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Getting the right cosmetic, fragrance or personal care sample into the consumer’s hands at the right time is the hardest part of a sampling strategy.
“Companies are considering other ways to do sampling,” said Annette Green, president of The Fragrance Foundation. “Places like salons, or when someone orders vacation tickets, could be tie-ins for sampling,” Green noted. During Fragrance Week (Nov. 2 through Nov. 10, 2002), guests of participating hotels will receive a fragrance sample on room service breakfast trays.” Green stressed, “We have to go to the women and give them a treat when they least expect it and will most appreciate it.”
A Montclair, NJ-based marketing firm is building a successful business on doing just that. Brian F. Martin, president of Market Connections International, explained that there are three essentials to effective sampling. “It’s about getting the consumer to really consider the product,” Martin stressed. “In order to do that you need to reach them when they are open minded or willing to try something new and get them interested. Then they must have the time to try the sample.”
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| Almay’s Kinetin sample is attached to a card with product information on front and back as well as a coupon. |
According to Martin, the time when all three elements most often come together is when a consumer goes on vacation. The company’s Vacation Connection division has developed gift packs filled with samples for a variety of vacation categories: Carnival Gift Pack (for Carnival Cruises), Golf Resort, Spring Break Survival Pack, Outdoor Adventure, Winter Sports and Orlando Fun Pack.
“Health and beauty products are a strong category for us because we reach so many women at a point-of-need,” Martin said. “Some don’t want to use the hotel shampoo or soap, or they’ve forgotten their own. We give the consumer a gift—they’re all happy to get it and interested to go through it.”
Vacation Connection also controls the distribution carefully. According to Martin, 40 percent of those who receive a sample at an event, will receive more than one. “But with Vacation Connection packs, which are distributed as vacationers check in, each guest or family gets one gift pack,” he said.
Between the six gift pack programs, 100 million samples are distributed by Vacation Connection each year, reaching virtually every type of consumer. “From college kids on Spring Break, to families in Florida. To skiers, hikers and bikers, we reach everyone,” Martin stressed.
Marketers’ Samples Reach Out
Almay had reaching its consumers at the right time and place in mind back on Jan. 24 when it handed out more than 6,000 samples of its Almay Kinetin Skincare Age Decelerating Daily Lotion in Times Square, NY. The sample, a foil packette, was attached to a postcard printed with product information front and back. The side of the card that held the packette could be separated along a perforation and doubled as a $2 coupon on the reverse side.
Lancôme approaches sampling as a two-fold strategy, according to a spokesperson for the company. “It’s a good way to help a customer choose the right product or color and it’s also a good way to build a relationship and loyalty with a customer,” she explained. The company offers a 10-day supply of its Photogenic Ultracomfort foundation in a small plastic bottle. The Lancôme executive noted, “There are 17 colors in the line and the sample allows the customer to try the product and really test it.”
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| Lancôme offers a 12-piece collection for $15.50 with any purchase in a recent Lord & Taylor flyer. |
Gifts-with-purchase are made up of samples (minis of eye shadow, blush, mascara and skin care products) and promotional items. “They’re a nice exchange between the company and the customer,” she added.
FUBU The Collection, which began as a sportswear brand in 1992, has signed a license with Inter Parfums USA to launch Plush, its first fragrances for men and women in spring/summer this year.
According to Andy Clarke, national sales director for Inter Parfums, a bubble sampler has been chosen that is packaged in a hangtag card that can be attached to items in the clothing line. The bubble is released by tearing the card along a perforation. The top of the bubble can then be snapped off and the fragrance applied.
Clarke noted that events are being planned for the initial rollout at Carson Pirie Scott in Chicago in June. “We hope to reach out to our audience with samples at sporting events, night clubs—places where they go—to draw them into the store,” Clarke said.
Pierce Promotions & Event Management, based in Portland, ME, scouts locations for sampling events. According to Bob Martin, vice president of new businesses, the goal is to give consumers a sample of a product when and where they are most receptive. Last summer, Pierce arranged for Unilever’s Dove body wash, deodorant and face cloths to be handed out at Bally’s Fitness Clubs in New York.
Suppliers Offer Innovation
Designing specialized sample containers that allow consumers to apply the product in the traditional manner is a growth area. In Europe, launches for Hugo Deep Red for Women and Laura Biagiotti’s Emotion have already used Valois’ Click and Dream fragrance sample system. Now the product is in the midst of its first U.S. launch—Truth by Calvin Klein, according to Jerry Whelan, director of sales for Valois of America.
The Click and Dream sampler offers a cost-effective way to get a true sample of a fine fragrance to a consumer, according to Whelan. A thermoform blister is encased in a paperboard envelope approximately 1.5 inches wide and 2.5 inches high, that is flat on the back and curved slightly on the front to hold the blister. The paperboard surfaces provide a “billboard” for brand graphics and information. The top of the card is perforated and instructions guide the consumer to snapping it off to open the top of the blister. Inside the blister, a small sponge holds enough fragrance for four to six sprays, which are released when the blister is pressed through the card. Whelan said the company is hoping to “become a force in the sampling segment.” Valois also manufactures the small pumps that are used to top off some sample vials.
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| Rexam’s Sof’Flag combines a vial with a label. |
Rexam Dispensing Systems' strategy is to match each customer’s goals with the right sample system. When it comes to fragrance sampling, Rexam has created products that enable the consumer to experience the true fragrance product in a way similar to how they would use a full-size product. Rather than the traditional tiny plug, the Sofilux SP5K is an invisible miniature pump (available in 1ml, 1.5ml, 2ml glass vials and larger) that has been designed for ultimate compatibility by preventing contact with the that has been designed for ultimate compatibility by preventing contact with the juice, metal and rubber components, according to Laura Kanniard, product manager, who added, “The method of application—fine misting—invites the consumer to explore the true flavor of the fragrance in its intended form.” Rexam’s colorful spray and lotion samplers such as the Sofistics line and the Minimist are available in plastic material beginning in a 1.2 ml size.
The company will also assist in implementing a strategy for filling and secondary packaging for its customers. Kanniard explained, “Our international marketing teams experiment with the latest in innovative global packaging solutions to complement our sampler products. We propose an exciting opportunity for cosmetic companies to differentiate their brand image and connect with consumers on multiple dimmensions.”
Such solutions include: secondary packaging (overwraps) for the Sofilux such as flow-packs and sachets with translucent material so that the spray vial is visible; supplying Sofistics or Sofilux on a card and furnishing the Sof’Press (0.65 ml) sealed onto a postcard or magazine insert for magazine and other direct market distribution.
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| Klocke offers an injection molded sample bottle with a twist-off cap |
Rexam offers Sof'Flag, a Sofistics (plastic) or Sofilux (glass) miniature sprayer with a specific label wrapped around. The label hangs off of the sampler like a flag.
Based in Ft. Meyers, FL, Klocke of America has launched True Scent, another new fragrance sampling method. In Europe, True Scent, consisting of scented blotter contained in a small, clear plastic envelop, has been used to introduce a Thierry Mugler Parfums fragrance, according to Jeff Funk, sales manager.
“Because it is a flat package, True Scent can be delivered in a magazine and carries the actual fragrance, not an encapsulated version,” explained Funk. The amount of fragrance on the blotter can be varied to simply carry the scent or to hold an application.
Klocke is also introducing a miniature bottle made of injection molded Barex with a twist-off cap that can hold a sample of fragrance or be shaped like a bottle and be equipped with an applicator for nail polish samples.
Flexpaq, an Ileos company, based in South Plainfield, NJ, recently introduced Mascarapaq, a patent-pending product, which incorporates a custom brush and formula to deliver a comparable in-use experience for the customer. The same format can be used with a lip brush, foam tip applicator or a spatula for various product applications.
Flexpaq's Mini-vial is a multiple-usage mini-sample container in sizes ranging from 3cc to 15cc with applicator tip, orifice reducer, or standard opening. And Vialpaq is a Flexpaq’s patented, multiple-product packette with attached vial. All filling and assembly is done by Flexpaq.
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| Origins chose Flexpaq’s Mini-vial for its Perfect World sample. |
Small Sizes Have Many Uses
Small size packages are not strictly used as samples anymore. James Alexander Corp. manufactures and markets glass and plastic ampoules that are used in unit dose applications, according to Francesco Fazzolari, company president. A new application in the cosmetics/personal care industry is the clustering of four or five unit dose packages in a kit that is then retailed. “It’s in demand because of the ease of handling and portability for travel,” Fazzolari said. There is growth in the cosmetics and personal care markets for the company’s plastic ampoules, but Fazzolari also recommends the glass ampoules. “The glass ampoules are typically enclosed in a plastic sleeve so there is no risk of broken glass escaping when the ampoule is broken open,” she said.
The Marietta Corp. is a major personal care amenity supplier internationally, according to Ron DeMeo, senior vice president of marketing and sales, that is also active as a packaging supplier. Marietta’s facility in Parsippany, NJ, provides the HBA market with a variety of sampling formats from mini bottles to various flexible packettes. DeMeo noted the advantages and disadvantages of each. “You can sample in small size bottles but it is expensive and you often deliver more product than is necessary to generate a trial for your product. Since packettes cost so little, you can afford to distribute much larger quantities of them.”
Besides cost, packettes also deliver an actual sample of product and are virtually indestructible making them especially appropriate for delivery in newspapers and magazines, according to DeMeo.
DeMeo pointed out, “Trial size packaging is no longer used just for introducing new products. Consumers like to purchase small size containers for numerous reasons, such as for travel size.”
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| Acupac provides flexible packettes or thermoform units for a variety of cosmetic and personal care sampling. |
Unicep Packaging is also experiencing increased demand for its unit dose containers, which “you just open, use and throw away,” said Geri Harbill, customer service manager. Unicep’s Twist-Tip vial is a new product made of a polyethylene blend that has improved barrier qualities. Usually the unit dose containers, especially popular for their portability, are packaged in a box holding a week’s or month’s worth of the product. “There’s increased demand from cosmetics lines and lots of skin care products,” Harbill said, adding, “Specialized spa products are also using unit dose packaging.”
Klocke’s Funk noted that in some instances, marketers are charging for samples. At www.reflect.com, a consumer can choose which fragrances they’d like to sample and order three in a package for $10. Another marketer sells consumers a skin care regime packaged in a box of blister packs, each blister containing the amount needed for a single application. Klocke can customize blister packs so that they are in the shape of the full-size bottle or jar. “The look of the brand can be replicated. There is more cost but there is also more real connection between the consumer and the brand’s sample,” Funk said.
Jack McCabe, vice president of sales and marketing for the Consumer Products division of Outsourcing Services Group, agreed that consumer demand for convenience and portability is driving the development of smaller size containers to be used as unit dose or travel size packages.
Acupac Packaging, an Outsourcing Services Group company that is based in Mahwah, NJ, can offer a flexible pouch or a thermoform unit that can replicate the look of the full-size product. “Acupac is focused on designing and engineering a sampling vehicle that will be unique for our customer,” McCabe said.
Another trend is the bundling of what used to be single use items, McCabe said, explaining, “Ten years ago, we’d package individual towelettes and they’d be distributed as promotional items. Now we package ten or more of them to a box and they are sold as a single package (at retail).”
Acupac recently developed the “spouch,” a pouch with a spout, according to McCabe. It is a four-side seal pouch with a recloseable spout. “We can make the pouch, insert the spout and fill it, all in a single pass through the line.” The “spouch” is recommended for a multi-use sample package or a for-sale trial/travel size package.
Secondary Packaging for Samples
Flexible pouches are being made to hold several samples as well as be the primary sample container, according to Gina Shaughnessy, marketing manager for Orlandi, a Farmingdale, NY-based supplier of a wide range of fragrance sample devices. These flexible pouches are being used to hold items that in the past would have been put in a box. “Orlandi takes the raw film, prints whatever graphics are desired and then fills the pouch with the samples,” Shaughnessy explained. “The pouch works very well because it’s tamper-evident and contamination-proof.” In a recent project, Clinique supplied three samples—a bar of soap, and two jars of skin care product. Orlandi printed the film, made the pouch, placed the sample items inside and sealed it.
Imex Vinyl Packaging, based in Charlotte, NC, offers a wide range of soft vinyl bags, from clear to frosted to combinations of clear and mesh materials, to hold gift packs and samples. Catherine Jeffrey Ilson, chief operating officer, said that the company began by supplying vinyl packages for bed coverlets, and has grown by offering all sorts of custom solutions. She noted, “In the past five years, the industry has shifted to packaging for gifts-with-purchase. Marketers like vinyl because it’s low cost, the consumer can see what’s inside and often the bag is reusable, so its added value.”
With U.S. offices in New York City, Raffypack, an Ileos company specializing in folding cartons of paperboard and various plastics, makes numerous containers used in sampling programs for luxury beauty lines.
Jennifer Chouraqui, a U.S. representative for Raffypack, said, “We print, cut, score, fold, glue—everything is done in our factories in Europe.”
Among plastics, polypropylene is popular because it is recyclable, easily printed and durable. Polypropylene is usually used in a colored or frosted form, while PET is a clearer material.
Raffypack is currently promoting a vacuum-formed sampler that opens like a thin book to reveal formed sections, which could easily be shaped to hold a variety of color cosmetic or other beauty products. The top lid has plenty of room for graphics.
New from Flexpaq, Flowpak is an upscale overwrap applied to the customer’s existing sample (vial, bottle, tube) that provides brand identity with a printed logo and/or copy. According to a Flexpaq spokesman, the value-added Flowpak can deliver more than one product, making it perfect for regimens, such as cleanser, toner, moisturizer, shampoo and conditioner or multiple products from the markter’s line.
Many Uses of Flexible Packaging
Delivering samples by insertion in magazines and newspapers has become commonplace. Such samples must be flat and flexible.
Flexpaq offers several appropriate sampling systems including: Magpaq, a self-binding magazine insert packette; Multipaq, a way to combine complementary product samples; Pagepaq, a unique packette format designed to provide maximum space for accompanying text and graphics, and Mailpaq, a self-mailing pacquette, approved and tested by the U.S. Postal Service.
Glenroy Inc., Menomonee Falls, WI, has developed improved barriers in its flexible packaging in order to contain products as varied as gels, shampoos, conditioners, fragrances, lotions, towelettes, liquid soap, toothpaste, mouth- wash, insect repellent, medicinal creams, and sun care protectants, according to Gary Bobko, the company’s vice president of marketing and sales, Packaging Film.
“We offer custom laminations that incorporate a combination of high performance raw materials as well as proprietary manufacturing processes to meet the demands of our customers. Also, our clear high barrier films are now used to allow the consumer to view the actual product,” Bobko said.
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| Glenroy’s packettes are offered with custom laminations. |
Glenroy also offers clients access to its extensive data bank of information to help them chose the best based on their ingredients.
Bobko noted that Glenroy is also often asked to conduct climate controlled storage testing in conjunction with its clients’ technical department testing. “This has served to provide an important double check prior to selecting the most cost efficient lamination to package our clients' products,” he stressed.
Graphics Mimic Full-Size Packs
Graphic demands have escalated in recent years in the sampling category. Bobko said that samples today are rarely simple one color random print designs. “Sample packages are complex designs that are often printed in eight colors because the initial message to the consumer must provide a very positive first impression,” he stressed. Glenroy’s flexographic printing process allows for excellent results while offering attractive economies, according to Bobko, earning the company six awards in 2001 for printing excellence.
Ernie Loesser, president of Unit Pack, Cedar Grove, NJ, agreed that the quality level of graphics and the ability to reproduce the look of the full-size product have improved significantly in the sample or unit dose segment.
Shapes Offer Differentiation
Orlandi also offers several fragrance sampling systems that take interesting forms. Flower Petals are made of fragrance-compatible fabric that is very absorbent and ideal for special sampling programs and retail applications, according to the company. The size, shape and color of the petals can all be customized. The petals can also be printed with a name or logo. These petals can be pre-scented or delivered without fragrance to be scented on-site or used as a decoration.
Orlandi has also come up with a pop-up, die-cut scented blotter in the shape of a perfume bottle to be placed in magazine. “As the consumer is paging through, it pops up between the pages and is a good attention getter,” Shaughnessy said.
The new Try-On Blotter (patent pending) from Orlandi is two-sided. One side is a matte coated stock and the other has a special micro-fiber texture. The micro-fiber is designed to hold the fragrance while the coated side is suited for optimal graphic reproduction. The consumer can actually try on the fragrance by touching the soft, micro fiber side. The blotter is enclosed in a clear film for protection.
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| Telmark offers a variety of sample systems from several suppliers. |
One-Stop Sample Shop
Telmark Packaging Corp., based in Hazlet, NJ, is a manufacturers’ representative for several contract manufacturing and contract packaging companies.
According to Eric Ludwig, company president, it has been matching marketers’ needs with the best sample packaging for over 25 years. Telmark recommends Stat Tubes, a series of as many as five injection molded tubes that can be filled with different formulas. Mac, an Estée Lauder company used a trio of such tubes for a three-part skin care regimen. The Somme Institute, marketer of a line of spa-type products sold in department stories, chose Stat Tubes for a sample program for its MDT5 line. The package includes five connected tubes, each filled with a different skin care product. A color coded card of information and the tubes are held in a foil pouch with similar color-coded information.
Thermoforms have become less expensive, according to Ludwig, as a custom mold can now be created for about $10,000. By using a thermoform material for both the front and back of the package, Ludwig said, “Telmark can now offer three-dimensional samples for pennies apiece.” Produced by feeding two pre-printed films through a mold that forms the film into shapes, these Thermoforms can be created to replicate the full-size product. The Thermoforms are filled and sealed in a continuous automatic process.
Telmark offers two lipstick sampling formats that closely resemble the full-size product in shape and use. The first looks like a typical mini tube with a clear top. The lipstick, however, is not solid but rather a bullet shape that has been dipped and coated with enough lipstick formulation for one or two applications.
Because the sample bullets can be stacked, a consumer could easily be given individual samples for multiple shades at the counter. The second lipstick sample is a plastic mini that is filled in the same manner as a regular lipstick.
For fragrance, Telmark offers a turnkey program that can design and print the sampler cards, fill the vials and assemble the samples and even distribute the complete package. Vials with stoppers as well as vials with mini-pumps are available.
