Here Comes the Sun

Within its comprehensive summer lineup, mineral makeup brand Jane Iredale has launched its Powder-Me SPF Dry Sunscreen. The UVB/UVA SPF 30 sunscreen features titanium dioxide and natural clay to protect, nourish and calm the skin. Available in three shades—tanned, translucent, and golden—the dry sunscreen is billed as an easy-to-use, mess-free and compact sun care solution.

Among the package’s most striking features, the sunscreen is housed in a jar and dispensed through a sponge cap.

“We chose this package because we thought it was easy to put in any kind of bag. It has a mirror on the lid for easy application outdoors. It’s sturdy yet modern-looking. And it is unisex,” says Jane Iredale, founder and president of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, Ltd. “Because the powder comes through the sponge, it eliminates mess and puts the powder exactly where you want it. This is the first time we’ve used this kind of package anywhere in this line.”

Mineral makeup brand Jane Iredale has launched Powder-Me SPF Dry Sunscreen with a sponge cap.

Jane Iredale’s new launch illustrates two trends to hit the sun care market. First, sun care is expanding beyond its narrow niche to include a plethora of non-traditional skin care, makeup and personal care brands. Second, competition is increasing, and savvy brands are pairing sun protection with packaging pizzazz in order to gain market share.

According to the Skin Care Foundation, skin cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with more than two million people diagnosed annually. Fortunately, it is largely preventable, with the use of a broad spectrum SPF 15 or higher product as a main defense system.

MWV’s latest aerosol innovation, Aerosense, includes a locking feature to prevent accidental dispensing, and eliminates the need for a separate cap.

With increasing awareness and a relatively easy-to-execute defense mechanism available, it is no wonder the sun care category continues to see an uptick. “It is a growing category as consumer awareness of the dangers of sun damage increases,” says Kristy Hooper, product manager, marketing for global packaging company MWV.

As the category grows and competitors abound, brands must try harder to win the favor of consumers. “Today’s sun care packaging is vastly different, thanks to a number of drivers. The big driver is that of packaging premiumization, which has impacted personal care packaging in general and has found its way to the sun care market,” says Robert Brands, president of Lindal Group Americas, an aerosol solutions provider. “As consumers use state-of-the-art packaging in other favorite personal care products, they come to expect similar innovation and performance with their sun care products. The bar has been raised, and now brand owners must deliver or risk being passed over.”

Glam Prize

While the $6 bottle of No-Ad on the bottom shelf at the local pharmacy still serves a utilitarian purpose, many consumers are willing to pay for products far beyond the lowest price point. A quick search at beauty retailers like Sephora will reveal bottles, tubes and jars of specialty sunscreen product with prices that reach into the $40 range—and sometimes higher.

Customers willing to spend more to protect their epidermis also expect a bit of class from their packaging. To this end, Anna Soden, business development and marketing manager, CTL Packaging USA sees an increase in products with high-end metallic graphics on packages, oftentimes from brands that include ‘extras’ in their formulations, such as shimmer and bronzer.

In response to a need for better graphic appeal, CTL Packaging has launched its injection molded, in-mold labeled plastic tube dubbed the EasySupplyTube. The recyclable tube enables complex graphics, such as 360 degree printing and metallic effects, which are directly in-molded into the plastic tube.

Plastic packaging manufacturer JSN Cosmetic Packaging has also noted an increase in elaborate graphics, especially within tanning booth products, which tend toward higher price points. To meet the need for sophisticated design on tubes, JSN offers offset printing, silk-screening, hot stamping of metallic foil, and custom caps, as well as specialty finishes such as pearlescent looks.

Brands are additionally differentiating their tube products through shape. Oval tubes are an increasingly desired package pick in the sun care market, says Erin Ryan, market development director-personal care for Aptar. The company offers dispensing closures to accommodate the popular shape. Not just for sun care, “oval packaging in general has become more and more popular,” says Ryan. “There are several benefits of this shape; consumers find it more ergonomically pleasing to use as it fits more comfortably in their hand, and for marketers there is more surface for printing on the package.”

While aesthetics have played a role in the differentiation of skin care packaging, perhaps the biggest driver of change has been the consumer’s desire for convenience.

Convenience Trumps All

One of the unusual characteristics of a sun care product versus another beauty product is that it doesn’t stay in one place. Sun care brands have a particular need to ensure easy portability of sun care lines, as product will more than likely move from drawers, to bags and suitcases, and then back again.

One way to meet portability needs is by offering unit-dose packages. Single-use packager Unicep has packaged after-sun products, such as aloe gels, in single-use formats. Oftentimes these products are paired with traditionally packaged sunscreen as a value-added feature. In a statement, the company says “single-use packages preserve the integrity of its formulations while ensuring portable, portion-controlled products to its customers.”

Portability has also spurred on innovations in dispensing technologies as leakage concerns must be mitigated in package design. To this end, Aptar offers integrated hood systems for aerosol packaging, such as Aptar’s twist-to-lock technology and its new Glide technology with an open and close slide mechanism. Both designs “add a secure feature that makes consumers feel safe to carry these items with them. These innovative designs are intuitive and engage consumers’ senses with tactile designs, visual cues, and an audible ‘click, click’ to lock and unlock the package,” adds Ryan.

Aerosol Power

Virtually non-existent years ago, aerosol technology is now a “game changer in the sun care category,” states Ryan. More specifically, introduced in 2006, the Bag on Valve pressurized packaging technology “offers a 360 degree spray of pure product that’s applied thoroughly and quickly. Consumers no longer have to use their hands to apply product and this new platform offers speed, less mess, and convenience—especially when applying to children,” she adds.

“Today’s consumer prefers a ‘hands-off’ sun care product experience and seeks cleaner, more precise application for both SPF and self-tanner products. Convenience, ease-of-use, and comfort—this is what consumers look for in the U.S., as well as in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim,” says Brands of Lindal Group Americas, an aerosol solutions provider.

Use of metal aerosol containers still lags significantly behind rigid plastic containers in sun care packaging, but growth is notable. According to market researcher Euromonitor International, trade volume of metal aerosol cans in sun protection, after sun and self-tanning products increased from 25.7 million units in 2007 in North America to 40 million units in the same region by 2011. However, as evidence that the whole category is experiencing growth, rigid containers—which include items such as bottles, jars and tubes—saw growth from 143.4 million units to 154.7 million units during the same time period and in the same geography.

Aerosol packaging offers benefits to both consumers and brands. “There has been a shift away from tube and bottle packaging toward aerosols because consumers like the convenience of spray-on sunscreen,” says Hooper of MWV. For brands, aerosol may offer increased sales opportunities. She adds, “Aerosol sun care usually contains six to eight ounces of product versus a 16-oz. bottle, causing consumers to purchase more. Also consumers tend to use an aerosol product much more quickly than a lotion.”

There have been strides to differentiate sun care products further within the aerosol category.

Aerosol containers provide consumers with the “hands-off” experience they prefer, says Lindal Group Americas.

Lindal Group’s Truspray aerosol system reduces propellant and solvent—and the size of the package—by up to half, and enables even viscous formulations to be packaged in compact, aerosol containers.

MWV’s latest aerosol innovation, Aerosense, includes a locking feature to prevent accidental dispensing and eliminates the need for a separate cap. Rather than a traditional pushbutton actuator, the design includes a trigger-actuated aerosol spray with a continuous spray pattern. The new look ensures a unique shelf presence while preserving the convenience consumers look for.

Hooper of MWV adds, “Historically, there has been a lack of differentiation in the marketplace, but we are starting to see a shift, especially toward aerosol actuators, contoured cans and rings for improved grip. The private label brands have been quick to provide these changes.”

For more about sun care packaging, see Beauty Packaging's Online Exclusive, Sun Care Packaging in the U.S. and China.

And in case you missed our Online Exclusive featuring the colorful packaging designed by these celebrity sisters, see Getting Tan with the Kardashians.