Tube Trends
The flip-top closure for Tubed Products’ new patent-pending Deckless Dispense-R Tube uses the head of the tube as the deck of the closure.
Suppliers are upgrading tubes with new structures, caps, and applicators.
By Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorIn the tube industry, the quote “Necessity is the mother of invention” has never before rung so true. Faced with stiff competition from overseas manufacturers, many of whom produce tubes at low costs, domestic suppliers are innovating new tube designs to keep themselves ahead of the game.
According to Glenn Scott, vice president of supply chain logistics for tube supplier Berlin Packaging (Chicago), suppliers in countries such as China excel at finding the latest high-speed equipment that allows these companies to turn out tubes with shorter lead times and at lower costs. However, he says, these suppliers tend to focus on the production versus invention. “Within the last year, I have seen China start to break out of the ‘Me too’ syndrome, but they still have a way to go. They are a few steps behind, but they are catching up. More innovation is still happening in the United States. Overall, I still tend to see the United States as more of a leader and China as more of a follower.”
Domestic suppliers are continually modifying designs for tubes. For instance, many advancements have been made recently in the area of tube closures. As far as tube structures go, one-piece tubes and all-plastic laminate tubes are among the newest developments.
Controlled Dispensing
One of the advancements suppliers are making is improving the way products are dispensed from tubes. To this end, several suppliers will soon introduce valve systems for tube closures that enhance product dispensing.
Valve systems enable tube closures to stop dispensing product precisely when a user stops squeezing a tube. Suppliers Alcan Beauty Packaging (Norwalk, CT) and World Wide Packaging (Florham Park, NJ) are among those developing closures that incorporate valve systems.
Alcan Packaging Beauty is working with supplier Seaquist Closures for its valve design. “It’ll be out beginning in 2007,” says Kris Christensen, director of marketing for Alcan Packaging Beauty. “We call the valve closure system the Pinpoint Valve because it provides a very precise cutoff, and thus, very precise application.”
World Wide Packaging’s valve system is built into a silicone applicator. “When you squeeze the tube, the product dispenses, and when you stop squeezing it, product flow shuts off,” says Jeff Hayet, vice president of sales for World Wide Packaging’s plastic tube division. Both Christensen and Hayet say that the precise dispensing that valves provide especially benefits products that are applied directly to the face.
Tube pumps, which allow products to be dispensed in measured doses, are also gaining in popularity. Brands are showing more interest in tube pumps for a variety of products. For instance, spa brand Bliss chose a pump dispenser for its Oil-Free Sunban Face SPF 30+ tube, which launched this year. The tube and its pump were sourced from China. (For more information on this tube, see the Inside Design column in the July/August 2006 issue of CPC Packaging.) Suppliers including Alcan Packaging Beauty have provided tube pumps to the market for years. However, Christensen and other industry professionals say that they have seen stronger interest in them recently.
Tube pumps, like this one by 3C, are trendy now.
At this year’s HBA Health & Beauty America trade show, supplier 3C (Hawthorne, NJ) will introduce its new tube pump. Lou Della Pesca, president of 3C, says, “The biggest benefit is that you can pump out a measured amount of product. You have almost 100% control of how much product is coming out of the tube. It eliminates the problem of squeezing a tube and having too much product come out. This combines high-precision dosage with the convenient features of a tube.”
Closures That Minimize Leakage
Suppliers are also launching a range of new tube cap designs. Some of the newest designs are meant to prevent product from leaking from a tube.
This June, Tubed Products (Easthampton, MA), a subsidiary of Berry Plastics, introduced its new patent-pending Deckless Dispens-R Tube flip-top tube closure. Unlike standard flip-top tube closures, which feature a hinged lid and a deck where the dispensing orifice is located, the snap-on Deckless closure uses the head of the tube as the deck of the closure.
“The basic difference between the Deckless closure and a standard flip-top cap is that, with the Deckless closure, the product is dispensed directly from the tube,” says Woody Wehr, sales and marketing executive for Tubed Products. “In other words, the product doesn’t go into the cap and then get dispensed out of it. When you flip the closure’s lid open, what you’re seeing is actually the top of the tube. We’ve actually changed the industry for dispensing caps by developing this cap and tube.”
According to Wehr, the Deckless closure offers several benefits. Because product flows directly out of the tube and not through the closure, this design minimizes possible product leakage. “On a typical closure, you have two points from which product can potentially leak—the area between the tube shoulder and the lid, and the area between the dispensing orifice on the closure and the flip-top lid,” he says. “With the Deckless, you only have one point of potential leakage.”
JSN Packaging Products (Irvine, CA) is another supplier dedicated to eliminating leakage on tubes. The company recently introduced its option for conduction sealing tubes. Unlike an induction seal, which is die-cut, put into a cap, and then laminated onto the head of the tube, a conduction seal is applied during the molding process.
“Because a conduction seal is put on the tube during the molding process, they’re a more economical way to go,” says John Ulibarri, sales manager for JSN Packaging. “This option has been around for a while, but for us it’s fairly new.”
This type of freshness seal is especially favored by beauty brands whose products include sensitive ingredients. It also helps make a tube tamper evident.
New Applicators
New applicators for lip gloss tubes and other types of product tubes are also in development. Many of these applicators are designed to provide more precise, comfortable application and a unique look.
Urban Decay’s new TPE lip gloss applicator.
HCT Packaging (Bridgewater, NJ) has created a new, patented applicator head made from thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Recently, the applicator was used on a slim, low-density polyethylene tube for Urban Decay’s new Ultraglide lip gloss, launched this month.
According to Nick Gardner, vice president of sales for HCT, the rubbery TPE applicator feels softer on the lips than a plastic applicator. “It’s soft so that it doesn’t drag on the lips, yet it is still resilient enough to allow for accurate application,” he says.
The TPE applicator had to first be molded to a polypropylene collar. The collar was then attached to the tube. “It’s quite difficult to bond the TPE to the rest of the package,” says Gardner. “One section of the applicator must be rigid enough to mold to the tube. In this instance, the applicator’s polypropylene collar is stiffer than the soft TPE tip.”
Gardner says that HCT first used the TPE applicator on a click pen for a tooth-cleaning product. Urban Decay saw the patented applicator and decided to work with HCT to use it on its Ultraglide tube.
Express Tubes’ new protruding doe-foot applicators.
Supplier Express Tubes (Kent, WA) has also introduced a new applicator design for a lip gloss tube. For a more unique look, the company offers either a brush-style applicator or a doe-foot applicator that protrudes from a domed-shape head on a tube. “The product squeezes out onto the tip of the applicator,” says Katina Medlock, sales manager for Express Tubes. Medlock says that Maybelline has used this applicator for a lip gloss. “I’ve had people involved with teeth whitening and dental products look at it as well,” she adds.
To provide a more-even application for lip gloss, 3C has launched what it calls a showerhead applicator. The applicator looks like a conventional slanted doe-foot applicator, except that it features 10 dispensing orifices. “Instead of having one opening, it has 10,” says Della Pesca. “It provides a smooth, even application.”
Montebello’s Laminate Nozzle Tube for hair-dye products.
Tube applicators are also being designed for body and hair-care products. For hair treatment and hair-dye products that require precise application, supplier Montebello Packaging (Oak Park, IL) is marketing a long, nozzle-style applicator for cosmetic tubes. The firm calls the design the Laminate Nozzle Tube.
“It was originally used on a caulking tube,” says Kathy Mercer, Eastern Canada sales manager for Montebello. “We received customer feedback that made us realize that people were interested in it for hair care applications for which you need a pointed nozzle to get to the roots of the hair. That’s when we started showing for cosmetics.” The nozzle is a snip tip, requiring that customers cut off the top of the nozzle before they can dispense product.
Tube Structures
While there has been much innovation happening with tube closures and tube applicators, development has also been taking place with tube structures. In particular, two recent developments by World Wide Packaging and Alcan Packaging Beauty are of interest to the cosmetic and personal care packaging industry.
Alcan Packaging Beauty will launch its line of all-plastic laminate tubes in 2007. Unlike traditional laminate tubes, these tubes do not include a foil layer. This allows the tube to maintain its shape after the tube is squeezed. “We take out the foil layer so it feels very much like a plastic tube,” says Christensen.
Christensen adds, “Traditionally, cosmetic customers stayed away from laminate tubes due to the appearance of the seam. But due to the new seaming technology we will use, the seam is now minimized.”
According to Christensen, the benefits of the all-plastic laminate tube are the printing effects one can achieve on it because the tube is printed in the flat. “Because you can print the web in the flat, you can get a nice printing consistency with a range of techniques such as silk-screening and hot stamping.” This option also makes production runs efficient because it eliminates the need for secondary decorating processes once the tube is formed.
World Wide Packaging’s one-piece tubes can be printed over the tube shoulder.
Better printing capabilities were also a goal for World Wide Packaging when the supplier made enhancements to its patented one-piece tube design. The one-piece tube can be printed over the tube shoulder.
“We’ve mastered the ability for 100% coverage,” says World Wide’s Hayet. Christensen adds that Alcan Packaging Beauty also has capabilities for printing over a tube’s shoulder.
World Wide’s one-piece tube is extruded in one seamless piece, including the cap. The tube’s design is meant to eliminate filling problems, as well as the problem associated with conventional tubes of product leaking beneath a tube’s cap. In addition, it ensures that graphics on the tube are always oriented correctly because the cap is fused to the tube.
World Wide Packaging now also has the ability to create a coextruded version of the one-piece tube with an EVOH barrier layer. “With extrusion molding, you can create up to five layers on the tube,” says Hayet.
Other firms have produced one-piece tubes, but Hayet says that World Wide is the only company to offer a coextruded version. Because of its barrier properties, the extruded tube is suited for sensitive formulas including those with SPF.
In the coming months, several major multinational brands will launch products in World Wide’s one-piece tubes, says Hayet. “It’s almost like we’re reinventing the wheel with these tubes,” he says. “It’s sparking huge interest.”
Recent Launches in Tubes
Part of a tube’s appeal is travel friendliness. For this reason, marketers often choose tubes for products that are meant for use on the go. Lip gloss and sunscreen are two such products. Below, we feature two recent launches.
This year, cosmetics brand DuWop introduced a miniaturized set of its lip glosses called Butterfly Kisses. Each set contains a trio of mini lip gloss tubes with slant-tip applicators. The product launched exclusively at Victoria’s Secret Beauty.
DuWop’s public relations manager Lauren Hilton says that the mini-sized tubes were a perfect fit for the product. “The small size of the miniature lip gloss tubes makes them very convenient. Consumers on the go do not need to bring along an entire full-sized lip gloss tube, as they will really only be reapplying a few drops of product. Miniature tubes are very portable and can fit in your jeans pocket, in any makeup bag, or in your clutch during a night out. There is also the appeal of anything miniature because it feels more precious and special.”
Kent Cordova, product development manager for DuWop, adds that the tubes were a more hygienic choice than a pot or an applicator and bottle. “Tubes offer the consumer a more hygienic option than other packaging alternatives,” he says. “You avoid having to dip a wand or a brush in and out of a container, or dipping your finger into a pot, which can be quite unsanitary.”
Greek personal care brand Korres also chose several tubes for its new Suncare Set, which launched this June exclusively at Sephora. According to the Korres marketing team, “The tube is a convenient type of package to travel with because the product dispenses without getting messy.”
Testing Tubes
Sensor Products (Madison, NJ), a manufacturer of sensor technologies, has introduced a new tube-testing sensor that evaluates how much pressure is applied to a tube when customers are squeezing it, as well as the effects of this pressure.
The Tactilus system features a sensor that is designed to encase a tube. When pressure is exerted on the tube, the system analyzes exactly where pressure is applied and how much force is being applied. According to the company, this data is useful for marketers in determining where and how a tube will fatigue, as well as where and when labels and tube printing will erode or delaminate. It can also help marketers to design a more ergonomic tube.
The Tactilus sensor system comprises a matrix-based tactile surface sensor, software, and an electronic hub that plugs into a Windows-compatible PC or laptop.