Business Beat
Star Packages Shine in IoPP Awards
La Prairie’s Silver Rain fragrance bottle won two IPDA awards: the grand prize and the category award for fragrance, limited distribution.
Many innovative beauty packages shared the spotlight at this year’s International Package Design Awards (IPDA), sponsored by the HBA Health & Beauty America trade show. The awards dinner took place on the evening of September 27 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.
The grand prize, as well as the category award for fragrance, limited distribution, went to La Prairie’s Silver Rain fragrance bottle. (See CPC Packaging’s coverage on the bottle in our March/April 2005 issue.) Inspired by the shape of a raindrop, the glass was metallized in a shiny, mirrorlike silver finish.
Bormioli Rocco produced the glass bottle. The decorating process was done by Solev, the cap was produced by Auriplast, and the pump was provided by Valois of America.
Lynne Florio, president of La Prairie, says, “When we designed Silver Rain, we aimed to celebrate the global essence of woman and reflect our heritage of luxury and exquisite taste. We at La Prairie are thrilled to be recognized for our vision in packaging by our colleagues at HBA. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our vendors, Bormioli Rocco, Solev, Auriplast, and Valois of America. This win is as much theirs as it is ours.”
In the fragrance, broad distribution, category, Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics received the top award for its Stoked for Girls and Wired for Guys fragrances, which launched in June 2005. Targeted to teens, the fragrances were created with Bethany Hamilton, the teenage competitive surfer who lost her left arm in a shark attack in 2003. The packaging features a bottle surrounded by an outer plastic container shaped like a surfboard.
Supplied by World Wide Packaging, the CD-shaped Goldie Disc palette features a rotating lid.
The suppliers involved in the project included Maticplast for the outer container, PMP Italy for the bottle, Emsar for the pump, Princeton Label for the labels, Printex for the carton and its insert, and Precise for the filling. Larry Couey, president of Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics, designed the packaging.
Goldie, a new brand launched last spring, won the cosmetics, limited distribution, award for its CD-shaped palette compact, which features a rotating lid. World Wide Packaging supplied the component, which is a stock design. “We are so excited about winning this packaging award,” says Jeffrey Schneider, president of World Wide Packaging.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) was the leader in the cosmetics, mass distribution, category. The company won for its CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Liquid Makeup squeezable bottle, which is a dual-chambered design.
Design firm Webb Scarlett de Vlam created the structural design for the primary packaging together with P&G’s design team, which included design manager Lisa Schuler Thorne and Dave Wilson, who is in charge of package and device development.
CoverGirl’s Outlast All-Day Liquid Makeup required a dual-chambered bottle to accommodate its two-step formula.
Webb Scarlett de Vlam partner Ronald de Vlam said, “P&G came to us to develop a container for the latest addition to its Outlast line. Previously, this line had only included lip products. These products have two separate applications—a base coat and a sealing coat. The new foundation product was to have two applications as well. With this in mind, we were asked to design a two-bottle system. The idea to integrate the two bottles eliminates a piece—an extra cap—and makes it easer for the consumer to handle.”
The primary package was produced by Graham Plastics, while the closure was supplied by O-I. Badger and Partners did the graphic design. De Vlam gives special credit to his design team, especially Stacy Thomas, staff designer, and Heidi Hollmann, design director.
P&G says that it was happy to receive the award. “We designed the unique packaging for CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Liquid Makeup to clearly communicate to consumers the long-wear benefits of the two-step formula in a visually exciting way. It’s very gratifying to win an award for our efforts,” says Anne Martin, vice president, global cosmetics and beauty marketing, for Procter & Gamble Cosmetics.
In the skin care, limited distribution, category, Estée Lauder took home the award for its Re-Nutriv Revitalizing Comfort Cream jar, which was designed by Kimberly McCoy and developed by Derek Schmidt, both from Estée Lauder. The jar and its cap were supplied by Seidel; the base label by Amberely; and the secondary packaging by Landerer.
Henry Renella, vice president of Estée Lauder packaging, commented on the package: “One of the most challenging aspects of developing a piece like this is making a difficult design look clean and easy. There are seven pieces to this package, all mechanically interlocking. Each piece has its own tolerances and must always fit perfectly to make sure that the consumer never sees gaps or loose parts.”
The jar features transparent plastic and high-end aluminum finishes. Boris Schaefer, director of customer relations for Seidel, says that the supplier’s expertise helped it to create the square jar.
“We are all proud that this package was recognized by HBA,” said Renella. “Our number-one responsibility as packaging developers at Estée Lauder is to launch quality packaging.”
P&G took home a second award, in the skin care, mass distribution, category, for its Olay White Radiance line. The line includes white bottles, jars, tubes, and compacts. All feature silver accents for a streamlined and modern look.
“The Olay White Radiance packaging stands out because the aesthetic of the design is simple and elegant,” says Lia Braaten Hager, global identity director for Olay. “The combination of the organic pattern with a grid creates a visual unity between beauty and science that is truly unique.”
An innovative soap won the personal care, limited distribution, award. The 4mula Bar Box was designed by Timothy Bahash, president and founder of 4mula Inc.
The Bar Box soap by 4mula features functional legs that elevate the bar above residual water in a soap dish.
The Bar Box comprises three bars of soap that are stacked together. Two of the bars are designed with legs, much like a table. Bahash describes the purpose of the legs: “The legs elevate the bar above the surface of the soap dish and any residual water in the dish, keeping the bar dry between uses. Additionally, the bar is ergonomic to grip.”
Bahash said, “It’s great to win an HBA award. It required a lot of tenacity to challenge the manufacturing world to achieve this product. So for it to have been awarded is a real recognition of that. It also acknowledges what a small, independent company can do.”
The personal care, broad distribution, award went to Lake Consumer Products for its container for Beyond Fresh, a line of feminine personal care products.
“Beyond Fresh Intimates are the first and only gels on the market that turn into foam without an abrasive such as a washcloth or a sponge,” says Mike Kermendy, director of marketing for Lake Consumer Products.
The dispenser for Beyond Fresh allows the gel product to be dispensed as foam.
Supplied by SeaquistPerfect Dispensing, the pressurized container uses carbon dioxide to propel product out of the container using a special aerosol valve. The carbon dioxide is created when the product is dispensed. Carleen Kreider, vice president of innovation for SeaquistPerfect, explains how the package works. “The self-dispensing occurs through the use of carbon dioxide inside the package. [In effect, it creates] carbonated personal care products. The whipping action of the carbon dioxide makes surfactant-based products dispense as a foam and aerates other products like lotions into a light, whipped confection that feels great on the skin.”
The bottle was blow-molded for SeaquistPerfect by Graham Packaging from polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), which Kreider says is a strong polymer material capable of withstanding high internal pressure. Wisconsin Pharmacal did the contract filling using special equipment it invested in specifically for this packaging.
Bumble and bumble’s Treatment package features an internal pouch that lets hair stylists dispense almost 100% of the package’s content.
In the professional hair care category, the winner was Bumble and bumble for its Bb Treatment line, which is sold for salons to use in their backbars. The products come in a bottle with an internal pouch that allows users to dispense almost 100% of the product out of the container. Fresco International/Daiwa Gravure supplied the bottle, the pump, and the pouch. The labels were provided by Brook & Whittle.
P. J. Silverstein, manager of package development for Bumble and bumble, describes the biggest production challenges involved. “The most challenging aspect of this project was finding a pump system. Our new treatment line contains six products of very high viscosity, on the level of a cream, and we were having great difficulty finding a system that would prevent product cavitation around the pump’s dip tube. We needed a pump solution, because the backbar of a salon requires something quick and easy to dispense—it is definitely not ideal for a stylist to be picking things up with wet hands or scooping product out of a tube.”
The final packaging award was for a professional personal care product. The winner was Dermalogica’s Daily Resurfacer product. (See CPC Packaging’s coverage of the package in our May/June 2005 issue.) The product is supplied in 35 doses. Each dose comes in a DelPouch unit-dose package supplied by Cardinal Health.
The DelPouch features a pouch with a foam applicator pad attached. When the pouch is squeezed, product flows onto the pad and can then be applied directly to the skin. The pad also helps exfoliate customers’ skin as they apply the product.
HBA awards were also presented to individuals in the beauty industry, including marketers, formulators, and executives. The packaging executive of the year award honored Lorraine Ahart, vice president of packaging development at Victoria’s Secret Beauty.
When accepting her award, Ahart said, “The more difficult a design has been to produce, the more I have enjoyed working on it, and the prouder I have been of the results. Our successes would have been impossible without the talents of our manufacturers. Thank you for figuring out the impossible and still meeting our delivery dates.”
- by Jennifer Kwok
New York City’s Fragrance Week
During Fragrance Week, factices of the Boss Hugo Boss and Lanvin L’homme eau de toilette bottles were displayed at the Time Warner Center.
The Fragrance Foundation’s Fragrance Week, held October 17–22 in New York City, was a great success. The week’s festivities were organized by Rochelle Bloom, president, The Fragrance Foundation; Mary Ellen Lapsansky, executive director, The Fragrance Foundation; and Terry Molnar, executive director of the Sense of Smell Institute.
“Fragrance Week is the industry’s opportunity to join together and speak as one voice to the consumer,” says Bloom.
The Estée Lauder Companies was the week’s official sponsor. Star magazine wrote the booklet, A Fragrance Lovers’ Guide & Map, which was distributed at all participating retail locations, as well as the Time Warner Center, Trump Tower, Grand Central Station, and Penn Station. NYC & Co. distributed the guides at all tourist outposts throughout the city.
“We were very pleased with the turnout at all of the events and appreciate the great support we received from our members, who helped ensure the success of the week,” said Lapsansky.
The week began Monday morning with an elegant breakfast hosted by Symrise at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg sent an official proclamation, declaring the week as Fragrance Week NYC. It was read during the breakfast by Thia Breen, president of Esteé Lauder North America. Part of it stated, “No city benefits more from the good fortunes of the fragrance industry than New York, which is the center of the fragrance community. Gotham is home to more than 75 corporate offices that produce and/or promote more than 1000 fragrances.”
On Tuesday, October 18, The Fragrance Foundation hosted its sixth Annual Circle of Champions Dinner honoring Tom Florio, vice president and publisher of Vogue magazine. It was held at the St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue. Florio was presented the award by Chuck Townsend, president and CEO of Condé Nast Publications.
The events held at public spaces succeeded in helping to reach many consumers. A display set up in the Time Warner Center, designed and donated by The Royal Promotion Group, showcased 109 factices of many popular fragrance bottles. The public had the opportunity to silently bid on a factice throughout the day on Thursday, with final bidding held Thursday evening. A dontaion will be made to the New York Restoration Project.
In the atrium at Trump Tower, International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) set up its unique interactive display, designed to increase awareness of the role of perfumers in our industry. The display included three black structures, each featuring a fragrance on either side that an IFF perfumer created for him or herself. Upon the press of a button, a whiff of perfume was atomized into the air in a fragrant puff.
Many events were also held on Thursday, October 20. Williams-Sonoma at Time Warner Center hosted an event called Temptations and Libations. A perfumer, a master mixologist, and a chef from Great Performances were there to demonstrate the relationship between the culinary arts and perfume. Guests were invited to sniff and taste their creations. This event was sponsored by Takasago Fragrances and Bacardi. “So many people came up to me after this event to say it was one of the best they ever attended. Many people never thought about the connection between the world of food and beverage and creative perfumery,” says Lapsansky.
Also on Thursday, visitors to Barney’s New York on Madison Avenue were invited to find the fragrance best matched to their personality, with the help of experts from Quest International Fragrances and its Perfumality Software.
In an effort to inspire the next generation to become members of the fragrance industry, The Fragrance Foundation and the Sense of Smell Institute, in partnership with CosmoGirl!, sponsored a career guidance fair held at Baruch College on October 20. Corporate sponsors included Givaudan and Pochet of America.
Beauté Prestige International (BPI) held court at Time Warner Center Monday through Friday. BPI invited the consumer to experience the fragrances of Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, and Narciso Rodriguez, and learn the fascinating history of these designer brands.
Fragrance Week also expanded to San Francisco. A Fall & Fragrance–themed cocktail party at San Francisco City Hall on October 17 kicked off the week. The event was sponsored by Bacardi, Firmenich, Givaudan, YSL Beauté, Latitudes International, and Claire Burke by Esscentual Brands.
The highlight of the week was at Saturday’s Stars on Stage event at the Time Warner Center, which was open to the general public. Tara Kraft, beauty director of Star magazine, interviewed actors Susan Lucci and Alan Cumming, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, perfumer Christopher Brosius of CB Perfume Gallery, interior designer Charlotte Moss, and sensory psychologist Rachel Herz of Brown University.
Next year, Rochelle Bloom hopes to have more members become involved. “We have a long way to go before everyone is involved, so that wherever the consumer shops, she will have the opportunity to experience fragrance during this week. Every year we make inroads, and we will continue to do so,” says Bloom. “Our goal is to one day have National Fragrance Day, which would be celebrated during Fragrance Week.”
—by Marie Redding
Labeling Regulations a Hot Topic at HBA
Holly Young spoke about labeling regulations at an HBA conference.
New labeling regulations were the focus of a conference presented on September 27 at the HBA trade show. The seminar was organized by WS Packaging–Ampersand Label and Hirschhorn + Young Graphics. Approximately 75 packaging professionals from firms such as Estée Lauder, Liz Claiborne, and Del Laboratories attended the event.
Extended-text labels by WS Packaging– Ampersand Label, as seen on Murad’s tubes, can help marketers get more copy on packages.
Holly Young, president of packaging production studio Hirschhorn + Young Graphics spoke about current regulations required by FDA, the European Union, and many international markets. Paulette Carnes, MultiVision product manager for label supplier WS Packaging–Ampersand Label, followed up with advice on how marketers can maximize extended-text label options to meet these regulations.
“A lot of the governments of the world are devising new legislation that affects the graphics that we can put on our packaging,” said Young. She spoke on the following upcoming international regulations that beauty product marketers will face between now and 2009:
- China has completed translating its International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI) chemical names into Chinese. It is expected that China will update its cosmetic labeling regulations to include mandatory labeling of ingredients using these Chinese INCI translations.
- France announced it is going to ask the European Commission to publish recommendations for sunscreen labeling by the end of 2005.
- FDA has warned that in the future, it will consider taking compliance action against cosmetic products that contain ingredients that are not considered safe by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review and that are not labeled with the following warning statement: “Warning: The safety of this product has not been determined.”
- The Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) of Health Canada has proposed stricter Drug Information Number (DIN) labeling laws. It has started reviewing actual product labels instead of just looking at DIN request forms. TPD may also require mandatory drug information to appear in a larger type size than cosmetic copy, as well as request more consistency in naming drugs.
Carnes proposed solutions that WS Packaging–Ampersand Label offers in extended-text labels to help marketers get more information onto packaging. The company offers its patented MultiVision line of extended-text labels, including EasyTab labels and FlexVision tube labels. At the conference, Carnes introduced a new MultiVision product—an extended-text label for plastic tubes that features a clear front panel and an opaque white back panel.
The conference featured two other speakers. Gary Korba, COO of supplier MG New York, and formerly vice president of creative global package development for The Estée Lauder Companies, advised conference attendees on how to develop a package. “There must be quality—you cannot substitute quality for price,” he said. “Your product must also offer value because customers are getting smarter and want to see perceived value in what they buy.”
Finally, Christina Cummings, global director of education for microdermabrasion brand DermaNew, gave a testimonial about how the brand handled marketing its products internationally using MultiVision labels.
Degussa Meets Airspray’s Challenge
Airspray International Inc. announced specialty chemicals firm Degussa as the winner of its first annual Airspray Formulation Challenge. The announcement was made on September 27 at the HBA trade show.
The contest called for companies to develop a shaving foam that could be used with Airspray’s line of instant-foam dispensers. Airspray’s dispensers, which operate without the use of chemical propellants, have already been used to launch products such as hand soap, face wash, and body wash. However, they have never been used to launch a shaving product.
“Worldwide, the shaving and hair removal market represents $2.1 billion in annual sales and is a market in which innovation drives growth,” said David Stob, Airspray’s director of business development. “Degussa’s team has developed an exciting new creamy, rich product utilizing a mechanical instant-foam pump dispenser. Such a formulation has significant upside potential, given the acceptance of instant-foam personal care products in other categories.”
As the winner, Degussa will receive an award of 10,000 euros, plus a trip to Holland for two.
Cosmeeting Awards Smile on GoSMILE
GoSMILE’s product line was a winner at Cosmeeting’s Beauty Challenger Awards.
Organizers of the Cosmeeting trade show, which took place September 12–14, announced the winners of the show’s 2005 Beauty Challenger Awards. The competition was created to recognize niche-product beauty brands. The winners are chosen by a jury of 30 industry professionals.
The grand prize was awarded to GoSMILE, a marketer of at-home teeth-whitening products. According the show organizers, the jury was impressed with GoSMILE’s packaging, which features single-dose ampules.
Second place went to Colorlab Cosmetics, whose products allow customers to create their makeup. The third-place prize was presented to Garancia for its Pschitt Magique Nouvelle Peau chemical-peel mask, which comes in the form of an ultrafine mousse. Shunga won fourth place for its edible cosmetics.