The modern consumer is all about convenience and efficiency. In the realm of beauty, personal care and fragrance dispensing, these trends translate into pumps that deliver reliable dosing without leaking, and componentry that evacuates every last drop of a formulation out of its package, giving the consumer the most bang for their buck.

In a recent overview of current packaging trends, Mylan Nguyen, a packaging analyst at Euromonitor International, says that as consumers continue to demand more from products, packaging that delivers added value and functionality will continue to play a strong role in the purchasing decision process.

“Increasingly nomadic and busy consumers are expected to provide growing opportunities for packaging, offering more convenience of use and dispensing, as well as products facilitating on-the-go application or reducing daily hygiene routine time,” Nguyen comments, adding that the demand for greener and more sustainably produced packaging has also increased and is evident in the ongoing evolution of aerosol dispensers. “Compressed metal aerosol cans in smaller pack sizes that address both green concerns and convenience are another candidate for growth. Developing more environmentally-friendly packaging solutions will be an important influencer for both brand owners and packaging manufacturers, if also communicated well to consumers.”

Bold Functionality

According to Persistence Market Research, the demand for dual dispensing technologies continues to climb, especially in the cosmetics and skincare segments, where packaging functionality and ergonomics are nearly as important as the formulas themselves. Dual dispensing technology, which delivers two different formulations either mixed simultaneously or after actuation, allows for the complete customization of fragrances, color cosmetics and skin care products that once required a separation of ingredients.

Almay turned to Korea-headquartered Yonwoo/PKG for the dual dispensing solution it sought for its Almay Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer. YonWoo’s airless system combines separate phases of a non-oily skin hydrator with an intuitively adjusting skin tone color corrector in the actuator with each dose. The product diffuses imperfections, neutralizes redness, and evens and brightens skin tone prior to the application of foundation.

Jaimee Given, market development manager, NA Beauty for Aptar Beauty + Home, Stratford, CT, says Aptar recently worked with Clarins to develop an exclusive dual dispensing system for Double Serum by Clarins, that simultaneously pumps out a perfectly-sized dose that blends two formulas—one water-based and one lipid-based—at the point of application for effective facial anti-aging and radiance results in a cream/oil texture. The push button can also be rotated to offer consumers a different dose to match their needs, while controlling the amount of the two formulas each time the product is used.

In addition to the dual dosing delivery system, the package itself also features an innovative configuration that preserves each formula, each of which are comprised of highly concentrated active plant ingredients.

Aptar translated the penchant for customized dispensing in a new way for Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb Twist Collection, which is comprised of three unique layering oils, Flowerbomb Jasmine Twist, Flowerbomb Musk Twist and Flowerbomb Rose Twist.

Using the supplier’s Note technology, Aptar’s dispensing solution allows consumers to customize and intensify the rose, jasmine and musk accords of Flowerbomb depending on their mood. The Twist caps are fitted with transparent applicators that automatically fill with the fragrance oil then, with soft and measured application, deliver a drop of the oil through capillary contact with the skin. Once the consumer applies the desired accords, they complete the process by applying a fine mist of the initial fragrance, Flowerbomb.

Aptar is well-versed in classic fragrance application mediums, having recently executed a vintage-looking bulb atomizer assembly for Thierry Mugler’s latest Angel flanker,  Angel Etoile des Rêves. For this new eau de parfum, Mugler sought glamour and style and the rich blue-hued bulb atomizer proved to be the perfect accoutrement in both form and function.

“The bulb atomizer from Aptar Beauty + Home really appealed to us for this new, intimate, night-time perfume ritual,” explains Marine Motola-Eychenne, Angel Etoile des Rêves product manager.

Magnetized Sealing

Barcelona-based Virospack has harnessed the power of attraction and developed a novel new bulb dropper dispensing assembly that seals with magnetism.

Gustavo Bay, Virospack’s technical department development leader, says the patented magnetic sealing system is a substitute for the screw-on gesture necessary for opening and closing a package. The two parts of the dropper feature a magnet with four poles that produce an attraction to each other to achieve the closing of the dropper to the vial. A simple rotation is enough to easily open the package, as the movement aligns the poles with the same magnetic charge and causes the dropper to separate from the vial.

The magnetic dropper adapts to bottles of different designs, from squares or straight edges to the more cylindrical or round shapes. The assembly consists of two pieces—a dropper and a clip-on bezel that fits all FEA15 bottle neck sizes. Both components can be decorated using different techniques in order to create a personalized dropper. The two visible pieces—an aluminum cover and the plastic collar drainer—can be metallized or color injected to brand customization needs. Customers can also opt for an added bottle neck cover, a beveled embellisher, that not only acts as a “shoulder-cover” function for the vial, it also acts as a wiper for the dropper pipette.

Airless Assurance

Airless packaging and dispensing configurations are a modern take on ultra-protective formula protection. On the outside, the package can take the form of an unassuming bottle or jar. On the inside is where the magic happens. Propellant-free pressure helps to evacuate product, while at the same time, protecting the formula from degradation due to exposure to air, light and other atmospheric influencers that could alter the product and prevent it from delivering on its ingredient-based promises.

Crema, Italy-based Lumson was recently awarded the prestigious Prix Formes de Luxe award from the Montecarlo Sporting Club for the airless TAG package it produced in collaboration with Tata Harper Skincare, an American company with 100% natural formulations. The Lumson bottle, which is glass, features an airless dispensing system that protects the brand’s “Moisture Molecule Complex”, a patented formula that nourishes the skin with biocompatible hyaluronic acid.

This is not the first time that Lumson collected an award at Prix Formes de Luxe, having been recognized in the past for collaborations with brands such as Yves Rocher, L’Oréal, Lierac, Caudalie and Sothys.

Lumson also worked with La Chênaie to develop an airless 50ml Envers jar for its Oxygenate Filler Mask, an ultra-concentrated mask made from 92.5% natural active ingredients that originate from oak to deliver brighter, younger looking skin. Judging by its outward appearance, the jar looks straightforwardly simple, however an internal airless system protects the delicate formula. The airless system delivers a high rate of product restitution and limits the residue on the bottom of the package. It’s also outfitted with a “block and un-block system” to prevent the product from leaking through the dispenser. Lumson customized the pump to La Chênaie’s specifications with hot stamping and UV screen print decoration.

As the predecessor to airless dispensing, traditional aerosol dispensing took a hit when it was deemed environmentally unfriendly. However Bag-on-Valve (BOV) aerosol dispensing has changed for the better. In the BOV system, an internal barrier package protects product formulations from dispensing propellants and other outside influences, prolonging a product’s shelf life with a reduced dependence on preservatives. BOVs are convenient and user-friendly because they can be sprayed evenly at all angles and deliver superior product evacuation, minimizing waste and maximizing consumer value. 

Modern BOV dispensing systems consist of an aerosol valve with a welded bag. But rather than using hydrocarbon, a product formula such as hairspray or shaving cream is filled into the bag while an ozone-friendly compressed gas propellant is filled in the space between bag and can. When the actuator is pressed, the product is dispensed out of the bag by the propellant simply squeezing the bag, which creates the spray, foam, cream or gel.

In January, Lindal Group, a global aerosol packaging technology provider, opened a new application laboratory in Briey, France, that will allow customers to see the latest brand-building, bag-on-valve (BOV) solutions brought to life. At this new knowledge and product development hub, customers launching new BOV products can obtain product samples, develop product specifications and test protocols, conduct compatibility studies and learn more about the advantages of barrier packaging systems.

The laboratory team includes aerosol industry experts from chemical engineering, cosmetic, formulation and packaging backgrounds. The new laboratory is situated alongside Lindal’s Global Innovation Centre, which is the home of Lindal’s aerosol dispensing solutions. 

Pump Innovations

Curt Altmann, director of marketing at Yonwoo/PKG, is a big fan of how the design and functionality of venerable pump dispensers have been modernized for improved efficiency with the perfection of butterfly check valves.

“This innovation has given better compression and eliminated the by-pass that the older style ball check valves have,” he says. “This, in turn, has made pumps for creams and lotions far more efficient and has facilitated more reliable airless systems. The compression strength of these pumps has also increased the product viscosity range that can be dispensed, [making possible the] dispensing of products with separate phases of different viscosities.”

One of Yonwoo/PKG’s latest innovations is a pump dispenser for dry powder products.

Launched last May, Altmann explains that the set-up employs a venturi design, which is completely different than a system with check valves. The system’s pump employs a wide, flexible dip tube to handle a range of powders, and a locking actuator for convenient travel.

Powders such as dry shampoos, body powders and facial powders are dispensed in even doses with gentle depression of the actuator. The dispenser was the recipient of the jury award and the Skincare innovation category award at Cosmoprof Asia in November.

Silgan Dispensing Systems, Richmond, VA, added three new products to its personal care and fragrance dispenser lineup in 2017. “For the prestige skin care market, we introduced our Aria Luxe pump which is based on our Aria engine technology with an innovative finger groove to enhance the experience of a prestige, fully metal, sheathed pump,” says Kristy Hooper, senior product line manager for beauty and personal care. “In addition, we launched Lyric, our newest skin care dispensing technology with enhanced performance features and a flexible design for small batch customization.”

Silgan Dispensing is responding to a handful of trends that are shaping the type of dispensing solutions the company offers. Hooper says a chief trend is the outpacing of prestige skin care over its mass market cousins in the North American market. The company is also innovating to accommodate the desire for environmentally friendly products. “For example, in our latest research study, we were aiming at gauging awareness, interest and use of refillable and recyclable fragrance packaging, as well as determining whether there is a gap in expectations and availability regarding sustainable fragrance packaging,” says Sandy Gregory, associate director for European fragrance and skincare. “This result enabled the development of our new fragrance sprayer, Melodie Pirouette.

Gregory says the Melodie Pirouette affords brands the ability to give their consumers the opportunity to be more sustainable in two ways: the pump can be separated from the glass bottle allowing for recycling of the glass, and the new design also makes it re-usable to facilitate refilling. The system’s plastic componentry and automated assembly procedure make the dispenser an affordable option to traditional metal alternatives. An external metal component ensures that the luxury element is maintained, in keeping with consumer preferences.

Yonwoo/PKG’s Altmann looks forward to what the future holds in terms of new dispenser developments. “There is room for more improvement, particularly in dosage accuracy under 100 microliters for products like serums and color cosmetics, as well as designing pump systems with fewer parts for better sustainability,” he says. “Dispensing systems will continue to evolve and become a more important part of the overall product experience.”