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Designer Interview: Cristina Bartolucci & Laura DeLuisa

"We were very fortunate that when I Gels first launched, they got a lot of attention from beauty editors," says Bartolucci. "Every major magazine—In Style, Elle, everybody—featured them because the packaging was visually innovative. They were even chosen by a museum in Florida for an exhibit on innovative package design, along with other items like the iMac computer and a BMW scooter. However, we had never done a product before, and we didn't know that you have to brand the inner packaging as well as the outer packaging."

Instead, Bartolucci and DeLuisa had chosen clear foil-sealed blister trays to show off the products' bright colors. The blister trays were unlabeled, without the words DuWop or I Gels. For secondary packaging, Bartolucci and DeLuisa had selected opaque Mylar pouches that they did brand with logos.

When the time came to feature the products, all of the magazine photographers shot the I Gels blister trays outside the opaque secondary pouches. Since the blister trays weren't branded with "DuWop" or "I Gels," customers didn't make the connection with what they'd seen in the magazine and the DuWop pouches they saw in the stores.

"The products sat on the shelf, and we lost thousands of dollars in sales," says Bartolucci. "It was a hard-learned lesson, but if we hadn't gone through that—if we hadn't felt the sting—I don't know if we would have learned our lesson so quickly. Once you make a mistake that costs you a lot of money, and you risk losing your company because of it, you never forget it."

Today, I Gels are packaged in pouches that are clear. And the foil lids that seal the blisters are printed with the word DuWop.

Despite the initial snag, Bartolucci and DeLuisa say that I Gels helped put DuWop on the map. "If it weren't for I Gels, I don't know if we'd be here," says DeLuisa. "Getting the attention of the magazines is what got us in the door."

Part of what got the editors' attention was the unique look of the I Gels packages. What they may not have known, however, is just how resourceful Bartolucci and DeLuisa had been in sourcing the components. Most notably, the foil used to seal product in the blisters is actually used for lids to seal cups of orange juice.

When asked what inspired the idea for the orange juice lids, Bartolucci jokes: "Desperation is the mother of all invention. At the time, we couldn't afford to get foil die-cut. So one day we were visiting a foil supplier and sitting in their office, and I looked over at one of the bookshelves and there were some orange juice lids on it. I took one, plopped it on top of our blister, and found that the lid was just the right shape to fit it and that it also had adhesive just where we needed it. Plus, it was much cheaper than any other option. Laura and I looked at each other and were like, 'Eureka! Problem solved.'" Another unique feature of the blisters is that the shape of the thermoform actually molds the product into the shape of the I Gel disks as the product is hot-poured in.

Bartolucci and DeLuisa first met in 1997 on the set of a television show, for which Bartolucci worked as a makeup artist, and DeLuisa as a hairstylist. In their downtime, they talked about inventing a product and starting a company. Working on the set by day, they set out to create I Gels, and in 1999, launched DuWop. Today, DuWop is a $5-million-a-year enterprise headquartered in Los Angeles.

Since the launch of I Gels, DuWop has continued to bring innovative products and packages to market. The next product introduced after I Gels was Lip Venom in 2000. The tingly lip gloss that uses essential oils to plump lips is now one of DuWop's signatures.

When it came time to develop the package for Lip Venom, Bartolucci and DeLuisa applied the lesson they had learned from the I Gels experience. They made sure to print the words DuWop and Lip Venom on the primary container, which is a standard PVC lip gloss vial with a brush applicator, both supplied by Roberts Cosmetic Containers (Chatsworth, CA). The words were also printed on the secondary packaging, which is a small paper tube with metal end caps provided by poster tube company Spiral Paper Products (Pico Rivera, CA). DeLuisa adds that Spiral Paper Products was the only supplier they found that made metal ends for such small tubes.

Another notable DuWop package is a pan stick container for the brand's Blush Therapy cream blush. DuWop chose an old tool that had been used by another brand and that had been retired. However, since cream blush is typically a product that is sold in a lower volume than a pan stick, the package ended up having to be retooled in a smaller size. "In that case, we ended up having to tool because we realized customers had the perception that the container was half empty even though we were providing more product than most cream blushes," says Bartolucci. "It turned into a custom job. But in that case, we'd already gotten press on the product and had already put it on the market, so we knew the product was going to be a go. So it didn't hurt as much to have to pay for the tooling.

"We have discovered that the public is very forgiving if a company is willing to fix problems right away," Bartolucci adds. "If they have a complaint and see it dealt with, it's almost like they feel as if they're part of the product development process. Some of our most devoted customers are people who have had suggestions about how to make a product better and saw that we listened." For instance, at Sephora's suggestion, DuWop is launching Lip Venom Lite, a less tingly version of Lip Venom. Eye shadow palettes and eventually more color cosmetics are also to come.

DeLuisa, who handles the business aspect of the firm while Bartolucci is in charge of creative development, says that there was a learning curve when it came to working with suppliers. "I'd actually gotten bullied by a few suppliers saying, 'Well, we only do 10,000-piece runs.'" says DeLuisa. "So I'd say that we only needed 5000 pieces, and they'd say, 'Well, then, we're going to charge you twice as much.' I'd hear that and figure it made much more sense to order 10,000. But if you never end up selling that volume, you're still stuck with product, and it doesn't look good on the books. Most suppliers were very nice, but they'd talk us into things that we really didn't need."

Now that DuWop has established itself, DeLuisa says that suppliers are more willing to invest in the company and do smaller runs. "People are more willing to work with us and do smaller numbers, knowing that we want to partner with a supplier and grow with that supplier."

Bartolucci adds, "It's so ironic because when we needed smaller runs, no one would give them to us, and now that we don't necessarily need them, everyone's offering them."

Although DuWop uses a lot of stock components, DeLuisa says, "What's also kind of nice for us is that now that the company is older, we do have a little extra money to tool new packaging. So we can tool when we need it—if we need it."

Innovative packaging was what helped DuWop get noticed from the very beginning, and it's what Bartolucci and DeLuisa hope will help them to keep the brand on customers' radars in the future. "Packaging is the key to this whole enterprise," says Bartolucci. "For a young company, it's everything. It's the way that you really brand your name, more than advertising and conventional forms of marketing. Your packaging is your billboard. It's what others will notice your customers pulling out of their purses. Packaging is paramount."

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