Opening Lines
Changes are happening in all areas of the beauty industry. They will no doubt affect packaging in some way. The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a school that is always up-to-date on upcoming trends, held a seminar on October 8 to discuss changes in the development and marketing of cosmetics. Titled, Counter Culture: Where Is Beauty Retailing Headed?, it was organized by FIT's Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing Management Department in the School of Graduate Studies, and Stephan Kanlian, the department's chairperson.
The event was attended by executives from various companies within the industry. One of the conference speakers was Jane Hertzmark Hudis, senior vice president, general manager of BeautyBank, a division of The Estée Lauder Companies.
BeautyBank is the perfect example of how changes in retailing directly affect packaging. BeautyBank's three brands—American Beauty, Flirt!, and Good Skin—are featured on our cover. This major launch was one of the notable achievements in packaging this year, prompting us to name The Estée Lauder Companies as our 2004 Packager of the Year.
The production process for BeautyBank was greatly affected because the brand launched so many SKUs at one time. To accomplish BeautyBank's major packaging project, a lot was asked of its suppliers. A few even had to develop new ways of working in order to meet the challenges set by BeautyBank's packaging team.
"In the future, suppliers will be an even more integral part of the success of a new launch, and the teamwork between the supplier and the entire development group will become even more critical," says Mitchell Kaneff, president of Arkay Packaging. "The more closely a supplier is involved in the development process, the smoother the production process is. Anything you can contribute as a supplier, above and beyond the usual, is the key in improving speed to market."
This model for doing business will most likely continue at BeautyBank. It might also influence other companies. Suppliers can benefit by thinking about how to offer more services for the production process. And, with BeautyBank's experience in mind, packaging design teams can find more ways to use suppliers to ease workflow and lessen the time to market, which seems to be a trend for the future.
Marie Redding
Senior Editor