While many attendees at this year’s HBA Global Expo commented on the once robust event’s now-shrunken presence to just a few aisles, exhibitors who were present seemed to be quite happy with their participation there.

For instance, Shanna Johns, sales manager for Express Tubes, told Beauty Packaging, “It’s been non-stop since the doors opened.” Contract packaging suppliers and others that provide services for a number of categories, were pleased to be able to display multiple product offerings at the same time in one venue.

HBA took place June 9-11 at Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as one of eight entities in a larger event known as UBM Canon New York 2015.

The co-located events included: the medtech design show (MD&M East), pharmaceuticals packaging show (Pharmapack North America), industrial design and manufacturing (Atlantic Design & Manufacturing), packaging (EastPack), plastics, (PLASTEC East), automation and robotics (ATX East), quality assurance and management (Quality Expo East), and health and beauty product and brand development (HBA Global).

HBA was located in the far right corner of the show floor, marked by logos and delineated by pink carpeting. For visitors looking for beauty brand solutions, a small number of suppliers offered a wide selection of possibilities from compacts to airless pumps. Digital printing was also a popular offering.

Boutwell, Owens & Co., a full-service, digital-print folding carton manufacturer offered digital foil and digital UV deco for small runs of 10 pieces up to 50,000 and more. William Hodges, vice president of sales and marketing, said he liked the “multidimension of the show.”

At 3M, Jackson Shulman and Steve Doster showed Beauty Packaging the company’s latest multipack solution, an alternative to banding, shrink-wrap and other multi-unit and promotional packaging. A special clear tape holds packages together, but removes easily—and can also be re-attached. The tape can be printed in up to eight colors, and can be printed with bar codes to prevent confusion at the cash register due to improper bar code scanning. The tape solution also offers sustainability advantages as it uses less packaging material by weight than traditional binding methods.

Burhani Packaging Solutions was a new entry in the field of exhibitors, and ran the gamut from tubes, jars, bottles and caps to deco effects, with its own state-of-the art printing facility.

UA Packaging also offered a number of interesting decorative effects.

Heat sealable cold foil and cold foil blister card combos made a startling visual impact at Rohrer Corporation. This unique capability allows you to seal a blister on top of cold foil for added attention on-shelf. Cold foil is an inline process designed to provide dazzling foil effects at a fraction of the cost of traditional foil applications. Cold Foil Blister Cards can be cost-effectively produced in quantities starting at 6,250.

Beauty Cosmetics Company appealed especially to a younger consumer with its playful multi-palette foldout compacts, including those in the shapes of ladybugs, cats, pandas and hearts. They also provide cosmetics and brushes.

Alpha Packaging, a long-time exhibitor, was on-hand featuring many of its most popular lines of stock products. Marny Bielefeldt told Beauty Packaging “lots of new things are in the works.” She said they are filling in their stock product lines, especially in PET, to satisfy customers’ requests. She said they are focusing on six new size/shape packages for personal care, “some jars and basic shapes.” One of their most popular requests, said Bielefeldt, is the 3-oz Cosmo jar, due to its convenient travel size. Also of interest in travel size at Alpha were 25ml PET bottles, made in The Netherlands, for serums and high-end facial products. They are available in a wide range of colors. 

Educational Opportunities

A full conference program ran in conjunction with the expo, with three days of sessions. Three tracks included Market Strategy, Product Development and Naturals.

Jennifer Walsh, CEO of Pride and Glory Ventures presented this HBA keynote: The Future of Niche Beauty Brands on June 9th, 2015.