Sampling and Unit Dosing: Sample Sizes Move into Retail
Tapemark’s Snapplicator package.
Demand for sample-size retail items is up, thanks to air travel restrictions.
by Maximillian Del ReyRestrictions on the size of beauty packages allowed on aircraft are causing an upsurge in the number of travel-size packages now being sold. As a result, suppliers are innovating new package structures that address not only size but also functionality and the needs of today’s advanced product formulations.
Tapemark (West St. Paul, MN) has added an applicator feature to its foil-and-styrene line of single-use disposable products. The Snapplicator can dispense cream, gel, lotion, or ointment. Unlike standard sachets, the Snapplicator doesn’t require users to dispense product onto a secondary medium, such as their hands or a cotton swab.
Tapemark hopes to sell the single-use Snapplicator in a retail format, rather than solely as a sample package. “You would ideally have 20 Snapplicators packaged in a carton,” says Vamsee Venuturumilli, Tapemark’s business development manager.
Sonic’s codispense blister.
Like the Snapplicator, Sonic Packaging Industries’ (Westwood, NJ) codispense blister seeks to make an impact at retail. It also addresses the needs of product formulations with two parts that must be kept separate until the moment the product is dispensed. The blister’s two cavities can contain different liquids.
Sonic’s codispense blister accommodates fluids of varying viscosities and can be modified depending on a customer’s mixing needs. Howard Thau, Sonic’s chief education officer, says that the blister’s innovative structure has attracted enough attention for Sonic to manufacture it in a retail format.
“We realized that this was a great travel pack,” says Thau. “It also makes a convenient package for hair care and skin treatment products.”
Secondary Packaging for Retail
Sample-packaging suppliers are also developing secondary packages that allow samples to be presented attractively to the retail market.
Xela Pack (Saline, MI) offers 100% postconsumer recycled (PCR) secondary packaging for its eco-friendly samplers. Xela Pack has also developed point-of-purchase displays for store shelves, says Anthony Gentile, director of art and marketing.
A case for vials is designed for retail.
APR Packaging (Burnaby, BC, Canada) now offers a high-end secondary case for its sample-size vials. The vial case features a clear acrylic overcap and a polypropylene base. Recessed wells molded into the base allow each vial to be displayed standing upright. The polyethylene vials are topped with long nozzle-style dispensers, polypropylene caps, and metallized collars.
Sustainability Concerns
Demand for Xela Pack’s trial-size PCR packages has been boosted by Wal-Mart’s implementation of its Sustainability Scorecard, which aims to improve the sustainability of packages sold in its stores.“We often have people come to us wanting to see evidence that our packaging lives up to its claim and is truly produced with recycled and sustainable materials” says Anthony Gentile, director of art and marketing.
The new demand has also pushed Xela Pack’s range of packaging sizes upward, says Gentile. “We’re seeing more requests for larger sizes such as 30 ml. This is a result of Wal-Mart’s restrictions and of the retail industry as well.”
Very Charming
One of the latest trends is fragrance samplers that can be attached as charms to items such as cell phones and purses, providing the ultimate portable package for the customer on the go.
Customers can attach Rexam’s Sof’Cell vial to a phone or a keychain.
Rexam Personal Care (Purchase, NY) recently launched Sof’Cell, Rexam’s popular spray vial now available with a cord attached. This cord can be used to string the vial to a phone, a handbag, a belt loop, or a keychain.
Socoplan’s Transcent sachet makes fragrances portable.
Socoplan has introduced its Transcent sachet, which provides a whiff of a fragrance. The sachet holds a sponge imbued with fragrance. When the package is squeezed, it releases a whiff of fragrance. The sachet itself can be affixed with charms or tags or can be attached to a cellular phone or purse.
Credit Card–Sized Magazine Insert
Socoplan now offers its Cardpress magazine insert sampler for makeup (pictured) for fragrance gels as well.
Ileos Group’s (Nanterre, France) Socoplan division can now house fragrance in its Cardpress credit card–sized magazine insert sampler.
Originally intended to hold makeup, the package’s high resistance to chemicals makes it well suited to house gel formats of a brand’s fragrance.
Natural Products
The market for trial-size retail packaging has especially grown in the natural products segment because many customers want to assess unfamiliar products before purchasing full-sized versions, says Pat Rodda, vice president of sales for Cashco Distributors Inc. (Portland, OR). Cashco is a distributor of trial- and travel-size retail products to grocery and drug stores.
“There still is a demand for trial sizes in conventional supermarkets, but because this market is more mature, trial sizes are selling more for travel and have less of a trial aspect,” says Rodda. “In natural product supermarkets, however, there is still strong demand for trial sizes because this category is relatively new. Trial sizes for natural products have stimulated sales of the full-sized versions.”