Sample Packaging: Spray Vials, Elegantly Dressed
Ineke’s Deluxe Sample Set allows online customers to test the brand’s range of fragrances for a low price.
The standard spray vial has been transformed with luxurious elements.
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorTwo niche fragrance brands, Ineke and Bond No. 9 New York, have found creative ways to transform a spray vial into a prestige fragrance package. Because Ineke’s products are primarily sold online, its new Deluxe Sample Set is designed to let customers sample the fragrances and take the place of testers in stores. Bond No. 9 New York has launched Late-Day Pocket Spray, an elegant, refillable purse spray that includes three vials. Both kits were designed to entice customers to purchase full-sized fragrances.
A Sampling Set
“Fragrance is a product that needs to be sampled,” says Ineke Rühland, perfumer and founder of the Ineke fragrance collection. Rühland knows that selling her fragrances through her Web site is sometimes difficult because tester units are not an option. For this reason, she created her Deluxe Sample Set.
The Ineke collection consists of three women’s fragrances: After My Own Heart, Balmy Days & Sundays, and Chemical Bonding. In addition, there is a men’s fragrance named Derring-Do. Ineke’s Deluxe Sample Set contains all four of these fragrances in sample-sized spray vials.
“We couldn’t afford to offer this kit online for free. We would receive too many requests for it,” says Rühland. Instead, the kit’s $12 purchase price is fully redeemable toward a future purchase. To ensure customers didn’t feel cheated for having to pay for samples, Rühland added upscale, creative elements to the secondary packaging.
Each Ineke fragrance vial is packaged in a customized matchbox.
Each spray vial is fashionably wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a long, narrow box. The box features a sliding tray that fits each vial perfectly. The box is actually a matchbox—minus the strike plate.
“I was sitting in a restaurant one night and noticed that the matchbox looked like it would be the perfect size to fit the vial. I loved it so much that I even asked the restaurant owner the name of the match supplier,” says Rühland. The boxes are manufactured in Japan by Applied Graphics (San Rafael, CA), a supplier that normally services the hospitality industry.
“We call this box our lipstick tube,” says Steve Ball, manager at Applied Graphics. “It’s always interesting to see what other uses there are for a matchbox, and this was a perfect fit.”
The colorful graphics on both the outer boxes and inner trays were designed by Helena Seo (Sunnyvale, CA). Because the boxes were printed in Japan, it wasn’t possible to do an on-site check. “It was a bit of a challenge to finally get all of the colors to look right,” says Rühland.
Rühland also spent a lot of time finding a supplier for the custom-sized tissue paper. She finally found Vivant, a supplier based in Holland with sales representatives in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The four matchboxes are bundled together with a vellum band. They are placed inside a faux-suede pouch along with four blotting cards, as well as a product brochure. The pouch, supplied by Paxar (San Francisco), has a fabric label with the Ineke brand logo sewn onto it. Rexam Dispensing Systems in Purchase, NY, supplies the pump sprays. Le Papillon (New Brunswick, NJ) supplies the glass vials, which are silk-screened with the fragrance name. The company also coordinates filling and placing each vial inside the matchboxes with tissue paper. Next, contract manufacturer FMI (Allentown, PA) places everything inside the pouches and handles fulfillment and shipping.
Sometimes, the Ineke sales team gives the sets to stores as promotional gifts. Rühland also sends them to small, upscale boutiques that she feels might be interested in carrying her fragrances. “It’s just to pique their interest. It’s much easier to send these rather than to travel to every small store that might be interested in my collection. It’s also more economical to send these rather than four full-sized versions,” she says.
The Deluxe Sample collection isn’t meant to generate a profit. “My goal in creating this kit was to hopefully generate sales for full-sized bottles,” Rühland says. She says it’s too early to tell to what extent sales of the sample sets have affected sales of her full-sized versions. “We do receive a considerable number of requests for these kits. We have also seen them mentioned on a number of different blogs, and each time they are written about, the number of hits on our Web site increases,” she adds.
Rühland feels that her detailoriented approach to packaging is important. “People do notice all the little details. It is so hard to differentiate your company in the market today. If you just try to create something truly beautiful, people will respond and remember your product,” she says. So far, Rühland’s strategy appears to be working well.
A Chic Pocket Spray
Bond No. 9’s new Late-Day Pocket Spray fragrance vial is all dressed up in elegant black Swarovski crystals.
Bond No. 9 New York has also launched a new fragrance set, named the Late-Day Pocket Spray. It contains a portable spray package dressed elegantly enough to be used at a glamorous black-tie event. The pocket spray can be refilled with one of the three vials that are included in the box. Although the pocket sprays are larger than a usual sample size (and not technically a sample), the set was designed to accomplish a goal similar to that of a sampling program: to generate consumer interest in Bond No. 9’s full-sized fragrances.
The set contains three 9-ml glass vials with pump sprays. These are filled with Bond No. 9’s bestsellers: two women’s scents, Chinatown and Chelsea Flowers; and the unisex Eau de New York. The refillable outer package, designed to hold one vial, is covered with authentic black pavé Swarovski stones—the reason for its high price tag. Consumers have the option of purchasing additional vials. The spray vials are supplied by Valois of America (Congers, NY).
“This package size is a great introduction to our fragrances,” says Laurice Rahmé, founder and president of Bond No. 9 New York. “Each vial holds about a three-week supply of fragrance. You could even keep the one you like and give the others as gifts,” she adds.
Rahmé says she chose black Swarovski stones because they are unisex. “They are very elegant and very in fashion right now,” she says. There are 335 stones on the package, and they were all hand-applied by an artist. “It took three months of testing to be able to find the best way to apply the stones,” Rahmé explains.
The set is packaged in a black and white setup box, which was designed to resemble an upscale Parisian chocolate box. It is supplied by Plaza Packaging (New York City).
Rahmé expects the demand for smaller-sized packaging to continue. “We are all always on the run, and these are great for traveling. You can even take these on planes because now you’re allowed to carry on [packages with] less than 3 oz of a liquid [inside],” she adds.
A Tanning Product Sold in Individual Doses
Unit-dose tanners are housed in Xela Pack samplers.
The company Designer Skin houses its products in packages supplied by Xela Pack (Saline, MI). The packages have die-cut holes at the top, making them easy for stores to display. The product is mainly sold behind counters at tanning salons.
This package is the largest size that Xela Pack makes. Although Designer Skin fills it with 20 ml of product, the package is designed to hold from 15 to 30 ml of product.
“Designer Skin has had great success with our packs because they are able to offer them for sale at places where people would need to use the product, such as tanning salons,” says Anthony Gentile, director of art and marketing at Xela Pack. “Our package is ideal for such a situation because we use a semirigid paper construction that has a higher perceived value than standard sachets or foil packs.”
Since the Xela Pack is made from paper, it is also ideal for displaying Designer Skin’s colorful, complex graphics and artwork on its large front surface area.
New Sample Packages Being Offered by Suppliers
Sampling programs are an important way to reach new customers and to create awareness for your brand or new product. Even if your sample is sold rather than distributed for free, it still serves the same purpose. Unique sample packages are the perfect way to engage customers. For this reason, it is important that suppliers offer manufacturers more options in sample packaging. Here are a few of the latest innovations.
The Card Press
The Card Press sampler is designed for magazine insertion.
Flexpaq Corp. (South Plainfield, NJ) has created a new type of magazine insert, the Card Press. It is produced using a thermoforming process and has a clear window that allows the product to show through. It can hold fragrance, gel, a cosmetic, or lotion. “It has a consumer-friendly peel-back feature when it is opened,” says Jim Gabilanes, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Flexpaq Corp.
The card is about the size of a credit card, making it easy to handle. The product is contained inside a small well. The user is meant to peel back the card’s top layer of film, exposing the product.
The Card Press is currently being tested by the magazine industry to ensure that it meets U.S. Postal Service regulations. It could start being used in consumer magazines sometime in 2007.
The Airless Paq Dispensing System
Flexpaq’s small-sized airless dispensers are travel-friendly.
Flexpaq also launched a stylish new airless pump dispensing system in 3-, 5-, and 15-ml sizes, with an overcap. “It can be used as a trial unit, a unit-of-use package, or as part of a travel kit,” says Gabilanes. The package can be custom decorated, and Flexpaq has the ability to supply it already filled.
The Blister Pack
Rexam’s Blister Pack for Elizabeth Arden.
Rexam Dispensing Systems (Purchase, NY) is offering a stock package for fragrance manufacturers interested in selling a sampler in mass-market stores. Rexam’s new Blister Pack spray sampler contains a mini fragrance vial with a spray pump dispenser. It can hold enough product to last 40 sprays, which is long enough for the user to “fall in love” with the product.
The sampler is manufactured by Rexam together with supplier Le Papillon. Rexam supplies its own Sofilux mini glass vial and a SP5 pump, while Le Papillon handles the filling and packaging operations using automatic, high-speed production processes.
“Because the sampler is designed for a self-service, low-price purchase, it brings a quick and measurable return on investment,” said Eric Desmaris, marketing manager at Rexam Dispensing Systems. “And because of the Rexam–Le Papillon alliance, we are able to offer our customers the added value of one-stop shopping to develop attractive and impactful samplers for purchase.” Elizabeth Arden for Curious Britney Spears has already used this new innovative package successfully.
A Smaller-Sized Xela Pack
Small-sized Xela Packs are suited for low-dose products.
Xela Pack launched a new 5-ml Stand-Up package last July. It was designed to accommodate the growing number of new products that are meant to be used in small doses. “This is our smallest size, and we are definitely seeing a large demand for it,” says Anthony Gentile, director of art and marketing at Xela Pack. Xela Pack’s new package can accommodate a dosage as small as 2 ml and as large as 5 ml.
Xela Packs are designed to hold all types of products, including skin creams, lotions, gels, or liquids. They also have a self-closing orifice, making them ideal for single- or multidose applications. They are environmentally friendly and made from 100% postconsumer recycled paper.