With stiff competition in the cosmetics industry, brands are striving more than ever to make an impression on consumers in retail, online and via social media. One challenge for many brands and packaging suppliers has become a cross between creating products that not only capture attention visually, but one that also makes a sustainable statement.
 
From materials used to color applied, overall differentiation is key—and packaging has taken on an even more elevated role as a means to convey a compelling story—one that ticks the boxes that many of today’s consumers are focused on.

‘Innovation Is More Than Just Fun and Games’

In her column for Beauty Packaging, “4 Key Ways Innovation Is Changing the Beauty Industry,” Anna Mayo, vice president beauty vertical, NIQ, says, “While we all love the thrill of trying and discovering new beauty products, innovation is more than just fun and games.” She explains: “Innovation is crucial to brand success; with a constantly evolving marketplace, beauty brands especially need to differentiate themselves to stand out in a busy industry.”
 
According to the NIQ Bases report, “with the constant evolution of shoppers’ wants and needs, it’s more important than ever for brands to innovate, not only on behalf of consumers, but also to stay relevant in the beauty space.”
 
In addition, the NIQ research found that new innovations had shown a 19% decline in the beauty and personal care space. “Those who continued to innovate over this time were rewarded with outsized gains, and were 2.9 times more likely to grow sales than those who pulled back,” says Mayo. “In the face of change, evolution endures, and companies who prioritize innovation seem to be leading the pack.”

Personalization & Customization

Personalization and customization are also elements that brands strive for in an attempt to woo customers.
 
Ukachi Anonyuo, vice president, Global Packaging Innovation Strategy and Portfolio Management, at The Estée Lauder Companies, tells Beauty Packaging: "Consumers are increasingly looking for hyper-personalized packaging solutions that are not only unique to them, but also allow for their own creativity and imagination to come to life in the package.”
 
Anonyuo explains: “Across The Estée Lauder Companies' portfolio of brands, we're exploring how to best leverage technologies like AI and sophisticated printing and labeling to design luxury packaging that brings consumers along on the development journey and enhance their overall product experience. We're also seeing a continued push for sustainability to be embedded in the end-to-end packaging experience with a push towards more refillable and reuse solutions as well as incorporating nature into packaging solutions."

An Evolution in the Term ‘Innovative packaging’

Sharon Garment, president, SG Beauty Development, Inc., says she has seen an evolution in the term “innovative packaging.” The beauty industry veteran tells Beauty Packaging that the meaning of innovation has changed, and continues to evolve because of the “viral nature of development now.  There are so many new factors that influence and dominate the process, many of which historically did not exist.” Before Internet, says Garment, “there was only classic advertising as a way to convey newness or novelty but now everything has to be viewed through a new filter in order to resonate with a new audience.” 
 
“Developing an “innovative” package or product was once solely focused on performance and user experience,” says Garment, “whereas now, ‘novelty’ and catchiness and engagement drive the experience.”
 
Ultimately, says Garment: “Innovation is always in tension with both speed to market and scalability.”

Novelty for the Sake of Novelty?

Novelty for the sake of novelty, does not always translate to a long-term commitment to a brand, explains Garment. “The experience now must relate on a much more visceral level to the consumer where it can then have a halo effect for the rest of the product portfolio.”
 
In addition, Garment says, “Innovation comes in many forms, whether it is a new way of application, or refillable/reusable options, or just a whole new sensorial aspect [transformational – powder to cream, water to emulsion, solid to melting]. Each of these engages the consumer on a more interactive level and reinforces brand position.
 
“Unfortunately, novelty for the sake of novelty, does not always translate to a long-term commitment to a brand. The experience now must relate on a much more visceral level to the consumer where it can then have a halo effect for the rest of the product portfolio. A good example of this is the Vacation Whipped Sunscreen which hit all the right buttons for novelty and engagement, but the overall brand ethos and identity came through and likely influenced purchase across other products. e.l.f. has of course been extremely successful with this strategy as well.”
 
The specter of sustainability is predominant at every level of the development cycle. However, this is still so broad and open to a multitude of interpretations and executions – with no specific governance other than individual groups creating their own rule books. Sustainability in packaging for example, in spite of being a focus for the last 20 years, is still far from optimal effectiveness. This is because the processes and stakeholders continue to be solidly entrenched and difficult to transform. So many factors need to come together - from energy generation to new material development to new process development – all need to be optimized before we can hope to have meaningful results.
 
The challenge right now is that there is such a push for recyclable, sustainable materials, yet few have been fully proven and often their limitations do not allow them to support across categories [for example, many of the new materials being explored can only support anhydrous formulas, lest they dissolve unto themselves] so adopting them cannot be comprehensive – presenting challenges with marketing & messaging.
 
Additionally, with new materials, aside from the requisite testing, there are significant supply chain challenges that will influence a willingness to embrace these new options.
 
As an example, Garment points to the Vacation Whipped Sunscreen, “which hit all the right buttons for novelty and engagement, but the overall brand ethos and identity came through and likely influenced purchase across other products.”
 
Vacation says their mission was “to make sunscreen so fun that you'll actually want to wear it, and thus Classic Whip SPF 30 was born.” According to the brand, they “went to great lengths to imitate everything from the look and feel to the unmistakable ‘whooshing’ noise you'd expect from a can of whipped cream.” Simply remove the cap, invert the can, and watch as a perfect star-shaped mountain of sunscreen foams in your hand from the authentic “tilt valve” actuator. The brand says: “It’s an uncanny replication of whipped cream in every sense except the taste.” (Classic Whip is to be enjoyed externally only!).

Visual Impact Can Be Key

While breakthrough ideas can come from anywhere, there can be many elements defining innovation, according to Jill Tomandl, vice president, Global Product Development and Innovation, West Coast Brands, Estée Lauder Companies.
 
Tomandl points to sensorial experiences.
 
She tells Beauty Packaging: “Visual impact is important for products and packaging to stand out in social media and online. Emotional connection through storytelling, flavor, fragrance, sound, and texture create sensorial experiences for consumers. Consumer insights help to identify problem-solving opportunities. Changing regulations, speed-to-market and cost also influence innovation.”
 
Smashbox, one of the Lauder brands Tomandl directs, recently collaborated with fashion designer, Christian Cowan for the limited-edition Holiday Collection and his runway show at Paris Fashion Week.
 
Smashbox’s Breakout Star Eye Shadow Palette was designed with Christian Cowan’s signature checkerboard morphed into an Op Art pattern and embossed logos. The compact was constructed with FSC-certified paperboard in order to create the unique star shape with minimal tooling for a limited-edition product.
 
“Christian is so creative and it’s fun to collaborate with him,” says Tomandl. “There is so much artistic synergy between the two.”

Adapting to Trends

Brands that listen and respond to their customers are the ones that spell out innovation for Mikel Sacher, vice president, global partnerships, Beauty Health + Wellness, JBC.
 
She tells Beauty Packaging, “Coming from a research background, I always try to look for brands that are adapting to the trends and meeting consumer demands. The most innovative brands are speaking to consumers directly via stronger packaging, loyalty programs, and content that illustrate the texture and results of these products on Instagram, Tik-Tok, and other social platforms. I am super wowed when clients react to fan responses with more trial sizes—I recall this happening with Peter Thomas Roth’s eye cream a while back and was so impressed with their response which attracts more new customers, and the name of the game is acquisition and retention!”

Gen Z Influencers

Sacher says people are looking for ways to be sustainable—whether the products have the right ingredients, offer refills or give multi-tasking solutions to help justify the rising cost of investment purchases and staples alike.
 
“When looking at Gen-Z shoppers, Sacher says, “I like looking at TikTok and think Ulta, Target, and Walmart, which showcase a lot of what is in demand. Some of the younger generations are obsessing over brands like Sol de Janeiro, which has a very alluring and recognizable proprietary scent, or K Beauty’s cult-favorite Banila Co is rocking on Amazon and on the shelf at Ulta. Both have strong modern typography that is easy to read, differentiate SKUs with color and have global branding stories.”

Going Green

Undeniably, much of the beauty industry is currently going through a prolonged phase of meeting the consumer preference for clean and green.
 
Cindy Lin, product development consultant, CL Beauty Consulting, tells Beauty Packaging, “Let's face it—‘Clean’ is now table stakes, so the bar is now raised, and brands need to offer more in order to be truly innovative. True innovation takes time and resources, and changes the game.”
 
Lin says this is necessary in order to keep up with speed-to-market, so innovation can be defined in other ways: “Sustainability is innovation—such as socially responsible sourcing, ethically harvested materials and upcycled packaging; Innovation is also cyclical: I consistently see concepts that have been done before, but it's brand new to the next gen, and thus marketing/positioning becomes innovative. By doing the innovative storytelling behind the product, we can still launch skus on time and stay relevant; while saving some blue-sky projects for true long-term innovation.”
 
Lin worked with the Beautycounter, team to develop an (estimated) 100% PCR refillable compact that has a chic, vintage-inspired push-button clasp, and the refills come in an innovative clamshell that's made with bagasse (sugarcane pulp) which is more renewable than paper.

Find Out More About Beauty Innovation’s Influence

Which products scored high in innovation among these industry insiders?
 
Check out Beauty Packaging’s December issue featuring a rundown of these experts, brands and suppliers as they name some personal favorite products.