Latest Launches: Variety Show - Brands reach their target customers with specialty packages.
Mini Wardrobe
It was nearly impossible not to be intrigued by Jean Paul Gaultier's Valentine's Day gift-set package. Modeled like a wardrobe, the case featured two hinged doors that open in opposite directions, revealing miniature versions of the brand's trademark torso-shaped bottles.
Dapy
Paris (New York City), a company specializing in injection-molded
secondary packaging for fragrances and cosmetics, says that
the 16-part case was one of the most complex items it has
ever produced. "To manufacture this piece was a real
challenge for us," says Frédéric Soulard,
export manager for Dapy Paris. "We had to use five different
materials: polypropylene, acrylic, polycarbonate mirrors,
POM, and electroplated ABS."
Six beveled mirrors adorn each of the case's outer walls. The interior walls are lined with pillowy irridescent polypropylene that has a silk-like texture.
Each miniature fragrance bottle—one housing the Le Male fragrance and the other, Classique—are clipped onto the hinged door. "We had to build a living hinge for the two doors," says Soulard. The doors also had to be engineered so that they could be closed and locked, yet still easy to open. Dapy Paris was also charged with ensuring that the bottles would firmly attach to the door. "We had to pass very strict drop tests without the [bottles] being broken," says Soulard.
Like Pandora's Box, this elegant gift-set box had customers lining up to find out what's inside.
Pretty in Pink
Bloom recently relaunched its Care & Repair Hand Cream in a standout bottle. Pretty, pink, and perfect for spring, the bottle was custom designed by Brennan Liston, an industrial designer based in Sydney, Australia.
The
bottle fits in well with the rest of the girlishly sweet Bloom
line. "The design [goal] was to create a feminine, yet
sophisticated, bottle," says Natalie Bloom, owner of
Bloom Pty Ltd. (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). "Our
design mantra at Bloom is 'playful yet sophisticated,' and
the teardrop-shaped bottle, with its floral print, ties into
this design philosophy."
In addition to having feminine appeal, the bottle's slim shape is ergonomic. The bottle itself was made from high-density polyethylene in a pearlescent white pigment by an Australian-based supplier. A firm in France supplied the cap.
One of the bottle's most notable features is its decorative floral pattern. Flowers "grow" from the bottle's base, reaching toward the cap. "The delicate floral pattern reflects Bloom's use of botanical ingredients and plant extracts," says Natalie. "[The design] was screen-printed in two colors along the radius, and in one color on the flat surface of the bottle."
Bloom's bottle is sure to flourish this spring. "The fact that this bottle is custom designed and completely unique makes it stand out," says Natalie.
Pink is also an element in spa brand Lucky Chick's new products. To celebrate its five-year anniversary, the brand launched three new products for spring/summer 2004. One of them is a Pampering Sampler kit, which includes a collection of sample-sized Lucky Chick products. One of the packages in the kit is a pink-tinted 5-ml Xela Pack from Xela Pack Inc. (Saline, MI).
"The
reason why we use samplers is that, in addition to including
them in kits, we can also hand them out as samples,"
says Stephanie Sakoff, founder, president, and creative director
for Lucky Chick (Pearl River, NY). "The Xela Packs are
the perfect size. Plus, customers can reseal them [by pinching
the orifice closed] and keep them in their makeup bags."
To achieve the pink color of the Lucky Chick sampler, Xela Pack had to make some printing modifications. "Xela Pack usually uses water-based inks for printing," says Xela Pack's Anthony Gentile. "However, the pigments in some magenta and yellow water-based inks will discolor when exposed to heat. Since the Xela Pack is packaged on a form-fill-seal machine, designed and manufactured by Xela Pack and that uses a heat sealer, the pink packets would have discolored in the seal area." To solve this problem, Xela Pack used a UV-cured ink to print the Lucky Chick samples, and the color was not affected by the heat seals.
In order to make the Xela Pack look cohesive with the Lucky Chick line, Lucky Chick, the character drawn by Sakoff that has become the company's trademark, was also printed on the Xela Pack. "We always want the Lucky Chick character to be consistent, no matter what packaging we use," says Sakoff.
Feeling Blue
For its February-launched Galvanic Spa System II Body Shaping Gel, skin-care company Nu Skin chose a pearlescent sky-blue laminate tube supplied by Alcan Packaging Cebal. The blue tube is part of Cebal's newest line of pigmented laminate tubes.
Nu
Skin was the first company to use Cebal's sky-blue laminate
tube. "The reason we chose the blue color is because
it matched the personality of the Galvanic Spa line,"
says Melissa Washburn, public relations manager for Nu Skin.
"It's a spa line, and the tube went with the look and
feel of the line."
Cebal developed the pigmented tube line to give marketers the option of using laminate tubes with a more cosmetic appeal. In addition to blue, Cebal stocks the laminate tubes in sea-mist green, pale violet, and white. It can also color-match webs to match exact color specifications. Various sizes and head and closure styles are available.
Cris Schiffler, packaging engineer for Nu Skin, says that the modified look for laminate tubes meets an industry need. "In the past, laminate tubes have typically been used for toothpaste, and they were less cosmetic looking," he says. "With its colored versions, Cebal has opened up the use of these tubes for more companies. They're geared more toward personal care and cosmetics companies."
With the new tubes, Cebal may have also anticipated rising demand for laminate tubes in the beauty industry. "More companies are looking to laminate tubes for products like retinol," says Schiffler. " Laminate tubes have always provided good protection for products, whether they are sensitive or not. For instance, the aluminum layer in laminate tubes provides added protection."
When it comes down to it, however, Schiffler says that what really attracted Nu Skin to the tubes was its look. "The silver aluminum layer shows through the blue plastic," he says. "It's a look you don't get with common plastic tubes."