12.05.13
|
Smithers Pira has revealed the 4 top personal care packaging trends that have been most successfully capturing the consumer's attention. |
From skin care to fragrance and from bath products to oral hygiene, consumers are continually changing the way they view, interact with and discard their personal care products. Whether you're a manufacturer or a product marketer, you know how important it is to stand out from the crowd while also reflecting the changing needs of the consumer with your packaging.
Here are the top four personal care packaging trends you need to know about to make sure your products stay ahead of the curve...
Trend #1 - SUSTAINABILITY
Consumers are becoming increasingly more aware of global environmental issues and are changing their buying habits accordingly. These days, it's “cool to care,” and consumers are actively seeking out semiotic signs on packaging that manufacturers have a green conscience (but are wary of green washing).
Understanding how commitment to sustainability can be communicated in an engaging way on the packaging is key to attracting, relating to, and keeping consumers.
However, herein lies the challenge for a large portion of the personal care market. Luxury products, relying on the perception of exclusivity and prestige for sales, experience a potential disconnect here as brand owners often do not want to associate their high-end goods with recycled materials.
An example of a company successfully balancing these two concerns is luxury packaging producer Toly Products Ltd, and their new Zeta Biozone range. Optionally available in two environmentally friendly materials, PLA and Eastman’s Tenite cellulosic polymers, Zeta Biozone is able to satisfy varying groups of consumers without losing its luxurious image.
Trend #2 - CONVENIENCE
A growing number of consumers balance their personal care routines with increasingly busy lifestyles, meaning that products offering ease of use are most likely to succeed. As a result, there is a general movement toward PET (polyethylene terephthalate) usage, which allows for product flexibility on-the-go. Manufacturers are also using gravity to ease dispensation, a technique that has been adopted across the board.
Easier to open caps, closure devices, packs that stand up better in the shower, portion control devices and “handleability” are all innovations that are responding to a consumer’s desire for convenience and ease of use. For example, Unilever’s Lynx Detox Deep Clean Shampoo features an innovative button operated cap, designed for speed and ease of use in the shower.
Trend # 3 - MALE GROOMING
The growing popularity of male grooming, particularly in emerging markets, is increasing the global demand for male hair care and facial skin care products. Shaving, aftershave and antiperspirants have been the traditional products most in demand by men, and these items are now being joined by a plethora of skin and hair care products.
This trend is usually driven not so much by a desire for attractiveness, but by a professional or social situation coupled with a desire to proclaim one’s status or differentiate oneself from the crowd.
Therefore in this new, tentative market, branding attributes feature highly. The importance of building brand affinity as well as awareness and loyalty feature heavily in the brand owner’s marketing activities as consumers look for the reassurance of established brands for their daily personal care routines.
Preservation of quality is a packaging prerequisite to ensure the product remains fit for purpose for the duration of use. Pack functionality is also very important in this sector, as the time-poor male consumer looks for more practical and simple application from his packaging. Ergonomics can also act as a differentiator to support and build the brand during product usage.
Trend # 4 - VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS
As new developments continue to occur in this fast-moving sector, consumers are increasingly expecting added value in the cosmetics they purchase. Packaging companies should meet this expectation through the addition of innovative techniques, such as integrated applicators.
Across all categories, these dispensing systems have become a key way for brands to differentiate products and offer consumers additional value.
Brands are introducing products with dispensing applicator tips that directly apply formulas to the face or other target area, including items such as sponges, brushes and roll-ons. Applicator tips have found their way into many different beauty segments, with skin care being one particularly suitable application.
Aptar’s Caresse applicator is a leading example of such an applicator. A bi-injected, flexible applicator that works like a fingertip, the Caresse provides a gentle application, which also massages the skin.
Smithers Pira was originally established in 1930 as PIRA, the initials standing for Printing Industry Research Association. In 2012 Pira was fully integrated with the Smithers Group and Smithers Pira was unveiled. The global testing, consulting and information services business remains the worldwide authority on the packaging, paper and print industry supply chains.
