Sampling & Unit Dosing: Big Developments
A white coating improved the look and printing surface of these new Burt’s Bees
Xela Pack samplers, which feature postconsumer-recycled Kraft stock.
Demand, innovation, and production are growing for small-sized packages.
by Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorSuppliers report that demand for unit-dose and sample packaging is up. To accommodate this trend, several suppliers have even expanded their facilities.
James Alexander Corp. (Blairstown, NJ) added 10,000 sq ft to its plant. “With an influx of new business this past year, we really needed the additional space,” says Francesca Fazzolari, president and CEO. Likewise, Flexpaq (South Plainfield, NJ) has installed advanced equipment to support its growing contract filling program. Dimensional Merchandising Inc. (DMI; Wharton, NJ) has established additional high-speed filling lines for small-sized bottles.
Identipak Inc. (McAllen, TX) has increased its annual production capacity to 200 million sachets. Margery Woodin, vice president of marketing and sales, suggests that demand is related to an increased frequency of product launches. “Instead of launching products every two years, brands are now launching them every six months,” she says. “Of course, new launches require new samples. That’s good news for the sample packaging industry.”
While stepping up production, suppliers are simultaneously introducing new packages that are as exciting as the new products in them.
Environmentally Sound
With the buzz surrounding environment friendliness, suppliers have been working to improve the sustainability of packaging. The Xela Pack has been one of the more earth-friendly packages because 75% of it is constructed from paper. For a few jobs in the past, Xela Pack (Saline, MI) has been asked to work with 100% postconsumer recycled (PCR) Kraft paper, which is brown in color. Recently, however, the company went a step further for some new Burt’s Bees samplers by using white PCR paper.
For Burt’s Bees, Xela Pack’s paper manufacturer applied a white aqueous coating to the 100% PCR paper. According to Anthony Gentile, Xela Pack’s director of art and marketing, the white coating gives the PCR a better print surface than the original Kraft stock. As a result, the paper can accept more intricate graphics—something that was important to Burt’s Bees. “Burt’s Bees wanted the graphics on their samplers to match those on their full-sized containers,” he says. Gentile says that Xela Pack’s new PCR offering is gaining attention from several large cosmetic companies.
High-End Looks
Like Burt’s Bees, other marketers are demanding better aesthetics for sample packages. To this end, several suppliers announced new developments.
Glenroy’s new matte film gives sachets and pouches a softer appearance.
Glenroy (Menomonee Falls, WI) has developed a new matte film for pouches and sachets. “The film feels luxurious because it has a soft touch,” says Katie Tenpas, Glenroy’s marketing coordinator. “Graphics seem to pop off the package because there is no gloss conflicting with the printing.”
For Giovanni Cosmetics’ Smooth as Silk hair care line, supplier Identipak created a sachet with a silky matte finish.
Identipak Inc. created a high-end matte look for a sachet for Giovanni Cosmetics’ Smooth as Silk protein-infusion hair treatment product. To match the overall style of Giovanni’s packaging line, which has a matte look, Identipak finished the sachet with an OPP matte over-lamination for a smooth, silky feel.
Jim Gabilanes, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Flexpaq, says that more customers have been asking for clear film for sachets and packettes. “This allows customers to see the color of the product inside,” he says.
James Alexander can now engrave a brand’s logo onto its mini ampules. “It’s a high-end package,” says sales manager Carol Gamsby. “You can also pearlize it in any Pantone color, or make it translucent or opaque.”
Innovating Structures
Exceptional package structures are also catching marketers’ eyes. Suppliers’ newest constructions offer customers unique benefits.
Unette’s (Wharton, NJ) Stick Pack sachet features a channel that directs product flow. Unette’s CEO, Joseph Hark, adds that the firm also offers this feature on its standard sachets, as well as a reclosable feature. “You can now get multiple uses out of what was once a unit-dose package,” he says.
Flexpaq’s Easy Open design makes it easier for customers to tear sachets and packettes open. The package also includes a channel that directs product flow.
Unique shapes are also in vogue. Identipak is now able to package granulated products such as bath crystals into sachets that are die-cut in custom shapes.
Attaching samplers to printed cards is also popular. Xela Pack did this for Burt’s Bees. DMI’s vice president, Tony Nugent, says that his company has added four production lines that affix sachets or packettes to a card.
Where form-fill-seal packages are concerned, Sampling Dimensions has introduced a multiuse fragrance sampler that lets customers try a fragrance several times before making a decision to purchase. The package looks similar to the blister packages used by the gum industry, says Dominick Montano, vice president of sales. Coty recently used this for Calvin Klein, he adds.
Packages that incorporate applicators are also a trend. Cardinal Health’s Del-Pouch is gaining more attention from the beauty industry. This package features a built-in sponge applicator. (For more information on this package, see this issue’s Editors’ Choice Awards story on Olay’s Derma-Pod package.)
For an eye treatment product, ModelCo chose Swabplus’s XPress Tips swab, which houses viscous liquid in its wand.
Swabplus Inc.’s (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) package houses a liquid product right in the swab’s wand. The firm’s new XPress Tips were designed for viscous products such as creams and gels. ModelCo recently used this package for its Erase Those Fine Lines eye treatment. “The revolutionary wand offers measured doses of this unique serum,” says Shelley Barrett, ModelCo’s founder and CEO.
Sonic Packaging Industries’ (Westwood, NJ) new CombiStick package also incorporates a swab. This swab and a premeasured dose of product are housed in a slim sachet. To prevent product from getting on the swab’s handle—and subsequently, on customers’ hands—the product is contained in the head of the sachet. “More companies are coming to us not just for a package, but also for a delivery system,” says company president Howard Thau. “In many cases, this includes some kind of applicator that will aid in the use of the product.”
These are just two of the high-end sample
packages that Eric Ludwig, president of Telmark Packaging Corp., says he has noticed international suppliers offering.
Looks Like Retail
Packages that look like miniature retail containers will also catch a customer’s eye. Flexpaq has developed a line of stock mini-sized containers, including airless dispensing pumps whose sizes start at 3 ml.
Eric Ludwig, president of private-label, contract manufacturing, and contract packaging firm Telmark Packaging Corp. (Hazlet, NJ), says that he’s noticed many innovative high-end samplers coming from abroad. “They are all sorts of different containers,” he says. “Some are bottles, some are small tottles, and some even have roll-on applicators. There’s an incredible array of packages available.”