Business Beat
Experts Shed Light on Branding and Labeling at CPC Packaging’s Cosmoprof Conference
By Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorAt CPC Packaging’s What Every Brand Needs to Know conference during Cosmoprof North America in July, two of the biggest lessons were on how to brand packaging and how to comply with international labeling regulations.
Deborah Storz speaks at CPC Packaging’s conference.
Part one of the conference, called How to Impress Retailers and Avoid Packaging Pitfalls, addressed strategically branding packaging. Speaking to a packed audience that day were Nicole Frusci, director of business development for Sephora; Deborah Storz, COO of Dashing Diva Franchise Corp.; and Rick Goldberg, president and founder of Masstige Brands and Brand Architects.
All three speakers stressed the importance of instantly identifiable packaging. Storz said that Dashing Diva’s packaging labels feature the trademark pink color of Dashing Diva’s nail salon décor. The company, she added, has even designed outer packaging that resembles its storefronts.
Nicole Frusci
Frusci said that in Sephora stores, where a range of brands are sold, it is important for a brand’s packaging and displays to look consistent. “The more consistent you are, the more buyers will recognize you.” Using a common color for packaging works well, she added, using Bliss’s signature blue packages or Nars’s trademark black packages as examples to follow.
Frusci also said that one of Sephora’s strong points is its self-serve environment that allows customers to experiment with products at their leisure. “It’s an advantage,” she stated, “but brands have to work even harder to stand out on the shelf, without the help of a salesperson to point out products.”
Rick Goldberg
To make packaging distinctive, Goldberg advised taking an approach opposite to the competition. “When the market is ‘zigging,’ make sure you are ‘zagging,’” he said. “If everyone is using solid-colored packaging, I’d go with opaque or see-through.”
Both Goldberg and Frusci stressed the importance of a strong logo. “The logo is the face of your brand,” said Frusci. “It must be dominant on your package.”
Logos that are simple and quick to read, such as Clinique’s, work best, Frusci added. Also, in Sephora catalogs, logos must be legible, even if packages are pictured smaller than they actually are.
She also warned that packages such as compacts are sometimes pictured open in Sephora’s catalogs and advised brands to print their logos on both the inside and the outside of a compact if possible—or even on the product itself, such as a pressed-powder. “When customers walk into Sephora, they have to be able to remember your package from what they saw in the brochure,” she said.
Frusci also said that sample packages that closely resemble a product’s retail package will allow customers to find the product later in Sephora stores.
The three speakers gave numerous other tips based on their packaging experiences. Storz pointed out that Dashing Diva has been able to make stock packaging look branded by using trademark colors and by what she called “Diva-izing”—using everyday items such as toothbrush holders, binocular cases, and matchbooks to dress up a stock package. “You can also mix and match stock components to create a new look, or use clever outer packaging,” she said.
She also shared how Dashing Diva works around the high minimums that many packaging suppliers impose. She suggested buying components through closeout warehouses such as McKernan Packaging Clearinghouse (Reno, NV) or working with distributors such as Arrowpak (Richmond Hill, NY) or O. Berk (Union, NJ) that have already-purchased components in stock and that are willing to sell them in smaller quantities. Also, she suggested, brands can “piggyback” on the orders of private-label manufacturers or private-label packagers that also order packaging for other clients.
Goldberg spoke about how he has used secondary packaging to make a package look more substantial. “I’m not recommending misleading or creating falsehoods,” he said. “You would still put a lipstick in a 24-oz tube. However, you might attach that tube to a header card that offers tips or techniques on application. Think of it as packaging with a purpose, versus packaging for packaging’s sake.”
During part two of the conference, titled Understanding Labeling Regulations and How to Apply Them to Your Package, some attendees questioned what would be the worst-case scenario if a brand did not comply with labeling regulations for cosmetics.
Holly Young
“The worst that can happen is that a regulatory agency will, at the point of import, stop your product from being distributed—or, your product might be recalled,” said speaker Holly Young, president and CEO of Hirschhorn + Young Graphics, a company that helps brands design packaging to comply with international labeling regulations. Young said that more often, however—but depending on the nature of the infraction—FDA will send warning letters to companies and give them time to comply.
Carl Geffken
The session’s other speaker, cosmetic regulations expert Carl Geffken, president of Carl Geffken Consultants, clarified the difference between misbranding and adulteration. “Misbranding is misrepresenting a product—for instance, making a false claim on your package about what a product does. Adulteration is when a product is contaminated or contains an ingredient that is banned or harmful.”
Geffken went on to explain the different types of disciplinary steps FDA might take. “It depends on the nature of the infraction. If your product is adulterated or misbranded, FDA would ask for very quick compliance and perhaps force withdrawal of all affected products from the market,” he said. “But if there was a spelling or labeling error on your package, as a rule of thumb, FDA will ask you to fix the mistake by the next printing run.”
To help brands avoid labeling infractions, Young and Geffken went into specific detail about the elements—including statement of identity, ingredient listings, weight claims, batch codes, and International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredient designations—that are needed on packaging. They also covered the languages, font sizes, and locations in which the elements must appear.
From the start, brands should design packaging that can be sold in all of the countries they are geared toward, advised Geffken. “Do it from the beginning, before you have to relabel everything,” he said. “Brands should consider a package design that can work now and work later.”
Kathleen Williams, founder of the Anticipation personal care line, commented after day two’s session, “One of the first things that my brand wants to do is to get our new product line into Canada. I would never have known that I needed to do something different with my packaging until I sat in this class. I don’t know what anyone else got out of it, but I feel like I just spent the best hour of my life with these experts. It’s important for us to fix any problems now rather than having to go back and do it later.”
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Those who weren’t able to attend the conference during Cosmoprof North America will get a second chance. On Thursday, September 27, CPC Packaging will host a Webinar during which the panelists will present part one’s session. Also at that time, participants will be able to download copies of the panelists’ presentations. Details for part two of the conference on labeling regulations will soon be announced.
Geffken Answers Questions About PAO Symbol
By Jennifer Kwok, Managing Editor
PAO symbol
At a breakfast hosted by the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors association (ICMAD; Palatine, IL) during the Cosmoprof North America trade show, speaker Carl Geffken answered many questions about current regulations for cosmetic packaging—including regulations regarding the Period After Opening (PAO) symbol required in Europe since 2005.
Geffken, who is vice president of ICMAD and chair of its technical, regulatory, and legislative committee, explained to attendees that the PAO symbol—an icon featuring an open jar and the number of months that a product is safe to use after it has been opened—is required on both the primary and secondary packages of any product sold in Europe.
One question from the breakfast’s attendees was whether or not the PAO symbol is required on even small cosmetic packages such as eye pencils. “Yes, a legible symbol is required, even if it is very small,” said Geffken. “There is no specific size requirement for the symbol, but it must be legible and it must identify the open-jar symbol and the number of months.”
Geffken also specified the difference between the PAO symbol and the Best Used By symbol, which is also required on packages sold in Europe. “The Best Used By symbol must be there if a product has less than 30 months of stability,” he said. “If the Best Used By date is 30 months or longer, then packages don’t need to state the Best Used By date. However, they must then include a PAO symbol for the consumer to know the number of months that a product would be able to be used without causing harm.”
There are exceptions to the rule. Geffken said that packages that are airless, aerosols, or unit dose do not require a PAO or Best Used By symbol. The reasoning for this, he stated, is that these packages typically protect products from microbiological contamination that might otherwise shorten a product’s efficacious life span—or, if they are unit dose, then it is clear that the product is not meant for extended use. Also exempt are products that contain high levels of alcohol, such as fine fragrances.
The PAO and Best Used By symbols are not required and not mandated on packages sold in the United States. “However, if U.S. companies want to sell their products in Europe, their packages must have one of these symbols,” said Geffken.
Geffken did note some controversy associated with the PAO symbol. “It’s a complicated law in that there is no real ultimate control over how a consumer is going to use or store a product, how many months a product has been on the shelf before the consumer buys it, or how the product has been handled or stored during shipping.”
Tubes Judged for Upcoming Awards
Judging for The Tube Council’s annual Tube of the Year Awards took place in early August in New Jersey. Judges evaluated 20 tubes submitted for the council’s annual program at SS Studios (Union, NJ), a graphic arts firm.This year’s judging panel included Jeffrey Wass, director of package engineering for Avon Products Inc. and an editorial advisory board member of CPC Packaging; Stephen Hess, executive director of packaging technology for Merck & Company, Inc., and an editorial advisory board member of sister publication Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News; Deb Spaeth, account manager at Tectubes; and Daphne Allen, group editor of CPC Packaging and editor of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News. Christopher White, president of The Tube Council, presided over the judging.
Tubes were judged on their graphics, decoration, shape, closure, texture, ease-of-use, consumer appeal, and technical merit. Awards will be presented for the best tubes in thefollowing industries: personal care, pharmaceutical, dentifrice, food, and household/industrial.
Other categories include Innovative Tube of the Year and Innovative Component/Process of the Year, which honors an innovative process developed by a Council Associate Member. The highest achievement award winner—the Ted Klein Tube of the Year—will also be announced. For awards program rules and past winners, visit www.tube.org.
The winners will be announced at The Tube Council’s booth at HBA Global Expo, to be held September 18–20 in New York City. They will also be celebrated during the council’s annual meeting on October 17 at The Marriott Newark (Newark, NJ).