CCL's for more than six years, and we have worked diligently to meet their service, quality, and price expectations," says Jim Cooper, vice president of sales and marketing for CCL Plastic. Former recipients of the award include Arkay Packaging, Green Bay Packaging, and U.S. Cosmetics.

"CCL's attention to detail and exemplary customer service during 2002 contributed to Mary Kay's ability to achieve another year of record results," says Lane Burtz, Mary Kay's vice president, purchasing and packaging engineering. "We greatly appreciate its focus on quality, as well as its professionalism and eagerness to go the extra mile."

Supplier Happy over Award

Risdon-AMS (Watertown, CT) has won the Formes de Luxe award in the plastic category for its jar for Guerlain's Issima Happylogy.

Jars were engineered and manufactured in two sizes, 30 and 50 ml, at Risdon's facility in Marolles, France. Made of thick-walled Surlyn, the jars required special cooling developed at Risdon's Marolles plant. "Thick Surlyn keeps transforming out of the mold and needs to be cooled very efficiently to maintain clarity. The industry standard is to use water coolants; this could not be used here in order to avoid damaging the parts when they shock each other in water," says Gérald Martines. He is Risdon-AMS's sales director—Europe. "So we designed a proprietary cooling method using a special air coolant and special supports."

Martines says that the 50-ml jar is one of the heaviest molded-Surlyn products in the beauty industry. Both jar sizes are fitted with an iridescent polypropylene product cup. They are sealed by a polypropylene lid that features a shape-memory handle and the embossed Guerlain logo. The jar is topped by a shiny gold-metallized polypropylene cap molded with a swirl-like sculpted handle and fitted with a self-adhesive foam liner.

The award was recently presented to Risdon-AMS at a ceremony in Paris.

AmeriStar Winners Showcased at Pack Expo

Pack Expo Las Vegas, held October 13-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, displayed the winners in a number of packaging award programs in its Showcase of Packaging Innovations. Winners of the Institute of Packaging Professionals' (Naperville, IL) 2003 AmeriStar awards, honoring several beauty packages, were among those on display.

AGI/Klearfold took home two AmeriStar awards. One was for the Insight secondary cartons it created for Procter & Gamble's Olay Regenerist products. The second was for AGI's Vista Image compact, customized for Stila Cosmetics.

CCL Container was honored for its Comfort Hold ergonomically contoured aluminum aerosol can.

Diamond Packaging won for its creation of L'Oréal USA/Matrix Essentials' Trix Remix counter display and multipage interactive sampler. The company produced all of the display's paperboard components, including the booklet, accordion insert, fold-over coupon, counter display, and header. In just 16 days, 200,000 booklets were printed. Vibrant graphics were offset printed using four-color process inks and a satin aqueous coating. Diamond Contract Manufacturing handled assembly.

Graham Packaging Co. received an award for its Flexa Tube design, which features a retractable dome-shaped dispenser. Taixing K.K. Plastic Company, Ltd., was honored for developing a tamper-evident seal for dispensing pumps to replace shrink film or a dust cover, speeding up the lotion-filling process.

The Showcase of Packaging Innovations was located in the show's new Containers & Materials Pavilion.

Wal-Mart Executive to Address CTFA

H. Lee Scott Jr., president and CEO of Wal-Mart, will be the keynote speaker at The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association's (CTFA; Washington, DC) annual meeting, to be held February 25-28 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida.

Scott will speak at a morning session on February 26. The dates of the annual meeting, formerly scheduled to begin on February 26, were changed to better accommodate attendees' schedules.

New Catalog for Cosmetic Packaging Group

The Cosmetic Packaging Group (Union, NJ), a division of O. Berk Co., has published a new catalog. Called the Portfolio of Products, the catalog features 32 pages full of photos of the packaging supplier's offerings. These include glass, plastic, and metal containers, as well as a wide variety of caps, closures, pumps, and sprayers. In addition, the catalog offers an easy-to-use cross-reference chart.
The supplier also announced the newest edition of The Pocket Container Sourcebook series. Called The Pocket Container Sourcebook for Cosmetic & Personal Care, the new booklet highlights the containers that the supplier offers in stock for beauty packaging.

Computer Program Simulates Package Prototypes

Optis (Toulon, France), a specialist in optics and computing, has developed software that renders virtual prototypes of cosmetic packages. According to Optis, the new, physics-based technology, called SPEOS 2004, can simulate various types of packages, including perfume bottles and compacts. It can demonstrate how designs will look to a consumer's eyes.

SPEOS 2004 can replicate the actual color intended for a package because its calculations are made on the whole visible spectrum and in certain cases even the infrared and UV spectrums. With other software, these calculations are generally limited to the red/ green/blue hues.

In addition, according to lighting conditions entered by the software user, SPEOS allows designers and engineers to study a package's degree of shine, opaqueness, reflection, transparency, and iridescence. The company says that the software is the first to accurately simulate the way a package's color changes depending on the density of the product contained within. It also models dispersion, or the rainbow effect that can be seen on glass and other transparent materials.

Optis says that SPEOS 2004 can be integrated into the computer-aided design (CAD) tools already used by package designers.

IoPP Publishes Contract Packager Directory

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP; Naperville, IL) has published a contract packager directory, complete with more than 80 company listings. The guide includes contact information and details about the companies' offerings, such as products handled and the types of containers filled. For more information, visit www.iopp.org/store.

Art of Packaging Award Goes to Lauder

The Estée Lauder Companies will receive the 2004 Art of Packaging Award, sponsored by the Pratt Institute and Luxe Pack Monaco. The award will be presented to Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, group president of The Estée Lauder Companies, at a gala on March 16 at New York City's University Club.

Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the 15th annual Marc Rosen Scholarship for Graduate Design, which is awarded to Pratt students. The scholarship is host of the world's only graduate program for perfume-bottle design. Package designs from past scholarship winners will be displayed at the dinner.

Previous Art of Packaging Award winners include Coty, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Calvin Klein, Lancôme, Avon, and Intercosmetics.

NJPEC Awards Scholarships

The New Jersey Packaging Executives Club (NJPEC) held a scholarship dinner on September 25 at the Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange, NJ. The college students receiving scholarships were announced. (See "Packaging Industry Supports Young Designers" on page 10.) In addition, NJPEC announced the recipients of its scholarship established in memory of Dr. Frederick Rimmele. Rimmele was a passenger on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on September 11.

Rimmele was the son of NJPEC member Fred Rimmele, director of sales and marketing for Custom Compounding and Packaging Inc. Fred Rimmele was formerly president of the NJPEC and also a member of the Cosmetic Industry Buyers and Suppliers. Two students, who are children of NJPEC members and enrolled in any course of study, will be chosen each year to receive this award. This year's recipients were: Michael Theile, son of Fred Theile, vice president, corporate purchasing and technical package development, L'Oréal; and Laura Carollo, daughter of Michael Carollo, president, TestPak Inc.

The final order of business at the scholarship dinner was to induct two members who have passed away into the Hall of Fame. Mike Devita and John Devilla were chosen this year. The committee is currently accepting nominations for next year's inductees.

A New Event Shows Pathway to Beauty

As a result of all of the recent buzz about the wellness trend, a new event, named Pathways to Beauty and Well-Being, has emerged. Set to take place on September 10–12, 2004, at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Center, it is the first consumer exhibition and teaching program dedicated exclusively to women's beauty and well-being products and services.

The show will include five pavilions. These include Beauty & Personal Care and Professional Salon & Spa, both sponsored by Allure magazine; Nutrition & Health, sponsored by Self magazine; Fitness & Active Living, sponsored by Fitness magazine; and Personal Growth, including financial planning, wealth management, and career development, sponsored by Teen People magazine.

Orchestrated by consultant Suzanne Grayson, the show "captures the cultural wave of our time." It will put beauty companies, salons, and spas in direct contact with their customers. In addition to consumers, industry professionals are also expected to attend. The show's director is Karen Crawford, a beauty, spa, and organics event marketing expert. Allure will hold classes and conduct various activities throughout the show. Teen People will conduct 75 demonstrations and discussions on such topics as self-esteem, beauty, careers, and the prom.

Many industry professionals have signed on to compose the event's advisory board. They are Shashi Batra, senior vice president, merchandising, Sephora; Pamela Baxter, CEO, LVMH; Nancy Berger, vice president, publishing, Allure; Rochelle Bloom, president, The Fragrance Foundation; Peter Borne, vice president, beauty, Women's Wear Daily; Robin Burns, president, Intimate Beauty Inc.; Sandy Cataldo, vice president, marketing, Bath & Body Works; Paul J. Caine, publisher, Teen People; Beth Fuchs Benner, publisher, Self; Robert Goehrke, vice president, group product director, Bath & Body Works; Lynne Greene, president, specialty groups worldwide, Estée Lauder; Tom Malloy, senior vice president, national sales manager, Estée Lauder; Pamela Vaile, senior vice president, global product development, Revlon; Caroline Pieper-Vogt, vice president, marketing, Clarins; Julie Pinkwater, publisher, Fitness; Laureen Schroeder, promotions manager, Unilever; Terri Wilenta, senior manager, promotions, Avon; and Jean Hoehn Zimmerman, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Chanel.

An Innovative Eye Shadow

The new starlights clear water eye shadow is packaged in a variation of a nail polish bottle—because users must brush it on. Celebrity makeup artist Sue Devitt of Sue Devitt Studio created this unique liquid formula. It must be shaken before applying it with the brush attached to the cap, and it dries to a crease-resistant finish.

Devitt says, "The rounded shape of the bottle allows the product to move around. It's necessary to mix up the water and pearl powder. The teardrop-shaped bottle was perfect for this product, and I loved the idea of it looking like a snowglobe."

The starlights collection, which includes four shimmer eye shadow shades, was launched in November at Barney's New York, select Nordstrom and Sephora stores, and beauty.com.

The Bottom Line on Branding

New York's American Marketing Association held a seminar on October 14 titled "Does Your Brand Package Reflect Your Brand Personality?" It was part of the association's "Perspectives on Effectiveness" series. It was conducted by Christopher Binner, director of business development for The Bailey Group and a 23-year veteran of the marketing industry. Binner spoke about various brands, critiquing their packaging and marketing efforts. It was held at Lighthouse International in New York City.

Binner began the evening speaking about the soul of a brand. "Brands have a distinct personality that has to be conveyed in different ways. Packaging is one way." Binner continued, "Package design is a critical step. It's the only part of the marketing process during which a customer actually comes in contact with the brand, one on one."

Binner shared some statistics: In 2000, there were 19,500 new products introduced, and only 4% are still around. About 70% of all buying decisions are done in the store. Taking into account the number of different products on shelves and the average time it takes for a consumer to walk down a store's aisle, a product has about two-tenths of a second to get a consumer's attention and make an impact.

Dippity-Do's line of hair styling products was one product in the spotlight. Binner didn't comment on its sex-themed commercials aimed at teenagers, which have been the subject of recent controversy in the news, but stated, "The jury's still out on this one. This is one brand that has a strategy that's been around a million times and back again."

Dippity-Do's hair gel, which has been on the market for ages, was changed from a clear tub to orange bottles. The line now has "techno" graphics. Its basic hair gel was changed to five different types of styling products, each intended to be used for a specific hairstyle.

Another product analyzed was Johnson & Johnson's Clean & Clear skin-care line. Its packaging changes according to the country it's in. Research has shown that teenage girls in Japan want to carry all of their products in their purse, which is usually oversized—so the line is sold in 2.5-oz bottles. In the United States, the folks at Johnson & Johnson wanted to encourage girls to keep the product displayed on their dresser, instead of hidden in the bathroom. To achieve this goal, the packaging was updated and given a sleeker look. Its deep purple shade of caps and closures was kept, staying true to the brand's signature color.

Binner ended the evening with a color quiz, saying, "Color accentuates your brand's personality, and it depicts different emotions." In a game-show Q&A style, Binner asked the audience to participate by raising their hands and voting for one of the color choices on the screen. Some of the answers were known by everyone, and others were surprising. See if you knew these facts about color:

What color is free of cultural bias and liked worldwide? Blue. Yellow will put you in a bad mood if you look at it too long; while lilac is known to have a calming effect. What color is most restful on the eyes? Green. This one stumped a few people: choose either yellow, white, blue, or green--which one is a popular color for cleaning products? The answer is blue, because it conveys a "refreshing, calming feeling."

New Software Team Forms

Design2Launch (D2L), the cutting-edge company that created user-friendly software designed to help speed time to market, has partnered with Esko-Graphics. Esko-Graphics is a world leader in CAD software and a leading global supplier of both digital prepress and preproduction products and services. The two companies will jointly develop advanced new software for the packaging industry.

Jim Carson is D2L's vice president of products and operations. He says, "Esko-Graphics' global leadership is in creating and managing information related to packaging structure, project management, and costing. When combined with D2L's advanced visual-asset management, visualization, and collaborative routing and approval platform, our solutions will deliver significant cost savings at each point of the product and packaging development cycle."

This joint effort will, for the first time, provide solutions to automate and simplify the work involved in new product introductions. It will provide quality digital information that can easily be shared.

The Web-based software is meant to facilitate communication among the various departments involved in a launch throughout every phase in the process. These phases can include conceptualization, visualization, production, design engineering, and output-to-print stages. It can be used for 2-D and 3-D graphics, point-of-purchase, advertising, and packaging work.

Simon James, general manager for Esko-Graphics North America, says, "while ERP, CRM, and traditional digital-asset management software allow a company to file, store and manage existing information, Design2Launch and Esko-Graphics have each developed technologies that will now give companies control over their future."

New Color Facility

Accel Color, a leading supplier of color and additive concentrates to the North American plastics industry, has opened a third facility in Knoxville, TN.

Dwight Morgan, CEO, says, "We have an important and growing market presence in the Southeastern United States, and a local facility will allow us to better serve that region. Our new plant is also consistent with our long-term strategy of establishing a national network of specialty colorant facilities."

The plant has been operational since mid-September. The leased 23,000-sq-ft building contains a full-service product development laboratory for custom formulation work and color matching. The site also has an extrusion department and dry-color capabilities.

The general manager of the site, Kyle Holder, says, "We have three extruders and a fully functioning laboratory." He adds that the company will add a fourth extruder within six months.

The company's other manufacturing sites are located in Chicago and in Avon, OH.

Color Concepts Gearing Up for 2004

Ampacet Corp. (Tarrytown, NY) has lauched a new line of colors and effects for plastics designed with the health and beauty markets in mind.

The firm researched consumer buying habits and color trends across various industries. It concluded that elements of society, politics, and economic conditions combine to profoundly affect which colors will visually stimulate consumers enough to reach out and touch, then buy, a product.

"Color subconsciously impacts our emotional state of well-being, injects personality into inanimate objects, and stimulates an emotional response. These are our goals with every piece of packaging we create for our customers," says Linda Carroll, market development manager for Ampacet and chairholder with the Color Marketing Group.

The new colors Ampacet will be showing its customers include ranges of blues, greens, reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, and purples.

FACES & PLACES

• Stefano Castelletti has been named managing director of Dieter Bakic Enterprises (Munich).
  

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