Target Practice: Sample Packages Aim for New Markets
A built-in foam applicator pad made Cardinal Health’s DelPouch a perfect choice for Dermalogica’s Daily Resurfacer product. This year's newest fragrances are unique—yet they share some common design elements.
By Marie Redding, Senior Editor
Beauty products are constantly reinventing themselves to meet evolving customer needs. The increase in cosmetic surgery procedures over the past few years has spawned a host of new products that cater to pre- and postsurgical care, antiaging concerns, and cosmetic dentistry. And the recent rise of the “metrosexual” has companies scrambling to create personal care products that target well-groomed men who care about their appearance and aren’t afraid to show it.
New markets provide great opportunity for growth, but they also set the stage for fierce competition among sample packaging suppliers. “Brands are considering samples as a necessary way to recruit customers,” says Isabelle Lallemant, sample marketing manager for Valois (Congers, NY). “Packaging needs to be intuitive so that samples are easy to use and apply. Consumers want to be sure when they use the sample that their experience will be exactly the same as the retail product.” As a result, marketers need to differentiate their products with samples that get customers to “try it and buy it.” Today’s sample packages are doing just that with features that emulate the retail product and target a specific market.
A New Dispensation
Fueled by television shows like Extreme Makeover and The Swan, cosmetic surgery and antiaging products are taking the industry by storm. Sometimes, these products require a more precise application to a given area to target wrinkles or age spots, for example. Suppliers offer a variety of unit-dose packages and applicators that can be used for sample packages to give the consumer more control when dispensing and applying the product.
James Alexander offers a variety of applicator tips for its ampules.
Supplier James Alexander Corp. (Blairstown, NJ) offers plastic ampules with a variety of brush and swab tips that allow one-handed application of a product. “A lot of cosmetic companies love the angled swab because it dispenses thicker, more-viscous materials like gels,” says Carol Gamsby, sales manager for James Alexander. The ampules are available in 2- and 5-ml sizes, and the company is currently working on a 10-ml size. To apply the product, the user gently squeezes the ampule, crushing the internal membrane and allowing the contents to be dispensed.
The ampule is suitable for precise applications because it gives you exact control of what you’re doing, says Gamsby. “For example, if someone has age spots and they want a direct application, the package is perfect because it’s single use, but it also offers excellent coverage. The user can break the ampule, apply the product to the age spot, and then throw it away.”
The ampules are also available in a variety of colors, and the company is working on an opaque version with a pearlescent finish. “It’s important to have something simple to use with eye appeal,” says Gamsby. In addition to playing with colors, James Alexander is exploring different plastics for compatibility with various chemicals.
Precise application is also a feature of Innovative Swab Technologies’ (Antioch, IL) Pro-Swab, a patented unit-dose tube with a built-in swab applicator that is preloaded with a company’s product. Pro-Swab is not only designed for precise application; it’s also a hygienic, easy-to-use, all-in-one package. The package helps maintain a product’s integrity because the package remains sealed until the moment of use. When customers want to apply product, they can simply snap open the tube. The handle, to which the applicator is attached, then unseals from the tube and customers can use it to apply product. “Today’s consumers want convenience in their lives, and that includes packaging,” says Debbie Neikrie, Innovative Swab’s vice president of sales. “But even more than that, they want no-mess packaging.”
Pro-Swab is offered with two stock applicators: one is a rayon tip, and the other is a foam tip. The applicator can also be customized with features such as spatulas or a ball-type applicator. Pro-Swab is available in two sizes, 4 and 5 in., with capacities ranging from 0.25 to 2.5 ml. It is suited for liquid, gel, ointment, or cream. It can be customized to a customer’s specification. Neikrie says the company has seen a significant increase in demand for Pro-Swab over the last six months.
Reaching the Right Market
Product:
Anthony Sport
Company: Anthony Logistics for Men
Launch Date: March 2005
Target Market: Active Male
Launch
Goal: Create eye-catching sample package that appeals
to the sporty, active male.
Anthony Logistics for Men chose the Xela Pack to house samples
of its Anthony Sport products.
Anthony Logistics for Men isn’t new to the men’s personal care market. In 2000, the company, founded by Anthony Sosnick, introduced its first skincare line for men. Now, Sosnick has launched a new line of products called Anthony Sport that targets men with an active lifestyle.
“We wanted to create an eye-catching sample that would pop on the shelf,” says Sosnick. “We also wanted to keep it simple and straightforward for men.” As with all of his previous samples, Sosnick turned to contract packager Xela Pack Inc. (Saline, MI) to provide the sample packages for the launch.
The Xela Pack sample package consists of a paper/foil/poly laminate with a bend-and-tear tab, says Anthony Gentile, director of art and marketing for Xela Pack. The supplier produced Xela Packs for nine products from the new line. Five products are packaged in 5-ml Xela Packs, and the other four are in 12-ml versions. Each sample is self-closing for multiple uses. “A small amount of pressure releases the product, and then a pinch to the orifice recloses the package and protects the product from leaking,” says Gentile. Directions on the package are also aimed at the active male. Instead of typical “directions for use,” the package reads “game plan” and “method of use.”
Bound by a strong brand identity, Anthony didn’t want to stray too far from the look of the original product line, which relies on white, grey, and black as its signature colors. So the brand kept the same design and colors, and added a splash of red to the package to appeal to the sporty crowd.
All of Xela Pack’s samples consist of at least 10% postconsumer recycled paper. The Anthony Sport samples are semirigid, giving them more of a sporty feel, says Gentile. “These samples are strong so they stand up to the active market,” he says.
Howard Thau, president of Sonic Packaging Industries Inc. (Westwood, NJ), has also noticed growing interest in unit-dose packaging that includes an applicator. According to Thau, this type of package is in high demand for topical and oral pharmaceutical, dental, and cosmetic products.
Sonic Packaging recently arranged for the installation of a custom filling line for blisters. This line will be used to create premeasuredunit-dose blisters, which will be available with or without self-contained applicators. “These blisters provide a cost-effective alternative to using separate pouches and stand-alone swabs or applicators,” says Thau. “They also reduce the chance of cross-contamination, as the applicator is housed within the blister.” The blisters are available in 0.5- to 5-ml fill sizes. Various applicators are offered, ranging from brushes to foam-based flow-through applicators.
Other suppliers are also focusing on introducing new applicators or improving existing ones to give sample packages the edge. In thenext few months, LF of America (Hollywood, FL) will introduce new 5- to 10-ml tubes, which will be offered with a new soft applicator made of silicone. The applicator will be available in a choice of four different tips affixed to the tubes, says Ignacio Lopez, business development manager for LF of America. The firm’s existing filling facility will be able to fill the tubes, which can also be used for multidose products thanks to a reclosable screw cap.
Unicep Packaging Inc. (Sandpoint, ID) is also working on a variety of applicator tips to meet the needs of new skincare products. The company’s existing Twist-Tip and MicroDose vials are suitable for products that require precise application, such as antiaging serums. In addition to accurate dispensing, “the vials lend themselves to products that have a more clinical appearance or appeal,” says Steve Dilts, Unicep’s marketing manager. “It gives a perceived value to the sample, which appeals to an upscale customer”—the type of customer who may receive the sample from a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon, for example.
New tips for controlled delivery are also in the works for Unette’s (Wharton, NJ) single-use tubes. The company is developing a more rounded tip with a softer look, says Terence Sweeney, Unette’s vice president of sales. A very narrow flagpole-type tip—similar to a dropper—will also allow product to be applied to an exact location, one drop at a time.
Not all unit-dose skin-treatment products require pinpoint-precise application. Some products, especially those that are meant to be applied all over a customer’s face, require a unit-dose package with an applicator that allows customers to apply product to a wider surface area. One example is Dermalogica’s Daily Resurfacer product, which launched last October.
Daily Resurfacer is a three-in-one treatment designed to resurface, smooth, and brighten a customer’s skin. It is supplied in 35 individual doses, and it is meant to be applied to the entire face. Dermalogica sought a unit-dose package that was hygienic and that would allow customers the type of application the product required.
The company chose the DelPouch unit-dose package from Cardinal Health (Philadelphia). The DelPouch comprises a pouch with a foam applicator pad attached. It is available in sizes of 1/2 g and 1 g. “The DelPouch contains a unit-dose amount of product. When the pouch is squeezed, the product— which can be either lotion or cream—flows onto the pad and can then be applied directly to the skin,” says Bruce Hepke, director of business development for Cardinal Health. “The customer doesn’t have to get the product on their hand to apply it.”
DelPouch met the requirements of Dermalogica, which seeks hygienic packaging for all its products, according to Jackie Bronfenbrenner, product manager for Dermalogica. “Our mission is to only provide products in contamination-free packaging,” she says. “You won’t find us providing anything in, for instance, a jar, which invites contamination each time customers stick their fingers in it to apply product. We feel that contamination-free packaging is a necessity for the consumer and the product.”
Bronfenbrenner explains that the DelPouch pad provides Dermalogica customers with an added benefit. “Since Daily Resurfacer is an exfoliating product, the pad actually helps exfoliate customers’ skin when they are applying the product,” she says.
Multiple Impact
Today’s customers expect better results from cosmetic products, and companies are vying for their attention by promising results comparable to those achieved by more-drastic measures, such as surgery. Products are more complex, and so are the steps necessary to realize their benefits. Suppliers are seeing an increase in packaging for multistep samples to ensure that customers have the same experience and achieve the same results as they would from the retail products.
Marketing at Home and Abroad
United States customers received vials of the Curious
Britney Spears fragrance in a high-end card.
Britney Spears’ Curious perfume by Elizabeth Arden was a major launch, both in the United States and in Europe. Rexam Dispensing Systems (Purchase, NY) provided its Sofilux spray sampler for both launches; however, the approach to each launch was quite different. For the U.S. launch, the company used the Sofilux sampler, which consists of a plastic bottle with a transparent spray pump called the Crystal SP5. The Sofilux sample package was presented in a Classic Card decorated with the same graphics as the retail package. “This glass sampler was chosen for the U.S. launch to position the product with a sense of prestige,” says Eric Desmaris, global marketing manager.
In Europe, however, the market is more competitive. “Classic Cards are more expensive to produce and are quickly thrown away,” says Desmaris. The European launch required a less-expensive sample with more market impact. As a result, Elizabeth Arden chose Rexam’s Sof’Flag sampler, consisting of a Sofilux sampler with a label attached to the bottle. The label has a flag area for advertising that remains with the bottle, says Desmaris, so “each time you use it or put it in your bag, you will see the advertising” and associate it with the product.
Valois's Teleglass samplers were a perfect fit for Victoria's
Secret's Aura Science brand.
Valois’s recent launch of sample perfumes for Victoria’s Secret’s Aura Science brand also focused on creating a stronger brand identity. The sample pack consisted of five different fragrances packaged in 2-ml Teleglass spray bottles. Each fragrance is identified with the company’s invisible Sampl’Stick label. “We wanted to personalize the bottles so that the consumer will recognize the brand,” says Valois’s Lallemant. Although cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe can affect consumers’ attitudes toward sampling, the goals are the same for both markets. “There are so many new launches,” says Lallemant. “Samples are the only way to ensure that your product is discovered.”
Dilts is seeing Unicep’s vials being used to house multistep facial treatments, where several vials are packaged in a pouch. And Flexpaq Corp. (South Plainfield, NJ) is working with a client to introduce a four-step system into a new market. Jim Gabilanes, vice president of sales and marketing for Flexpaq, said that the packaging will consist of a four-panel card, and each panel will house a blister containing a different product. One of the products will be applied with a doe-foot applicator, and the others will be applied with a finger, he says.
LF of America is currently working on a project for Bio Jouvance Paris, packaging 20 different samples in multiples of five. The firstproject is a rejuvenating product line, consisting of a cleanser, a toner, a day cream, a night cream, and an antiaging serum. The five products will be packaged in one strip consisting of five unit-dose packages with reclosable twist-off tops.
Something New
Whether breaking into new markets or revisiting old ones, customers invariably want what’s new. “Some customers are going beyond the ‘usual suspects,’ searching for real differentiation at the sample level,” says Dominique Jochim of Alcan Packaging Beauty. “By providing a convenient, eye-catching sample, it is more probable that the consumer will buy the real product.” Recently, Alcan Packaging Beauty launched the minioval tube, which it claims is the smallest oval tube in the world, for filling volumes of 3 to 6 ml. “Its originality is based on its size, shape, and material,” says Jochim. The tube is available in coextruded polyethylene and offers a “silky” feel because it is not varnished. The cap is available in all colors, and tampography and hot stamping are available. One of the first commercializations of the minioval tube was the launch of “Suprem’ Advance” by brand Jeanne Piaubert, Paris. Jochim is also seeing a trend in nonconventional products being used to create new sample packages, such as the use of food packaging for cosmetic samples: pyramid-shaped sachets, originally used for concentrated milk; stick packs, used for sugar and coffee; and twist wraps, used for candies.
No doubt, new markets will continue to emerge over time, and companies will continue to seek new ways to capture them with sample packages that help to convey product benefits and win customers.