Leah Genuario, Contributing Editor07.28.11
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DieterBakicEnterprises supplies Venus, a HDPE bottle with a soft and distinctively feminine shape. |
Sometimes a simple package can reinvent an entire category. Such is the case with Chicstix and Menskin Shavestick, a female and male line of shaving aids. The products boast a no-mess shaving experience, where product is simply glided on and then shaved off.
Formulas are housed in award-winning packages small enough to meet travel restrictions, and all components—including the closures, sticks and plugs—were stock available from Kaufman Container. The brand also tapped Kaufman for the labels to decorate the wide surface containers.
Stock Advantages
Brands continue to flourish in stock packaging and there are many reasons why marketers continue to choose it. The first is its obvious cost advantages.
Eileen Wang, vice president sales and marketing at Allstar Packaging, sees cost savings as a major impetus for choosing stock. She provides a glimpse of typical custom tooling costs that stock choosers avoid: “For making custom tools, cost is more than $12K per injection part and $5K per metal part. For a single wall jar with cap, the tooling cost could easily be more than $30K,” she says.
Brands choose stock for other reasons, too. “Price is a major factor, but there are other important advantages. First, stock packaging saves time, so there is a lead time consideration,” says Chuck Lee, president, ISPEC, Inc. “Secondly, there is proven functionality with stock packaging.”
Time plays a key role in package decisions, agrees Lou Della Pesca, president of 3C, Inc. “The main advantage of choosing stock packaging is the availability of a large selection to choose from. Timing is important as delivery can be eight to twelve weeks earlier than a custom-made package.”
With a custom package, Della Pesca explains, the process begins with creating a design concept, obtaining patent protection of the proposed design, and then determining tooling lead times for each specific package before the packaging is even created. These arduous steps are eliminated with stock packaging, as the design and tooling already exist.
“For any custom tooling, three months’ tooling lead-time should be expected to cover tooling making, pilot sampling and adjustments. With stock items, once the packages are chosen, the functionality and compatibility can basically begin right away,” adds Wang.
Timing is especially important in fragrance packaging, explains Olga Bursac, vice president sales, Bormioli Luigi. When it comes to glass packaging, “Stock bottle packaging differs greatly in one key aspect from custom bottles, and that is really related to timing. If a client is in a hurry to put out a new fragrance, stock packaging is extremely convenient, as development time needed on custom work is precluded when using stock components.This is a very key advantage for many of our clients.”
Lead time with stock packaging can be further accelerated in the testing phase, says Mike Warford, national sales manager, ABA Packaging. “With stock components, testing can begin almost immediately and that saves weeks waiting for unit or production tool samples. As most of our popular stock components have been used successfully by many customers for a variety of products, fit and function issues are not normally a problem and testing generally goes smoothly,” he says.
Another related advantage is the convenience associated with stock packaging, which is yet another reason why customers choose stock. Customers like having a package “they know can be manufactured to a consistent level of quality and they can actually get samples of the bottle and make mock-ups or do filling line tests to ensure that everyone on the procurement team is happy with the bottle before they commit to it,” adds Marny Bielefeldt, marketing manager, Alpha Packaging.
And finally, sometimes brands find simply that custom isn’t necessary.Some customers choose a stock package because “it achieves the look and feel the brand desires without having to create something custom,” says Lesley Gadomski, vice president of sales, Fusion Packaging.
The logic makes sense. “If the brand’s end look is clean and simple, and the packaging components already exist, then why not utilize the resources that are right in front of you?” asks Jeff Gross, vice president of sales and marketing, Kaufman Container.
Taking Stock
Before discussing stock packaging any further, it’s important to note that not everyone defines stock packaging in the same way. Some suppliers offer a full warehouse of inventory ready-to-ship, while others have tooling and designs available that are made-to-order. Then there are others who offer a mix of both services.
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Fusion Packaging introduced a new line of PP airless bottles at Luxe Pack New York 2011. |
“While there are stock molds, there is also off-the-shelf stock packaging,” agrees Steven Gallo, vice president of sales and marketing, Global Packaging, Inc. “For instance, Global Packaging, Inc. offers our Tubes-on-Demand program, which is an off-the-shelf inventory of stock LDPE tubes available to ship in 24-48 hours.”
Each type of stock packaging program fills various needs. Allstar Packaging offers both in-stock and made-to-order stock products. “For in-stock items, we have the constant supply on hand for order quantities of 1,000 to 10,000 pieces. However, the selection of colors and sizes is limited to the ones with higher demand. For the made-to-order items, the quantity is usually 10,000 pieces and up. The lead time will be longer but the client has more freedom to customize,” says Wang.
Stock packaging is used by a wide range of brands across the industry, but this was not always the case. “Once upon a time the market wanted custom packaging, and stock packaging was relegated to the start-up, ‘mom-and-pop’ customers without the capital to invest. As companies like Arrowpak saw the need, we expanded our stock designs,” says Jim Slowey, VP marketing and sales, Arrowpak. “Soon, we found that our stock items were being adopted to launch brands from mass market to prestige.”
Today, stock packaging is decided on a project-by-project basis, say many suppliers, and less driven by brand size and image.
“In our experience, it’s more about the desired end result,” says Gross. “It has less to do with specific brands or market segments and more to do with what the end goal is to create the appropriate identity and appearance through the packaging.”
“You can find stock packaging at any brand and market. However, high-complexity, high-investment and therefore high-risk items are less likely to be custom developed because of the high level of commitment brands need to take on,” adds Dominic Bakic, CEO of DieterBakicEnterprises.
Considerations
For brands unfamiliar with the stock process, Gadomski of Fusion offers a checklist of initial questions to ask to get the stock packaging process rolling:
• How many products will the customer package?
• What will they need to be packaged in?
• What size is required for each product?
• What design look and feel does the customer want?
• What price point have you determined?
While the stock process is easier than going a custom route, there are still some important considerations and possible challenges. The first is to make sure your chosen packaged product is tested.
“One of the most important things that the customer needs to do in any packaging development project is to test the package and the decorations for suitability with their product or products. This is the customer’s responsibility and occasionally we see that it is overlooked,” says Warford of ABA Packaging. “The basic packaging covenants of containment, fit/function and compatibility must be addressed on all packaging components whether they are stock or custom.”
Another consideration, especially for small brands: “Finding one supplier who has the same bottle style in all of the sizes they need,” says Bielefeldt of Alpha Packaging.
For this reason, many packaging suppliers offer families of stock products to ensure a cohesive look throughout an entire line. “Developing a stock package is made easy with the ability to often pick from already matched families of jars and bottles that have the same design look and then customized with colors and decoration techniques that tie everything together,” explains Gallo of Global Packaging.
Making Stock Your Own
Decoration is one of many ways a brand can make a stock package unique. “There are very beautiful deco processes available for many stock bottles, as well as custom-looking caps, which really give each package the special look that camouflages the original stock package quite well,” says Bursac.
Decoration isn’t the only way to customize, however. “To achieve a more unique look, brands have the option of tweaking existing stock packages. Decoration is one option. To create an even more unique look, however, molds can be modified with a goal of avoiding functional changes,” says Lee of ISPEC, Inc. “If a company pays to modify a part of the entire stock package, that specific modified part can be used only by that company.”
“With stock offerings, there is a tremendous advantage in that marketers can add a level of customization. They can mold it in a color if it’s plastic, they can decorate it as a secondary operation, or they can create a custom element to a stock package. For example, they can choose a stock bottle and build their own cap to fit our stock bottle,” explains Calderone of PKG.
This was the case with SkinMedica, Inc. whose sleek, redesigned packaging featured a blend of custom and stock components offered by Global Packaging, Inc. The packaging incorporates oval tubes and airless dispensing systems, ergonomically designed for its target female customer.
Brands needing large quantities may also find the need to negotiate an exclusive agreement. For example, Arrowpak, in cooperation with Baralan International, creates new nail polish and skin care stock packaging annually. “There are times when a customer will fall in love with a stock package early in the game. If no other company has used the package to that point, we can then offer exclusivity either in a segment of the market, up to global exclusivity,” says Slowey.
Stock Buffet
Suppliers offer brands a wide array of stock packaging choices, and their offerings grow and evolve continually.
In regard to bottles, DieterBakicEnterprises supplies Venus, a HDPE bottle with a soft and distinctively feminine shape. The teardrop form is provided in 200-, 150- and 125ml sizes. Multiple cap options are available and the wide label area on the bottles is especially suited toward the company’s relief print decorating technique.
Alpha Packaging has also recently introduced bottles to market. Its HDPE Cosmos stock packaging line is available in four sizes with two different neck finishes in each size. The tall, squeezable bottles are targeted toward beauty and salon brands looking for a family of sizes.
Fusion Packaging introduced a new line of PP airless bottles at Luxe Pack New York 2011. The line is available in a full range of sizes from 5- to 50ml and also includes jars.
Glass is another popular bottle choice. Bormioli Luigi recently added its Gala line to it stock catalog, a squared glass bottle line offered in 30-, 50- and 100ml capacity.
On the jar front, Allstar Packaging is offering PETG jars with an aluminum shell. The PETG jars ensure an excellent chemical compatibility while also imbuing a look of luxury. “Aluminum is also a versatile material to customize,” says Wang, who adds that the shell can be custom color anodized, embossed, debossed or silk screened.
Among other offerings, ABA Packaging supplies heavy-duty, phenolic and urea plastic jar caps, suited especially for luxury applications. Part of the thermoset family of plastics, the stock products are offered from 27- to 89mm finishes.
For those brands looking for an unusual form for their product, 3C, Inc. offers an automatic pen with a choice of 16 different applicators. This package also demonstrates the versatility of stock packaging and the creativity of the beauty marketplace. As Della Pesca explains, “A good example of a stock package that has appealed to all markets is our automatic pens. The pen was originally designed for a cosmetic lip product. It is now sold for cosmetic and pharmaceutical treatment products, other facial products, teeth whiteners—and even shoe touch-up polish.”
With stock packaging, design possibilities are virtually endless.
