11.04.05
In today’s crowded retail world, reaching the consumer with a message is increasingly difficult. For beauty marketers, with thousands of products and hundreds of brands, standing out is especially difficult.
“Sample promotions are the life blood of the beauty business,” stated Ed Quinn, national director of sales, perfumery and cosmetics for Valois of America, Congers, NY. “It’s the best way to get a consumer to try a new product. Some companies also use samples as a way to promote other products or as part of a GWP (gift with purchase). We expect sampling to grow, especially with cosmeceutical type products as well as foundations.”
With 23 brands in the market, New York-based Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) Inc. is a leader in marketing and merchandising of beauty products. “You have to touch the customer with product,” stressed Roger Caracappa, executive vice president global packaging, quality assurance, merchandising, corporate store design and retail store operations for ELC. Focusing on Clinique as an ELC brand in which sampling plays a key role, Caracappa explained that, “Product is the hero with Clinique. Its advertising is all about product, not lifestyle, and sampling is an important marketing tool.”
Clinique uses a menu of sampling strategies to connect with its consumer audience. According to Caracappa, the brand annually sends out over 30 million samples in the U.S. inserted in magazines. “The consumer can see an immediate benefit with ‘try it/like it’ kinds of products such as foundation and eye cream.”
Special events at retail stores are the conduit for another 20 million Clinique samples, while an additional 60 million are distributed as part of various gift-with-purchase offers. “We often will link samples to product launches and will deliver the samples at the same time the product is appearing on shelf,” Caracappa said.
For Avon, New York, sampling is particularly important in color and fragrance, according to Kathy Kordowski, Avon’s vice president global package development. Avon will use sampling to introduce, “Products that have unique aesthetics/textures, breakthrough claims and /or fragrances that will hopefully stand-out as something new and interesting to buy,” Kordowski explained.
For Avon’s direct sales approach, winning over the sales representative is the first step. Kordowski explained, “The rep is our first customer, so giving samples to her will secure her desire to sell. Then giving reps additional product samples allows more sampling to be disseminated to our current customer base.”
Avon promotes its free samples on its brochure pages, so customers can ask for the samples. The company uses magazine give-aways in a limited way and has also offered sampling via its website to reach new consumers.
The ability to present multiple samples at the same time is a new development according to Caracappa, who noted that Clinique can now group three different shades of the same product in one sample presentation. Three different products (various foundation formulas), or three related products such as Clinique’s 3-Step Skin Care System together, for example, gives the consumer assortment and value.
Avon is always seeking the latest in innovative sample packaging, Kordowski stressed, explaining, “We’re evaluating new options for lipstick sampling that will accommodate volatile formulas. Also on the personal care front, single use tubes and mini-tubes with sponge applicator orifices are being looked at across several segments.”
ê SHAVE, a brand from Shave Inc., New York, recently introduced a collection of eight mini shave creams and after-shave creams packaged in 1/8 oz. clear polystyrene thick-walled jars topped with black smooth-sided polypropylene caps with liners. The packaging was supplied by the Cosmetic Packaging Group, a division of O.BERK Company based in Union, NJ. The caps are topped with colorful labels from Label Makers, Holtsville, NY, and are grouped in a transparent box. Easy to pack, the brand stresses the convenience of the “mini” jars. The entire box measures 5 3/4” x 2 7/8” x 1”.
The ongoing trend to manufacture and fill products complete in Asia is expanding to include sample packaging, according to Carl Lombardi, president of Lombardi Design & Manufacturing, Freeport, NY. “We have been able to accommodate these types of requests as we have facilities in both China and Korea,” Lombardi said. While sourcing in the Far East can lower costs, it can also increase lead times. “So of course, we have the capacity to mold, assemble and in some cases, fill products for customers locally as well,” he added.
In addition to traditional sampling distribution, brand marketers are reaching potential consumers at sporting events, conventions and parties, according to Eric Demaris, marketing manager for Rexam Dispensing Systems, Purchase, NY.
Gary Bobko, Glenroy’s vice president, marketing and sales, agreed that many companies have been distributing sample pouches at highly attended events. “Just recently one of our clients distributed toothpaste at a NASCAR race,” Bobko said. Also, many companies have been investing in hangtags, utilizing flexible packaging to distribute a sample packet with the purchased product. Other companies shrink-wrap the sample pouch to the actual product.
Sophisticated Sample Packs
The days of unadorned glass or plastic tubes is giving way to smartly decorated packages with sophisticated dispensers and closures. Known for its spray and pump dispensers, Valois provides the MiniCream, an elegant miniature consisting of a cylinder and pump with a cap, and the TéLéDose, a cylinder with a pump for color cosmetics and personal care samples. The MiniCream can also be used for unit dose or travel applications. “Some companies will group three or four of the MiniCream packages together and sell them as a retail package,” noted Quinn. “It’s used when dosage and protection (of the formula) are very important and is also good for decoration. The closure can be laser etched.”
The TéLéDose sampling system is offered as a 2 mL polypropylene vial as well as a 2 mL, 4 mL and 5 mL glass vial. TéLéDose can be decorated with silk screen printing or with Valois’ Sample Stick label.
Based in Edgewood, NY, Qosmedix, which provides a variety of small stackable jars and compacts in addition to bottles and vials with roller balls, airless sprayers, and applicators for sampling, has introduced the 1 mL bottle with a stainless steel roller ball applicator. The company also provides packaging options for standard retail sizes, enabling brands to maintain a unified look between the sample and the full size product.
Lombardi offers an assortment of custom and stock injection molded packages for a variety of sampling needs. Recently, the company developed a jar to sample products such as creams and lip balm, which can also be used for powders by adding a sieve attachment. In addition to bottles and jars, it has stock sample packages for mini stick deodorants, talc and bath crystals. It also has stock compact packaging available in smaller sizes that are used for sampling.
Rexam Dispensing Systems offers a number of sample packs. The plastic Sofistic package can be equipped with airless or traditional pump dispensers and decorated in a wide range of colors or prints. Sofiluxis a glass version of Sofistic. Sof’Push, a 4 mL airless sampler is said to be easy to fill with high density creams or lotions. Rexam is introducing a 2 mL Sofistic’s lotion sampler designed for new anti-aging and other treatment products. It has also recently developed the Sof’flag Leaflet, which provides room for product information and eliminates the need for secondary packaging. The Leaflet sampler has a mini booklet permanently attached to the vial that can hold two, six, eight or 12 pages of product information printed in up to 10 colors. To produce Sof'flag Leaflet in the U.S., Rexam is working with label supplier Sancoa International, Mt. Laurel, NJ, package filler Le Papillon, New Brunswick, NJ, and Biopak, France.
Berry/Tubed Products, Easthampton, MA, has experienced increased demand for small diameter tubes for sampling and/or introducing new products. “The demand for trade show samples, budget-priced packages and travel kits all account for major segments of our mini-tube production. In addition to cosmetics, these small sizes are also frequently used for single-dose applications,” said James Farley, vice president and director of sales and marketing for closures and cosmetic packaging. For cost-effective sampling, Berry/ Tubed offers a line of Twist-Off and Snip-Tip tubes.
Glenroy Inc., Menomonee Falls, WI, manufactures flexible packaging film used for sampling. The company developed Great White Flexible Packaging Film to solve an ongoing color quality problem. “Many customers were having difficulty obtaining the whitest background and the purest colors in their sample pouches,” said Gary Bobko, Glenroy’s vice president, marketing and sales. Great White’s film structure hides the foil layer responsible for the graying effect seen in standard packaging film, according to Glenroy.
Great White was converted by Marietta, Parsippany, NJ, for SkinSimple product sample packets for Elizabeth Arden, which launched exclusively at Wal-Mart stores in March 2004. Marietta, which supplies personal care amenities and miniature soaps to the global hospitality market, manufactures and fills sample-size bottles for shampoo, lotions and as well as flexible packets used in a variety of sample promotions and unit dose programs.
Flexpaq, a division of Ileos, based in South Plainfield, NJ, has been experiencing growth in all beauty segments for its flexible sample packaging, according to Jim Gabilanes, company vice president of sales and marketing. “Companies are now using clear blisters and thermoforms so that the consumer can see the shade of the product,” Gabilanes explained, “and because that form has a higher perceived value to the consumer.”
Flexpaq recently developed Prepack to sample an assortment of products or shades. It consists of a box with an egg crate-type insert that holds a number of products. The company also created SeeThrough Film packets in which the front panel of the packet is clear while the back is opaque foil, so that the color is seen, while the foil decreases light transmission. “We’ve had good reception to using the SeeThrough Film for a multi-compartment packet that can be used to sample more than one product, such as a treatment regimen,” said Gabilanes. Flexpaq has formed an alliance with Seufert Transparente Verpackungen GmbH, a German supplier of clear folding boxes to supply boxes. “We can offer a turnkey option to provide a clear box for a number of our sample packages,” added Gabilanes.
Unette, Wharton, NJ, provides an array of sample and single use packages made of either plastic film or foil laminate. Its Prisma-Metallic package, which has a metalized look, has been chosen by Redken for its Extreme Deep Fuel and Color Extend Highlight Fuel conditioning products. Unette is launching Extreme Directional Flow Tip (EDF), a small combination tube and dispenser that allows for precise dispensing of product, according to Terence Sweeney, vice president of sales for Unette.
“When customers are not looking for what’s new, they’re often looking for less expensive alternatives. A new cost effective liquid stick pack option has been developed by Unette that offers a directional flow channel in a tube-like packet form,” Sweeney said.
According to Glenroy, flexible structures such as the peelable pouch and pouches designed for towelettes for self-tanners, face cleansers, perfume and hand sanitizers are increasingly popular.
Flexpaq has combined these two trends in its Beauty Pads sampling system, which consists of a die-cut round packet, holding two round pads. “It peels apart very easily and can be a sample or unit dose package,” Gabilanes explained.
The need for unit dose packaging can be expected to grow along with that of treatment products containing sensitive ingredients that demand airtight packages and/or special metered amounts to be delivered, said ELC’s Caracappa.
Avon packages most of its U.S. line in standard sizes, according to Kordowski. Avon uses unit dose packs, however, in other parts of the world. Kordowski explained, “In some select markets in Asia and Latin America, unit dose sizes are the standard for the majority of the personal care products available, as those are the competitive sizes.
In response to a growing interest in unit dose packages, Lombardi has added a stock metered dose package to its stock line. “As new technology in product development continues to create new and innovative formulas with enhanced benefits, the need for unit dose type packages will only increase,” according to Lombardi.
Flexpaq’s Gabilanes agreed, “We are seeing more unit dose packaging, chosen to preserve the integrity of the product, in the mid-to-upper end market.”
‘Cosmeceutical’ Samples and Unit Dose Packages
The continuing growth of the cosmeceutical category is creating a niche for packaging that Innovative Swab Technology (IST), Antioch, IL, would be happy to fill. “We can provide a transdermal system that is ideal for anti-aging products, lip ointments, peels, and moisturizers—products where it’s important to be able to apply a specific dose to a targeted area without touching it with one’s fingers,” said Debbie Neikrie, vice president of sales for IST.
IST’s Pro-Swab is a pre-moistened, single-use swab package, with a patented snap-open design that is delivered with the applicator filled with the customers’ bulk (liquid, gel, ointment or cream).
James Alexander Corp., Blairstown, NJ, is a specialized package manufacturer that supplies ampoules, which are used in the beauty business for unit dose products. Its patented Plastic Ampoule, injection molded in 2 mL and 5 mL sizes, was designed for easy dispensing. With a gentle squeeze, the patented inner membrane ruptures, allowing the contents to be dispensed. “We fill most of our ampoules for our customers,” said Carol Gamsby, sales manager, “and can fill a smaller quantity and then shorten the tube.”
The company can color the Plastic Ampoule to match any Pantone Matching System (PMS) color and also offers a variety of applicator tips. “To answer demand, we are introducing a new tip with a larger surface area of 1/2" to 1",” said Gamsby. The new tip will be sampled in three shapes, a flat, a rooftop and an angled form.
Unicep, Sandpoint, ID, focuses on unit dose and sampling packaging. “Our 0.5ml and 0.2ml MicroDose vials are excellent sampling vehicles for products that are applied to a small area such as anti-aging serums wrinkle creams,” said Steve Dilts, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “Our small Twist Tip vials have been successfully used for sampling of lip color products and washes,” he added.
Unicep’s Versapak thermoform containers are suitable for personal care samples. Brands have invested in molds that reproduce the signature look of their full-size packs, according to Dilts. Unicep has created a Versapak with a flat back.
Specializing in creating sample systems, Arcade Marketing, New York, has introduced BeautiPak. BeautiPak is a system that combines two blisters, one clear for a lipstick sample, one opaque for an applicator, in a card carrier with room for printed product information. BeautiPak has been used as a handout and has been delivered in a magazine, according to Louis Zafonte, company senior vice president of sales and marketing
Arcade has made advances in being able to present multiple samples. “We can have as many as 16 chambers on a carrier,” said Zafonte. “It truly empowers the consumer to make a purchase decision by choosing the actual shade in their own environment and seeing the exact color of the product.”
Beauty brand marketers generally choose the multi-chamber system to put in a magazine for delivery to a specific audience. Direct mail is the second most often used method to put an Arcade-manufactured sample in the consumer’s hands. The samples cost more but it’s a very effective way of getting the sample to the right consumer, according to Zafonte. Many brands use a combination of magazine and direct mail. “We do several million pieces for magazines and then an over-run for direct mail, special events and in-store handouts. It’s a very flexible technology and, because the sample is hermetically sealed, it has a long shelf life.
Arcade’s LiquaTouch can carry a trial of alcohol-formulated liquids such as cleansers, toners and astringents, as well as fragrance. “Avon is using five LiquaTouch packets that are shrink-wrapped together as a travel pack,” Zafonte said.
Orlandi, Farmingdale, NY, has developed a companion product for its ColorKiss sample system. EyeApply, a patent-pending technology for sampling eye shadow, is an oval card, which carries a mono-dose of product sealed beneath a clear cover. Once the cover is peeled away, the oval can be folded and shaped into an applicator. As with ColorKiss, texture on the part of the card that is imprinted with the product, holds the sample in place. The sample cards can be inserted in magazines as well as be packaged in groups of 10 or more to be sold at retail. “If you’re a twenty-something and you’re going out dancing, you can just slip a couple in your pocket and you’re good for the evening,” said Allison Brown, marketing assistant for the company.
“Sample promotions are the life blood of the beauty business,” stated Ed Quinn, national director of sales, perfumery and cosmetics for Valois of America, Congers, NY. “It’s the best way to get a consumer to try a new product. Some companies also use samples as a way to promote other products or as part of a GWP (gift with purchase). We expect sampling to grow, especially with cosmeceutical type products as well as foundations.”
ELC Reaches Out with Samples
With 23 brands in the market, New York-based Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) Inc. is a leader in marketing and merchandising of beauty products. “You have to touch the customer with product,” stressed Roger Caracappa, executive vice president global packaging, quality assurance, merchandising, corporate store design and retail store operations for ELC. Focusing on Clinique as an ELC brand in which sampling plays a key role, Caracappa explained that, “Product is the hero with Clinique. Its advertising is all about product, not lifestyle, and sampling is an important marketing tool.”
Clinique uses a menu of sampling strategies to connect with its consumer audience. According to Caracappa, the brand annually sends out over 30 million samples in the U.S. inserted in magazines. “The consumer can see an immediate benefit with ‘try it/like it’ kinds of products such as foundation and eye cream.”
Special events at retail stores are the conduit for another 20 million Clinique samples, while an additional 60 million are distributed as part of various gift-with-purchase offers. “We often will link samples to product launches and will deliver the samples at the same time the product is appearing on shelf,” Caracappa said.
Avon Samples Win Audiences
Nivea chooses Rexam’s Sofistic and Sof’Push packs for its samples. |
For Avon’s direct sales approach, winning over the sales representative is the first step. Kordowski explained, “The rep is our first customer, so giving samples to her will secure her desire to sell. Then giving reps additional product samples allows more sampling to be disseminated to our current customer base.”
Avon promotes its free samples on its brochure pages, so customers can ask for the samples. The company uses magazine give-aways in a limited way and has also offered sampling via its website to reach new consumers.
What’s New in Sampling
The ability to present multiple samples at the same time is a new development according to Caracappa, who noted that Clinique can now group three different shades of the same product in one sample presentation. Three different products (various foundation formulas), or three related products such as Clinique’s 3-Step Skin Care System together, for example, gives the consumer assortment and value.
Avon is always seeking the latest in innovative sample packaging, Kordowski stressed, explaining, “We’re evaluating new options for lipstick sampling that will accommodate volatile formulas. Also on the personal care front, single use tubes and mini-tubes with sponge applicator orifices are being looked at across several segments.”
Sample Sizes Sold as Travel Packs
ê SHAVE, a brand from Shave Inc., New York, recently introduced a collection of eight mini shave creams and after-shave creams packaged in 1/8 oz. clear polystyrene thick-walled jars topped with black smooth-sided polypropylene caps with liners. The packaging was supplied by the Cosmetic Packaging Group, a division of O.BERK Company based in Union, NJ. The caps are topped with colorful labels from Label Makers, Holtsville, NY, and are grouped in a transparent box. Easy to pack, the brand stresses the convenience of the “mini” jars. The entire box measures 5 3/4” x 2 7/8” x 1”.
Sampling Heads East
The ongoing trend to manufacture and fill products complete in Asia is expanding to include sample packaging, according to Carl Lombardi, president of Lombardi Design & Manufacturing, Freeport, NY. “We have been able to accommodate these types of requests as we have facilities in both China and Korea,” Lombardi said. While sourcing in the Far East can lower costs, it can also increase lead times. “So of course, we have the capacity to mold, assemble and in some cases, fill products for customers locally as well,” he added.
Sample Distribution Expands
In addition to traditional sampling distribution, brand marketers are reaching potential consumers at sporting events, conventions and parties, according to Eric Demaris, marketing manager for Rexam Dispensing Systems, Purchase, NY.
Gary Bobko, Glenroy’s vice president, marketing and sales, agreed that many companies have been distributing sample pouches at highly attended events. “Just recently one of our clients distributed toothpaste at a NASCAR race,” Bobko said. Also, many companies have been investing in hangtags, utilizing flexible packaging to distribute a sample packet with the purchased product. Other companies shrink-wrap the sample pouch to the actual product.
This liquid stick pack option from Unette features a directional flow channel in a tube-like packet form. |
The days of unadorned glass or plastic tubes is giving way to smartly decorated packages with sophisticated dispensers and closures. Known for its spray and pump dispensers, Valois provides the MiniCream, an elegant miniature consisting of a cylinder and pump with a cap, and the TéLéDose, a cylinder with a pump for color cosmetics and personal care samples. The MiniCream can also be used for unit dose or travel applications. “Some companies will group three or four of the MiniCream packages together and sell them as a retail package,” noted Quinn. “It’s used when dosage and protection (of the formula) are very important and is also good for decoration. The closure can be laser etched.”
The TéLéDose sampling system is offered as a 2 mL polypropylene vial as well as a 2 mL, 4 mL and 5 mL glass vial. TéLéDose can be decorated with silk screen printing or with Valois’ Sample Stick label.
Qosmedix offers a variety of sample suitable packages including mini with roller ball applicator. |
Lombardi offers an assortment of custom and stock injection molded packages for a variety of sampling needs. Recently, the company developed a jar to sample products such as creams and lip balm, which can also be used for powders by adding a sieve attachment. In addition to bottles and jars, it has stock sample packages for mini stick deodorants, talc and bath crystals. It also has stock compact packaging available in smaller sizes that are used for sampling.
Rexam Dispensing Systems offers a number of sample packs. The plastic Sofistic package can be equipped with airless or traditional pump dispensers and decorated in a wide range of colors or prints. Sofiluxis a glass version of Sofistic. Sof’Push, a 4 mL airless sampler is said to be easy to fill with high density creams or lotions. Rexam is introducing a 2 mL Sofistic’s lotion sampler designed for new anti-aging and other treatment products. It has also recently developed the Sof’flag Leaflet, which provides room for product information and eliminates the need for secondary packaging. The Leaflet sampler has a mini booklet permanently attached to the vial that can hold two, six, eight or 12 pages of product information printed in up to 10 colors. To produce Sof'flag Leaflet in the U.S., Rexam is working with label supplier Sancoa International, Mt. Laurel, NJ, package filler Le Papillon, New Brunswick, NJ, and Biopak, France.
Berry/Tubed Products, Easthampton, MA, has experienced increased demand for small diameter tubes for sampling and/or introducing new products. “The demand for trade show samples, budget-priced packages and travel kits all account for major segments of our mini-tube production. In addition to cosmetics, these small sizes are also frequently used for single-dose applications,” said James Farley, vice president and director of sales and marketing for closures and cosmetic packaging. For cost-effective sampling, Berry/ Tubed offers a line of Twist-Off and Snip-Tip tubes.
Flexible Packets Are Sample Standard
Glenroy Inc., Menomonee Falls, WI, manufactures flexible packaging film used for sampling. The company developed Great White Flexible Packaging Film to solve an ongoing color quality problem. “Many customers were having difficulty obtaining the whitest background and the purest colors in their sample pouches,” said Gary Bobko, Glenroy’s vice president, marketing and sales. Great White’s film structure hides the foil layer responsible for the graying effect seen in standard packaging film, according to Glenroy.
James Alexander’s ampoules can deliver unit dose product precisely. |
Flexpaq, a division of Ileos, based in South Plainfield, NJ, has been experiencing growth in all beauty segments for its flexible sample packaging, according to Jim Gabilanes, company vice president of sales and marketing. “Companies are now using clear blisters and thermoforms so that the consumer can see the shade of the product,” Gabilanes explained, “and because that form has a higher perceived value to the consumer.”
Flexpaq recently developed Prepack to sample an assortment of products or shades. It consists of a box with an egg crate-type insert that holds a number of products. The company also created SeeThrough Film packets in which the front panel of the packet is clear while the back is opaque foil, so that the color is seen, while the foil decreases light transmission. “We’ve had good reception to using the SeeThrough Film for a multi-compartment packet that can be used to sample more than one product, such as a treatment regimen,” said Gabilanes. Flexpaq has formed an alliance with Seufert Transparente Verpackungen GmbH, a German supplier of clear folding boxes to supply boxes. “We can offer a turnkey option to provide a clear box for a number of our sample packages,” added Gabilanes.
Unette, Wharton, NJ, provides an array of sample and single use packages made of either plastic film or foil laminate. Its Prisma-Metallic package, which has a metalized look, has been chosen by Redken for its Extreme Deep Fuel and Color Extend Highlight Fuel conditioning products. Unette is launching Extreme Directional Flow Tip (EDF), a small combination tube and dispenser that allows for precise dispensing of product, according to Terence Sweeney, vice president of sales for Unette.
“When customers are not looking for what’s new, they’re often looking for less expensive alternatives. A new cost effective liquid stick pack option has been developed by Unette that offers a directional flow channel in a tube-like packet form,” Sweeney said.
New Uses for Flexible Packets
According to Glenroy, flexible structures such as the peelable pouch and pouches designed for towelettes for self-tanners, face cleansers, perfume and hand sanitizers are increasingly popular.
Flexpaq has combined these two trends in its Beauty Pads sampling system, which consists of a die-cut round packet, holding two round pads. “It peels apart very easily and can be a sample or unit dose package,” Gabilanes explained.
Unit Dose Has Multi-Roles
The need for unit dose packaging can be expected to grow along with that of treatment products containing sensitive ingredients that demand airtight packages and/or special metered amounts to be delivered, said ELC’s Caracappa.
Avon packages most of its U.S. line in standard sizes, according to Kordowski. Avon uses unit dose packs, however, in other parts of the world. Kordowski explained, “In some select markets in Asia and Latin America, unit dose sizes are the standard for the majority of the personal care products available, as those are the competitive sizes.
In response to a growing interest in unit dose packages, Lombardi has added a stock metered dose package to its stock line. “As new technology in product development continues to create new and innovative formulas with enhanced benefits, the need for unit dose type packages will only increase,” according to Lombardi.
Flexpaq’s Gabilanes agreed, “We are seeing more unit dose packaging, chosen to preserve the integrity of the product, in the mid-to-upper end market.”
Avon’s foundation samples. |
The continuing growth of the cosmeceutical category is creating a niche for packaging that Innovative Swab Technology (IST), Antioch, IL, would be happy to fill. “We can provide a transdermal system that is ideal for anti-aging products, lip ointments, peels, and moisturizers—products where it’s important to be able to apply a specific dose to a targeted area without touching it with one’s fingers,” said Debbie Neikrie, vice president of sales for IST.
IST’s Pro-Swab is a pre-moistened, single-use swab package, with a patented snap-open design that is delivered with the applicator filled with the customers’ bulk (liquid, gel, ointment or cream).
James Alexander Corp., Blairstown, NJ, is a specialized package manufacturer that supplies ampoules, which are used in the beauty business for unit dose products. Its patented Plastic Ampoule, injection molded in 2 mL and 5 mL sizes, was designed for easy dispensing. With a gentle squeeze, the patented inner membrane ruptures, allowing the contents to be dispensed. “We fill most of our ampoules for our customers,” said Carol Gamsby, sales manager, “and can fill a smaller quantity and then shorten the tube.”
The company can color the Plastic Ampoule to match any Pantone Matching System (PMS) color and also offers a variety of applicator tips. “To answer demand, we are introducing a new tip with a larger surface area of 1/2" to 1",” said Gamsby. The new tip will be sampled in three shapes, a flat, a rooftop and an angled form.
Unicep, Sandpoint, ID, focuses on unit dose and sampling packaging. “Our 0.5ml and 0.2ml MicroDose vials are excellent sampling vehicles for products that are applied to a small area such as anti-aging serums wrinkle creams,” said Steve Dilts, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “Our small Twist Tip vials have been successfully used for sampling of lip color products and washes,” he added.
Unicep’s Versapak thermoform containers are suitable for personal care samples. Brands have invested in molds that reproduce the signature look of their full-size packs, according to Dilts. Unicep has created a Versapak with a flat back.
Magazine Samples Reach Target Audiences
Specializing in creating sample systems, Arcade Marketing, New York, has introduced BeautiPak. BeautiPak is a system that combines two blisters, one clear for a lipstick sample, one opaque for an applicator, in a card carrier with room for printed product information. BeautiPak has been used as a handout and has been delivered in a magazine, according to Louis Zafonte, company senior vice president of sales and marketing
Lombardi offers a stock sample jar that can hold liquids, creams or powders. |
Beauty brand marketers generally choose the multi-chamber system to put in a magazine for delivery to a specific audience. Direct mail is the second most often used method to put an Arcade-manufactured sample in the consumer’s hands. The samples cost more but it’s a very effective way of getting the sample to the right consumer, according to Zafonte. Many brands use a combination of magazine and direct mail. “We do several million pieces for magazines and then an over-run for direct mail, special events and in-store handouts. It’s a very flexible technology and, because the sample is hermetically sealed, it has a long shelf life.
Arcade’s LiquaTouch can carry a trial of alcohol-formulated liquids such as cleansers, toners and astringents, as well as fragrance. “Avon is using five LiquaTouch packets that are shrink-wrapped together as a travel pack,” Zafonte said.
Packs for Samples and Convenience
Orlandi, Farmingdale, NY, has developed a companion product for its ColorKiss sample system. EyeApply, a patent-pending technology for sampling eye shadow, is an oval card, which carries a mono-dose of product sealed beneath a clear cover. Once the cover is peeled away, the oval can be folded and shaped into an applicator. As with ColorKiss, texture on the part of the card that is imprinted with the product, holds the sample in place. The sample cards can be inserted in magazines as well as be packaged in groups of 10 or more to be sold at retail. “If you’re a twenty-something and you’re going out dancing, you can just slip a couple in your pocket and you’re good for the evening,” said Allison Brown, marketing assistant for the company.
