Inside Design: Portable and Green
This kit from Bare Escentuals is marketed specifically as a travel-friendly item in Nordstrom.
Consumers want more travel- and environment-friendly packages, and the industry is delivering them.
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorAs beauty companies become more responsive to consumer demands, brands are designing packages that meet specific customer needs and preferences. Currently, these include travel-friendly packages because of the continuing airline restrictions, smaller packages in demand by younger consumers, and green packages that address consumers’ growing concern for the environment.
The New Portability Category
Sephora and Nordstrom are known for being at the forefront of innovative merchandising strategies for beauty products. They have been among the first to recognize and address some of the new demands for portable packaging. On its Web site, Sephora maintains categories that it calls “Airline Approved” and “Beauty To Go,” while Nordstrom includes a section for “Travel-Size Beauty” on its Web site.
“Portable packages have always been out there, but they’ve never been defined as a separate category before, until now,” says Sarina Godin, senior director of product development for Bare Escentuals. “Consumer demand is definitely driving the creation of new types of products and packaging.”
In many instances, a package that is placed within one of these categories might have already existed in a brand’s collection. It can just be a matter of how a retailer decides to merchandise the product. Other times, perhaps recognizing an opportunity to reach more customers and increase sales, beauty companies are launching new products in packages that are specifically designed to be portable and that are labeled as such.
When certain products are described as being travel-friendly, it is usually assumed that the package is smaller and more lightweight than usual, especially if it is a compact. Additional convenience items, such as a makeup bag or pouch, might be included with the product. Another consideration is whether or not packaging keeps a product contained, especially for a product such as a loose powder.
Bare Escentuals’s Beauty On-the-Go Deluxe Set recently launched exclusively at Nordstrom. The set contains a large-size finishing powder called Translucent Tinted Mineral Veil, a brush, and a refillable loose-powder compact in its own custom-size zebra-striped pouch. The compact is supplied by Wormser Corp. (Englewood, NJ). The items are packaged in a striped paperboard box. The refillable compact was already a part of Bare Escentuals’s product lineup, but it was used as part of this set so that it would be merchandised in stores as a travel-friendly item.
Bare Escentuals created this set when it realized that its customers wanted more travel-friendly items. “We used the outer packaging to literally spell out the set’s benefits,” says Godin. “The name makes it easy for the consumer to instantly understand what the set is all about. In a crowded retail environment, it’s important to make it as easy as possible for consumers to find exactly what they’re looking for.”
According to Godin, consumer feedback has always driven Bare Escentuals’s packaging decisions. “We’re always listening to what consumers want and finding ways to provide it. We are also continuing to search for new packaging ideas to expand our offerings in the portable category.”
One jar of Laura Geller’s Spackle Trio holds three foundation primer products—two in the lid and one in the jar.
The Spackle Trio by Laura Geller is another example of a portable package. It is an ingenious way to house three different foundation primers for lips, eyes, and face. The small plastic jar contains Lip Spackle. The jar lid screws off and has a silicone spatula attached for consumers to apply the Lip Spackle. The jar lid also doubles as a compact. A compartment in the lid houses two pans of spackle products, one for the face and another for the eyes. The lid’s top flips up to reveal a mirror. The product sold out in Sephora stores last spring, according to Geller’s representatives.
“This package already existed. We found it through a supplier and knew that it would be perfect. It gives women a convenient way to carry our three top-selling products,” says Geller. “We launched this product specifically with the intent of giving our customers a portable option.”
Suppliers agree that many beauty companies are now introducing more portable products. “Providing customers with a portable option is becoming necessary now. Many brands have been incorporating at least a few ultraportable packages, such as a slimmer compact, into their collections each season as a standard practice,” says Michel Limongi, makeup artist and creative director for Alcan Packaging Beauty (New York City). “It’s more than just a passing trend.”
Designing for the Environment
Consumers today are more conscious of environmental friendliness, so extravagant packaging can seem like overpackaging to those who prefer environment-friendly designs. When fewer materials are used to produce a portable compact, it can make the compact lighter, more streamlined, and more environmentally friendly.
To make compacts portable and lightweight, supplier HCT Packaging will often remove the pins and metal parts from a design, as it did for this Sephora compact.
HCT Packaging (New York City; Los Angeles) has always been known for its sleek compacts. “Sometimes we will take out all of the pins and metal parts in order to make a compact more portable and lightweight. Doing this also makes it easier for the package to be recycled because the components are designed to snap apart,” says Rebecca Goswell, creative director for HCT Packaging.
Recycling issues have been influencing Goswell’s designs a lot more lately. “We’re always thinking about new ways to place mirrors in compacts so they can easily slide out, as well as how to snap parts together without using glue or over-molding processes. We also question the types of ingredients that polymers contain before coloring a plastic part,” she says.
HCT Packaging recently designed a miniature sliding polypropylene case for Lorac Cosmetics. The case is made without glue or pins. Goswell has also created a refillable cosmetic case prototype, called the Envelope Kit, which is made using a minimal number of parts. Both are considered travel-friendly.
“Consumers are asking for greener options, especially in Europe. When everyone else catches on, we will be ready with design solutions,” says Goswell. She advises beauty companies to think about “designing for disassembly” so that at the end of a product’s life, consumers will know how to easily separate plastic and cardboard components for proper recycling. “Consumers will appreciate the fact that their favorite brands care enough to think about the environment,” Goswell adds.
Appealing to a Younger Demographic
Smaller packages are very appealing to younger consumers—an important market to reach. Capturing young consumers’ attention early on can turn them into lifelong customers who will stay loyal to the brand as they become older and their purchasing power increases.
Many smaller packages are being designed to incorporate hooks or latches that are meant to hold charms, chains, or tassels—elements that younger consumers find appealing. Goswell predicts an increased demand for metallized packages and accessories. “Small charms have been very popular and add a jewel-like quality to a cosmetic package,” she says.
Limongi agrees that younger consumers prefer smaller packages. “Teens and preteens use makeup very differently. They won’t go back and buy the same product when it runs out—they want to try new things. They will get tired of a color before it is finished, especially if it is in a larger package,” says Limongi.
Design can also be used to provide other solutions. “Younger consumers need to know the proper way to apply makeup, so packaging should take on a more instructional role,” Limongi explains. He designed the company’s Round Tray package a couple of years ago. It’s just over two inches long but holds three different lip or eye colors. Its outer cover rotates to reveal each of the three compartments, one at a time. A compartment in the center of the package holds a foam or brush applicator.
“We promote the Round Tray as a teaching compact because it can make it easier to use professional application techniques every day,” Limongi explains. For instance, if the compact is filled with three complementing shades of lip gloss, users might be inspired to layer them. “One color should be used for contouring and shaping, one should be used for filling in color, and the lightest color should be applied in the center of the lips to highlight,” Limongi says. “This package provides the consumer with a makeup lesson, and the appropriate tool is included to make it easy to achieve the right effect.”
Smaller packages adorned with accessories—like this one from Alcan Packaging Beauty—attract younger consumers.
Alcan Packaging Beauty will introduce its Sliding Brush compact at the upcoming HBA Global Expo trade show in New York City. The package holds pressed powder and a mirror. When the cap is lifted, an extra-large brush slides out. “This package is designed to be portable, but the large brush enables you to apply the product better. Tiny applicators, especially brushes, just don’t work as well. Consumers are demanding something better. Since this brush is attached to the cap, it is also more convenient because there isn’t as much danger of it dropping on the floor,” says Limongi. The package can be customized by hanging little charms from its chain, making it very appealing to teens.
The Consumer Knows Best
Whether you choose to launch more portable products or “greener” packages, it is important to know what your customers want and need. “It’s so important to the success of any company to listen to your customers and to be able to deliver exactly what they are asking for,” says Godin. “You will often find that they know better than you do.”
Bare Escentuals has received a lot of positive feedback from consumers about its On-the-Go Set. “Sales have been great, and our packaging has definitely contributed to our success,” she says.
Goswell feels that there has always been a place for portable packaging and that there always will be. “It’s not a trend that we’ll see end,” she says.
Since consumers are also interested more in all things “green,” the more you can find ways to make your packaging more environment-friendly, the more prepared you will be to meet upcoming demand. Combining sustainability with ease-of-use and portability might be the key to a winning combination. In the end, a brand that keeps the needs of its consumers in mind will always be successful.
Fragrance To Go
A new travel-friendly spray package was designed to fit a Valois pump.
Valois has introduced a new package that is designed to make it easier to travel with fragrances. The new, stylish, pen-shaped vial is called the Stilo Pen. It is designed to be used with the company’s Replica Pump. “Our Replica is an industry-preferred miniature spray pump that offers all of the features, benefits, and quality of our standard-sized pumps,” says Edward Quinn, vice president of sales, perfumery, and cosmetics for Valois of America (Congers, NY).
The Stilo Pen can be marketed in numerous ways. “It can be a promotional gift, or it can be a companion to a full-size fragrance bottle if it is included in a boxed set. It can also be sold separately as a travel spray,” Quinn says.
Stilo’s cap can be metal or plastic, and the vial can be decorated using traditional screen printing, enamel designs, lacquering, or metallization techniques. Valois provides it all turnkey.