Latest Launches
Rose-Colored Boxes
Rubies and pearls are a girl’s best friend, according to the Just Good for You skin care line. The line’s products are mixed with finely crushed rubies, which exfoliate the skin, as well as crushed pearls, whose proteins moisturize and provide antiaging benefits. The company’s founder, Bettina Garber, designed luxurious packaging to complement the upscale products.
The line’s handmade heavy-duty setup boxes are wrapped in pink paper and adorned with black ribbons. “I like the dramatic look of pink combined with black,” says Garber. “We started off with white ribbon, as you can see in the picture, and then we switched to black.”
In the beginning, the ribbons were glued to the bottom of the boxes. However, Garber says that this presented problems. “The ribbons were manually glued to the bottom, so it involved a lot of time and cost, and sometimes, the ribbons weren’t glued as neatly as we would have liked.”
The brand eventually switched to an elastic band with a black satin ribbon attached. The elastic made it easier for customers to put the ribbon back on the carton. “A lot of customers love the box so much that they keep the product in the box when they’re not using it, so being able to put the ribbon back on was important,” says Garber.
The line also includes a handmade book-style carton for a kit. A ribbon closure ties the carton’s lid closed. The carton is wrapped in black linen. “It’s ready to give as a gift,” says Garber.
As for the primary containers, all of the stock bottles and jars feature frosted glass. One bottle, for a bath powder, features a wooden stopper. “The stopper keeps the powder dry and gives the package a more natural look,” says Garber.
Made for Men
The Matte for Men skin care line is designed to care not only for the face, but for the scalp as well. The line’s two products, Antioxidant Shave Gel and Complete Head Care Lotion with SPF 25, are especially geared to men who shave their heads or have experienced some hair loss.
The company’s founder, Lee Jacobs, chose earth tones for the packaging. He says that the color scheme could help the line stand out in other ways. “Almost all other men’s skin care items are black, silver, white, or blue,” he says.
Jacobs was also careful to ensure that the cartons’ graphics were straightforward so that customers can easily comprehend the line.
The cartons are supplied by Municipal Packaging (Sun Valley, CA). The 2.5-oz low-density polyethylene tubes are provided by Kaufman Container. “We chose a matte finish for the tubes because [it] goes along with our brand image,” says Jacobs.
Durable Metal
Anomatic Corp. (Newark, OH), an anodizing specialist, was recently tapped to provide beauty components for hair care brand Alterna, as well as for The Estée Lauder Companies.
For Alterna’s Caviar shampoo, Anomatic created a bright silver anodized cap to complement the bottle’s decoration and custom logo. For Estée Lauder’s new Emerald Dream fragrance, Anomatic supplied an anodized aluminum collar, an actuator, and a cap. Estée Lauder’s logo was printed on top of the cap.
According to Anomatic, the components display the company’s color-matching abilities. The components resist fading, chipping, scratching, and peeling, even in harsh climates, says the company.
Stylish Dispensers
Rexam Dispensing Systems (Alkmarr, The Netherlands; Purchase, NY) provided pumps for several products now on the market.
For Apsire2Beauty’s personal care line, Rexam provided the newest version of its 2-ml Symplicity lotion pump. The neutral, all-plastic pump comprises stainless steel, is elastomer-free, and has a 24/410 neck finish. Its water-resistant design makes it suited for wet environments such as the bathroom.
“The soft-touch actuator feels smooth and comfortable and delivers a high-quality experience for our customers,” says Lauren Tuxford of Aspire2Beauty. The pump was paired with a 250-ml PET bottle supplied by M&H Plastics (Winchester, VA).
For Lavanila Laboratories’ fragrances, Rexam supplied its 15-mm crimpless low-profile pump. Rexam designed the silver pump and cap to fit Lavanila’s tall, narrow glass bottle.
According to Rexam, the sleek, smooth-operating pump has become very popular for fragrances because of its versatility, neutrality, performance, and ease of assembly. The elastomer-free pump can accommodate dosages from 70 to 140 mml.
Small Tube, Big Solution
When Sephora asked Murad to provide trial-size tubes of its Acne Spot Treatment and Night Reform Treatment products, Murad was happy to comply. However, Murad faced a challenge. Sephora requested that the tubes not be packaged in secondary cartons because the retailer wanted to display the products in fishbowls at its checkout counters to encourage impulse buys. Instead, Murad had to find a way to fit FDA’s Drug Facts Panel, mandated for over-the-counter products with active ingredients, onto the small tubes.
“The ½-oz tubes alone are better designed for impulse purchase than when paired with a unit carton. Unfortunately, there’s very limited surface area to include the required information for regulatory compliance,” says Susie Becerra, purchasing manager for Murad.
Murad’s solution was a FlexWrap extended-text label from WS Packaging Group (Algoma, WI). Part of WS Packaging’s MultiVision label line, the patent-pending FlexWrap is designed for package diameters as small as 3⁄8 of an inch. The labels conform 100% percent to Murad’s squeezable tube, which measures 3⁄4-in. in diameter.
The primary label, which wraps around the tube, is made from 2.5-mil clear polyolefin. WS Packaging says that the clear film helped to create a “no label” look. On the back of the tube, a resealable top panel was added. This panel is made from 2.5-mil white polyolefin.
According to WS Packaging, FlexWrap labels are tested to reseal multiple times without compromising label integrity and have a shelf life of at least two years. The polyolefin is water-resistant for use in steamy, wet environments such as the bathroom or the shower. In addition, the inks and coatings used are resistant to the product itself and have undergone the Sutherland rub test.
Taking Cover
Metal specialist Qualipac America (Wayne, NJ) has noted a trend for metal décor. Recently, the supplier created fragrance bottle coverings for clothing brands Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Co.
An oversized aluminum cap covers the entire bottle of Abercrombie & Fitch’s Proof fragrance. A knurled texture decorates the cap’s entire surface. “This is the first time that we have used the technique on such an extensive surface area,” says Eric Vanin, Qualipac’s vice president of sales and marketing.
For durability, a plastic piece was glued to the cap’s inside. “Aluminum is a very thin material that dents easily,” says Vanin. “The plastic piece gives the cap rigidity.”
Hollister’s men’s fragrance bottle was adorned with an aluminum sleeve. From top to bottom, the sleeve’s diameters had to be very precise so that the glass bottle would fit nicely inside and so that the cap would fit precisely over the sleeve’s neck. The sleeve was die-cut in intricate designs and stamped with the Hollister name.
Vanin says that more companies have turned to metal décor in the past five years. “There has been a democratization of aluminum,” he says. “Aluminum is no longer limited to top-scale brands. Prices are going down. In particular, facilities in Asia have been bringing costs down and increasing speed to market.”
’Tis the Season to Dazzle
For the holidays, Bond No. 9 New York has launched limited-edition bottles for two of its fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue and Scent of Peace. Each bottle glistens with 750 Swarovski crystals. Company president Laurice Rahmé wouldn’t reveal the details of the application process, but she says that it was challenging.
The company has also launched the ultimate gift set—a white vinyl box that contains Bond No. 9 fragrances in mini 50-ml bottles. The set is called I Love NY. “I wanted the box to look special, like a Chanel handbag,” says Rahmé.