Stock Packaging: Stock Solutions
The labels on Tillia’s stock packages tie in with the trademarked prints on Chester’s cosmetic bags.
Brands can find stock packaging to suit any market.
by Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorWhen it comes to using stock packaging, there is a solution for everyone. Stock components are purposely designed with a basic look in order to suit a range of brand images. For instance, with the right labels, the same Boston Round bottle can look sporty in one case, and luxurious in another. It’s up to marketers to take advantage of the aesthetic flexibility that stock affords.
In this story, we investigate the ways some new personal care lines have tailored the look of stock packaging. Each has achieved a very different style to suit its brand. We also take a look at an area of the stock packaging market that is gaining more attention—the men’s personal care market.
Patterns in Packaging
For the past 10 years, Tiffany Lerman has specialized in designing handbags, tote bags, diaper bags, and cosmetic and travel bags for her line, Chester. What has caused customers and fashion magazines alike to rave about Lerman’s bags are the specialty textile prints she designs. Now, Lerman has launched her first personal care line, called Tillia. The line features standard stock packages with labels featuring Lerman’s custom patterns.
“One of the reasons I started Tillia was because I love textures, colors, forms, and shapes,” says Lerman. “I had seen some beautiful packaging designs out there, but nothing that really appealed to me as looking really pretty for the bathroom. Trends seemed to be moving toward wordy labels, which looked a bit boring to me. They weren’t pulling me in as a consumer to buy them. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have something with a really beautiful label?’ I wanted to keep the packaging simple and make sure it had patterned labels.”
When Lerman set out to find the packaging, she knew that its primary feature would be its labels. “I knew exactly what I wanted from the beginning,” she says. “Primarily, I want to sell a good product, but I knew initial sales were going to revolve around the look of the packaging. So it had to be something that, when customers walk into a shop, they just have to have.”
Because she wanted the most attention-getting aspect of the packaging to be the labels, Lerman decided to use simple stock packages for contrast. The streamlined containers—which include plastic bottles, tottles, and jars, with black closures and pumps—serve as a blank canvas that lets the labels take center stage. The bottles were provided by several suppliers: Ebottles.com, SKS Bottle & Packaging Inc., and Wholesale Supplies Plus. The tottles were supplied by Wholesale Supplies Plus, and the jars were provided by Ebottles.com.
Lerman says that the hardest part of sourcing the packaging was meeting suppliers’ requirements for minimums. “A lot of companies required outrageously high minimums,” she says. “We’re a small start-up company, so that was the hardest part. I think I pulled it off, though. Customers love the way the line looks.”
For Lerman, the easy part was designing the labels. She did the initial graphic designs and then handed them over to graphic designers to develop into labels. Lerman owns the copyrights to the labels. “They’re exclusive, so you’re not going to see them on another bottle or bag, except on a Tillia or a Chester product,” she says. She designed different patterns for each of Tillia’s four product flavors: Daisies & Daffodils, Lavender Vanilla, Rosemary Mint, and Juniper Grapefruit. The labels were supplied by Consolidated Label Co.
Lerman says that she has enjoyed the process of launching the line and developing the packaging. Based on her experience, she gives this advice to small start-up companies looking to launch new packages: “You have to go into it knowing exactly what you want, otherwise parts of it can be very difficult—especially sourcing the packaging,” she says.
Practical Packaging
Climb On!’s packaging is simple and functional—perfect for the athlete on the go.
Climb On! is another brand for which stock packaging was a perfect fit. Founded by Polly Reynolds, the line was originally created for extreme-sports connoisseurs.
“One day my sister Amy, who is a rock climber, came to me for help because the skin on her hands can rip when she’s rock climbing,” says Reynolds. “A lot of climbers were using petroleum products that actually dry out the skin, or regular lotions that weren’t effective enough. So Amy asked me to make a product to heal her skin, and it developed into this product line.”
Climb On!’s claim to fame is its all-in-one treatment formula, which heals everything from cuts and scrapes to rashes, eczema, sunburn, and dry and chapped skin. It can also be used as a moisturizer and a makeup remover. “We were even mentioned in the National Psoriasis Foundation’s magazine because it works on psoriasis as well,” says Reynolds. The formula comes in three versions for different applications: an all-over balm, a cream, and a lip balm. Due to customer demand, last year the company launched a larger, 4-oz jar of its Climb On! Crème.
For the packaging, the company sought stock components that made sense for its audience. “We wanted the packaging to be practical,” says Reynolds. “First of all, it’s made from durable plastic. If customers drop the packages, they’re not going to break. Secondly, it’s lightweight, so it doesn’t weigh customers down when they travel with it. Third, the packaging withstands both hot and cold conditions because athletes such as top female rock climber Steph Davis use it in extreme weather conditions.”
Most of the plastic packages—including various-sized jars—are supplied by Cosmetic Packaging Group, a division of O. Berk Co. “They use PET packaging because it’s 100% compatible with the essential oils in their products. It’s also 100% recyclable, because they’re very environmentally conscious,” says Dean Lang, account executive for Cosmetic Packaging Group. The tin containers are supplied by U.S. Can Co. The plastic lip balm tube is provided by Rustic Escentuals.
Aesthetically, the standard look of stock packaging suited Climb On!’s no-frills image. “It’s very clean and not froufrou because it’s targeted to men and women,” says Reynolds. The jars are clear, and the smooth-sided caps are black for a neutral look.
Reynolds says there were also cost and timing benefits to using stock. “It has a good price point, and we pass those savings on to consumers. They’re not paying for the packaging; they’re paying for the product ingredients,” she says. Lang says that as a distributor, Cosmetic Packaging Group also sees cost savings by supplying stock. “We buy in large quantities, so costs are lower. We pass along those savings.”
Stock components also provide the benefit of being readily available. “They always have the items in stock, which is great,” says Reynolds. Lang adds, “Custom manufacturing would take anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks, normally. With stock, they can buy packaging as they need it.”
For the Men’s Club
When it comes to packaging, men have different preferences than women. They like packages that not only look manly, but that are wider and larger so they fit more comfortably in their hands. It’s rather surprising, then, to find that when it comes to stock packaging, it’s very rare to find components designed specifically for men.
“As far as we’ve seen, there’s nothing really specifically designed for men in the stock market,” says Anthony Sosnick, founder of Anthony Logistics for Men. Launched in 2000, Anthony Logistics’ upscale men’s grooming line is known for its unique packages and labels, which are designed to be men-friendly.
Sosnick says that when his brand goes about choosing stock packaging components, it sources those that are most compatible for men. “We simply pick what we feel a man would relate to better,” he says. “The packaging that we use—and that pretty much every other men’s brand I’ve seen uses—is often designed to suit both men’s and women’s lines.”
Cospack’s new line of airless dispensers is designed specifically for men.
Supplier Cospack of America Corp. has stepped in to fill this void. At the HBA Health & Beauty trade show in September 2005, the company introduced its first line of stock PET jars and airless dispensers designed especially for men. Cospack calls the line Roma.
Because men’s hands are typically larger than women’s, Cospack designed the Roma packages with features that make them easy for men to handle. They are also designed to make products more convenient to access and dispense. “For guys, you have to pick jars with a wide mouth so they can stick their hand in there to get to the product,” says David Hou, Cospack’s marketing director. “We also coated the jars with a matte finish to make them easier to grip.”
The airless packages feature a pump designed especially for men. It has a wide surface area on the actuator to accommodate men’s larger fingers. (For more information on this pump, please see our article on Dispensing Systems in this issue.) The airless bottles have a larger base to make them more stable on the shelf.
Durability is also an important feature for men’s packaging. From the marketers’ side, Sosnick says it is one of the requirements he has for packaging. “It has to be durable because men tend to travel with their products,” he says.
When it comes to packaging, men may also prefer different aesthetics than women. Cospack made sure that the look of the Roma packaging would appeal to men. “The color scheme we developed is very manly,” says Hou. “The packaging has a matte, off-white finish and dark-brown accents. The pump actuators are black, and the jar caps are dark brown.”
As the men’s grooming market continues to grow at a rapid rate, marketers and suppliers alike would be wise to follow the example that Sosnick and Cospack have set by focusing specifically on designs that are tailored for men. It is also wise to consider who is making the purchase. “We keep in mind that the end-consumers are men, but that a lot of the time, it’s women who are buying the products for them,” says Hou.
Hou continues, “The men’s product market is growing. Our clients are starting to focus on providing a package that is suitable for men, rather than just finding something that might not be as specifically tailored for men’s use. Our packaging is for an upscale men’s line. If it were me, I’d appreciate the details that make it more user-friendly.”
Packaging for Everyone
As these marketers and suppliers have shown, stock packaging can be used to create a range of looks. Creativity makes all the difference when it comes to stock packaging. With the right marketing angle—and a little help from suppliers—smart marketers can turn the standard look of stock to their advantage.