John Nelson, Smithers08.05.24
Cosmetics and personal care have emerged as among the most promising applications for a new generation of re-use and refillable packaging – helping to cut the sector’s dependence on single-use plastics. This growth is analyzed in depth in the recent Smithers report – The Future of Reusable and Refillable Packaging to 2029.
Its data, shared exclusively with Beauty Packaging, show that:
- The drive to use more re-use and refill cosmetics and personal care packaging directly aligns to corporate goals to make packaging more sustainable. Most companies in the sector have commitments to make all of their packaging either reusable, refillable, recyclable, or compostable
- This demand is also pronounced for ethical and clean beauty lines, and provides another potential niche for smaller brands selling via e-commerce
- Japan is the most developed market for such packs worth $237 million in 2024; this is a mature market with a wide acceptance of reusable rigid plastic bottles and refill pouches for such products
- Other regions offer far more potential for growth. Excluding Japan, the market was worth just $14 million in 2019; but will climb to $152 million in 2024, according to expert forecasting by Smithers. Future growth is forecast at close to 20% year-on-year for the rest of the decade
- In recent years, there has been an effort to introduce in-store refill stations, which have resulted in the purchase of fewer PET bottles and increased the utility of consumers’ original bottles. These have limited potential especially as the sector moves to more e-commerce sales, and is highly dependent on consumer behavior
- The principal area of growth is in designing refills identical in size to the original product that can be fitted into the same product base unit. Major brand owners have already developed such concepts for their skincare lines, including Dior’s Capture Dreamskin and Perfect Refill, and Estée Lauder’s Clinique iD
- Color cosmetics remain a compelling but largely unaddressed segment for refill and re-use packaging. The one product where there has been traction is refillable lipsticks, with these now on sale from Lush, Bond No. 9 New York, La Bouche Rouge, Kjaer Weis, and Hourglass Cosmetics.
Full market forecasting and technical analysis on the evolution of re-use and refill packaging for beauty and other products is available from Smithers.
About the Author
John Nelson is an award-winning editor and journalist working in the market reports and consultancy business of Smithers. Here he covers market and technology developments across multiple technical and commercial segments; including paper, packaging, sustainability, printing, nonwovens, rubber, and tires.
