The Aerosol & Dispensing Forum and Packaging of Perfume, Cosmetics & Design (ADF&PCD) New York show wrapped up on September 18. The two-day event, organized by EasyFairs at the Altman Building & Metropolitan Pavilion, drew more than 2,000 visitors.

Attendees included Indie brand founders, alongside top beauty executives from companies including Coty, Estée Lauder, Harry’s, L Brands, L’Occitane, L’Oréal, Revlon, Shiseido, Unilever—and more. What were attendees hoping to find at the show? The top responses were sustainable packaging solutions, glass bottles and jars, followed by dispensing technologies, according to EasyFairs.

The show floor featured Material ConneXion’s Innovation Wall, showcasing a range of alternative packaging materials. The company’s senior researcher, Kerrie Masone, spoke to visitors about sustainable packaging options.

ICMAD (International Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors Association) hosted a “Compliance Clinic” on the show floor. Visitors had the opportunity to meet with packaging and labeling consultants to discuss regulatory issues, as they affect design.

Conference Highlights

More than 150 exhibitors shared their latest innovations, and two conference tracks featured speakers covering a variety of topics. The ADF conference covered innovations in aluminum aerosol cans, the challenges of compressed air aerosol, and the future of aerosol recycling.

Procter & Gamble discussed their 100% polymeric aerosol cans. Michael Mapes, CEO, Exal Corporation, presented a study, Buying Green—Consumer Perspectives on Sustainability.

A Focus on Fragrance

The founders of three Indie fragrance brands discussed packaging-related issues during the conference. The Future of Perfume Packaging was moderated by Creezy Courtoy, author of The Perfume Roads and founder of The International Perfume Foundation.

The speakers were Laurie Stern, founder and CEO, Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery; Olivia Larson, owner/perfumer, La Fleur by Livvy; and Rodney Hughes, founder/CEO, Therapeutate Parfums.

Stern’s small glass bottles are all different shapes, and resemble vintage crystal decanters. They’re adorned with colorful embossed labels that feature a detailed illustration and photos of the brand’s inspiration, her cats. “My labels are like the tiniest labels ever made,” said Stern, during the presentation. She also includes a handmade corsage, using faux flowers, with some of her fragrances.

Hughes’ fragrance collection features a modern, elegant, minimalist look. The same round bottle is used for the entire line. It has a heavyweight base, paired with a silver pump and black label. Three of Therapeutate Parfums’ scents are shown above—Taosi, Modern Patchouli, and Chrys 14.

Larson also uses the same bottle for the La Fleur by Livvy collection, which includes nearly a dozen different natural perfumes. The bottles have wood caps.

Innovation Award Winners

The ADF&PCD New York Packaging Innovation Awards are designed to showcase aerosol, dispensing, personal care and cosmetic packaging innovations—and the winners were announced at the show by Christophe Pradère, CEO & founder of BETC Design, during a presentation on September 18. The winners were chosen by an independent jury of packaging experts from leading brands, universities, organizations and the media.

The ADF winners are Monat Studio One Strong Flexi-Hold Hairspray, in the Personal Care category; and Lindal Group & DuPont’s Great Stuff Smart Dispenser, in the Technical Application category.

The PCD Award winners are Ren Clean Skincare Clean Screen Mineral in the Personal Care category; Bourjois– Rouge Velvet– The Lipstick in Makeup; Wendy Iles–Iles Formula in Haircare; and ES-84 Parfums in Fragrance.

New this year, the Rising Star Awards were presented to recognize outstanding student projects. The winners are Pratt Institute’s Jane Wu and Kir Yuan; and the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Marko Radojevic and Jerry Hsiao.

An Award-Winning ‘Smart’ Dispenser

Lindal Group and DuPont’s Great Stuff Smart Dispenser, designed for the home improvement market, won an Innovation Award for being the “world’s first polyurethane foam dispenser with an automatic tip seal.”

It was designed by DuPont’s Performance Building Solutions business and co-developed by Lindal’s precision manufacturing and assembly process experts. The dispenser’s unique feature reduces product cure, enabling it to be used for up to 30 days. It is also designed for improved user control for more accurate dispensing, and reduced messiness due to its automatic seal. It features a simple “pull to start and release to stop” action, for ease of use. Constructed from lightweight materials, it features ergonomic injection molded components.

Dan Schroer, DuPont’s R&D program leader, Performance Building Solutions, said, “We launched in November 2018, so this award less than a year later is a testament to its overall impact on the market in a very short amount of time. From concept ideation to the final design, we worked directly with our customers to develop this… We’re honored to be named a winner.”

Suppliers Showcase Dispensing Innovations

The show featured many packages focused on dispensing, and providing innovative solutions for all types of products—from hair care to skincare, fragrance, and color cosmetics. 

APackaging Group’s Bruce Glincman demonstrated its Continuous Trigger Sprayer, a large bottle that delivers a fine mist spray easily, with one hand. The mist nozzle is ideal for haircare, as well as bath & body products. “It delivers a sustained duration spray, with a very fine mist. The atomization is excellent,” said Glincman. APackaging also featured a refillable bottle with a pump, plus numerous options in bamboo, including a dropper bottle and lipstick case.

VSAR Resources showcased its various options for fragrances, including different size bottles and samplers ranging from vials-on-cards to travel-friendly pumps and roll-ons. VSAR’s “Angel Beauty” collection offers customers complete fragrance solutions, turnkey, due to the company’s collaboration with various supplier partners. VSAR offers proprietary molds that have all been tested. Options include mini-mist spray vials and roller ball packages with molded or stainless-steel applicators.

Taesung Group, based in South Korea, offers packaging as well as custom formulations. The supplier demonstrated its package that is ideal for skincare, and features two chambers to keep products separated until use.

Toyo & Deutsche Aerosol, a contract manufacturer for bag-on-valve aerosols that is based in Germany, featured its new Dual 2-in-1 dispensing system. (See video at link below.) 

The Dual keeps two products separated until use. It enables the discharge of the two products with one push. It is ideal for creams or gels—especially hair color. It contains an airless pouch system, and features the supplier’s bag-on-valve technology. Toyo & Deutsche Aerosol recently developed a hair color product for Revlon using its dual packaging system.

In addition to its award-winning dispenser described prior, Lindal’s team showcased a variety of dispensing options at the show, including a new nozzle that provides enhanced mist technology. (See video, at link below).

Aluminum Options

Aluminum options were abundant. Montebello, (see video at link below) a company that has specialized in tube production for 60 years, emphasized its sustainable packaging options.

Montebello’s expertise lies in aluminum aerosol cans and laminate tubes—and lately it is best known for its ability to create innovative custom-shaped aluminum bottles.

Chris Nyarady, vice president of sales, Montebello Packaging, said, “We were first known for our aluminum tubes, which are popular again. We have had lots of requests for these over the past year, because retro looks are back in style. They are made with 99.9% pure aluminum and can go into the regular beverage recycling stream—and are infinitely recyclable.”

Anomatic (see video at link below) spoke to visitors about its newest introductions, two new lip balm packages offered as complete turnkey solutions, and a jar with a metallized lid. “We also offer the lid in anodized aluminum,” said Suzy Seamon, account manager, Anomatic. “The jar can be made in PETG, or alternate materials are available,” she added.

Anomatic offers various decorating options, including metallization, silk screening, offset printing, hot stamping, and double anodizing. “With our metallization, we can do different levels of translucencies. We use a sputtering technology, rather than a traditional vacuum metallizing process. Different levels of translucency are printed underneath, which gives the surface an interesting look,” explained Seamon.  

Paperboard, Cartons & Boxes

At ADF&PCD, several suppliers featured options for cartons and boxes. Solutia Italia showed visitors a multitude of options in paperboard and cartons, made using eco-friendly packaging materials such as rice, PLA, and bamboo.  The company featured its “Green Kit.”

Solutia Italia is headquartered in Treviso, near  Venice. It specializes in handmade paper bags, rigid boxes with magnetic closures, and reusable bags made in a variety of materials, including jute.

Shanghai Hanchang Cosmetic Packaging Co., also known as HC Cosmetic Box, featured a variety of gift boxes at its stand. The luxe, rigid boxes featured magnetic closures, accented with ribbons. The company also offers folding boxes, paper bags, and customized options.

Compacts, Palettes, Bags & More

Many suppliers offered all types of packaging solutions for color cosmetics, skincare, and more. APR Beauty Group (see video at link below), featured various packaging options in sustainable materials. Michael Cafiero, vice president of sales, said, “Our focus this year is in two areas—renewability and sustainability.”

Cafiero showed visitors its stylish compact, which is 100% wood. Details matter for beauty brands, and this compact features a stylish detail—a wooden hinge. “It is our patented wooden binding,” he explained. The wood palettes and compacts are stock items, with customizable inserts to accommodate various configurations for color cosmetics. They can be decorated with silk screening, offset printing or a 3D printing process.  

APR Beauty Group also introduced its new concealed nozzle airless bottle, which features a twist-open mechanism. The innovative design features a nozzle that pivots into position as the actuator unlocks. It offers a convenient way to accurately dispense a product. 

POP NYC showed visitors a range of bags, makeup cases, and brush applicators with glistening gold handles—perfect for a gift-with-purchase or holiday set. The full-service manufacturer specializes in product development, offering a range of private-label options.

Gatto Group is partners with Laffon, which specializes in packaging for color cosmetics. Laffon’s “Think Clean” collection was on display, featuring a range of eco-friendly compacts. They can be made in various materials, including bio-based materials from renewable sources, PCR, and recyclable polypropylene. They can be decorated using a multitude of different processes.

Colt’s Plastics (see video at link below) featured a range of jars on display, in all sizes—from 5 - 600ml. “They are available in single or double-wall styles, and can be made in various materials, including PETG, in a variety of heights and styles,” said Mark Egan, vice president of sales and marketing. The Connecticut-based company manufactures both injection-molded and compression-molded closures for all its jars, and offers custom decorating.
 
Amfora (see video at link below) featured its new transparent caps for fragrances, which are now offered in larger sizes and all colors. They can also be decorated with a translucent metallization process, in silver or gold, for a luxe look.

The Latin-America-based company also spoke to visitors about its new modular packaging standards, which are standard molds that are highly customizable. Carlos Enrique Bragagnini Oliver, CEO, said Amfora specializes in a variety of ‘build-your-own’ options for high-end skincare and cosmetics.

Amfora’s “Modu Lip” range, for example, offers brands 64 different combinations for a lipstick package. There are four cap shapes, four base shapes, and four types of inserts to choose from, plus various decorating options. 

Fareva’s team (see video at BeautyPackaging.com) spoke to visitors about its contract manufacturing capabilities. The global supplier has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., and offers brands a variety of innovative packaging options for makeup, skincare and hair care in sustainable materials, such as biodegradable wood.

Get Set for 2020

Next year, a new award will be added to the program—the first “Dandelion Clocks Award” will recognize inventors. This award is organized by Marisol Simard, founder of the beauty consulting firm, Dandelion Clocks, and will be presented at ADF&PCD NY 2020.

Save the dates for 2020 - ADF&PCD Paris takes place January 29 - 30; and ADF&PCD New York 2020 takes place September 16 - 17. 

Take a Look at Videos from the Show

For additional information on suppliers at ADF&PCD, check out these videos:

Lindal Group Showcases Dispensing Options

APR Focuses on Sustainability and Innovation

Amfora Introduces Modular Packaging Standards

Full Package Solutions at Anomatic

Colt’s Plastics Features a Wide Selection of Caps and Jars

An Emphasis on Sustainable Packaging at Montebello

Coming Soon: Videos featuring Fareva and Toyo & Deutsche Aerosol