Jamie Matusow, Editor-in-Chief09.01.22
Following a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first edition of ADF, PCD and PLD (now known as Paris Packaging Week), traditionally held in January, received an enthusiastic welcome on June 29-30 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
The event, organized by Easyfairs, brought together professionals from the aerosol and dispensing (ADF), beauty and fragrance (PCD), premium drinks (PLD) and other luxury sectors—and reported a total of 10,509 attendees (including stand personnel) and 637 exhibitors.
“We are very pleased with the visitor and exhibitor figures,” said Josh Brooks, event director of Paris Packaging Week. “… Paris Packaging Week is back to the excellent figures of its 2020 edition, with an additional human dimension: the pleasure of finally meeting and being together. This is what struck me as I toured the show. The atmosphere was one of smiles, of positive energy, of the joy of being face to face again. It was the reunion our industry needed.”
Brands were out in force again, just two weeks after the successful MakeUp in Paris tradeshow, back in its customary June timeslot and location at The Carrousel du Louvre. Many of the exhibitors we spoke with at Paris Packaging Week, agreed that both of these Paris shows attracted brands primarily from the region—“brands eager to see what suppliers offered, at a local venue, so they could easily attend during the day and without traveling too far.”
Brooks noted that Paris Packaging Week brought “a very high-quality audience, comprised of purchasing, packaging, design or marketing managers representing more than 1,500 brands from the luxury, masstige or indie brand worlds.” Teams from some of the most prestigious companies in the sector were in attendance, he said, including L’Oréal, Chanel, Hermès, LVMH, Nuxe, Coty, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Rémy Cointreau, L’Occitane, Sephora, Pierre Fabre, Beiersdorf, Cartier, Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Campari and many others.
With 2025 legislative deadlines on plastics, ESR and other drives toward sustainable packaging, most suppliers we spoke with accepted the transition as a reality. However, they spoke of the challenge—especially for high-end brands looking to find the balance of “luxe and sustainable.” Many said that it was the number one request of brand representatives who visited their stands.
As at almost all of the events Beauty Packaging has attended this year, enthusiasm was strong and many suppliers said the market is booming after a couple of Covid-induced tough years. But overall concerns center on issues including supply chain, material shortages, pricing and limited production facilities. In fact, we were told that European brands and suppliers are showing a growing interest in purchasing materials from U.S. and North American suppliers. (Please see Beauty Packaging’s report on Made in USA/NA Suppliers in this issue.)
Beauty Packaging honed in on the PCD segment of the Paris event. Of particular interest to attendees were general packaging trends including mono-material packaging; reduction of material use; refills; personalization; and consumer experience.
“The future of the cosmetics sector lies within collaborations between companies in the supply chain,” said Matteo Moretti, president of Lumson, who collaborated with Pusterla 1880, another Italian, family-run company, to create the multi-award winning XPaper—the paper airless packaging.
The partnership came about between Lumson, a leader in primary cosmetic packaging, and Pusterla, specialized in luxury secondary packaging which provided their support for the paper and printing portion, creating a coating out of cellulose acetate, biodegradable and eco sustainable.
“We’re proud of this collaboration and also of the results achieved with XPaper, a centerpiece of the new generation of airless packaging that unites innovation, functionality and safety in a sustainable manner,” said Moretti.
Luca Meana, president of the Pusterla Group commented: “We’re convinced that the collaboration between various players on a single project represents a new frontier of sustainability. The sharing of know-how, commercial strength, and research and development among different companies in the same supply chain is the ideal asset to develop sustainable innovation projects directed at different markets and customers.”
At PCD Paris, the companies made their partnership official through a co-marketing strategy: XPaper samples were on display at both Lumson’s and Pusterla’s stands.
Lumson says its paper airless makes it possible to separate the plastic components from the paper ones once the product within is used up—making the packaging easily recyclable and in line with the principles of a circular economy: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The new paper airless is equipped with an internal pouch that guarantees the integrity of the seal and compatibility, and has a hermetic seal closure patented by Lumson.
At Quadpack, Isabelle de Maistre, head of product communications, Quadpack, showed Beauty Packaging a refillable wood lipstick, called IconicWoodacity, that was receiving lots of attention. She said the wooden casing has similar functional properties and stability to plastic, and has no plastic inserts. The mechanism is POM-free, glue-free and lubricant-free—and offers a “new ‘Solo Twist’ gesture,” as a quarter of a turn) opens the tube. The wooden casing is from Quadpack and the mechanism is by Aptar (the mechanism does have plastic elements.) The casing is available in multiple colors—just one of the many decoration options, which include laser engraving, spray coating and lacquering for the casing and anodization, screen printing or pad printing for the mechanism.
At PCD Paris 2022, Albéa underscored its commitment to circular beauty, with a “reduce, reuse, recycle” pledge. The team introduced a wide offer of solutions combining aesthetics, user-friendliness, and responsibility. Albéa Tubes, for instance, featured a reduction of plastic use through weight reduction. The EcoFusion Top—a two-in-one “head + cap” was specially designed to “visualize” the material saving. The fusion of the tube head reduces the weight of the tube by 55% compared to a standard tube, with an equivalent benefit on the carbon impact of the packaging. The system is made from HDPE to guarantee mono-materiality and recyclability. The EcoFusion Top is available with a wide range of sleeves for both laminate and extruded tubes. In addition, Albéa Tubes showcased an extended range of recyclable PE caps, thus taking another step towards its objective of 100% recycled tube packaging by 2025.
In rigid packaging, Albéa Cosmetics & Fragrance highlighted the use of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) to lower the virgin raw material’s environmental impact. The new “Breizhstick” is a four-piece, mono-material polypropylene (PP) stick that is recycling-ready while meeting several criteria of beauty packs including light weight, shape differentiation, and mechanical resistance. The name “Breizhstick” is a nod to Breton identity, as it is made in Plouhinec, France, Albéa’s European center of excellence for lipsticks.
Mono-material lines from full PET were of interest at Axilone, including lipsticks and face sticks that were recyclable and potentially refillable. Some included a “lock key” so the pack can only be refilled with a specific refill cartridge. Julie Vergnion, Axilone’s marketing and communication manager, told Beauty Packaging: “Europe and the U.S. are very hot regarding refillable options. It is becoming the norm with all the new briefs we receive,” She pointed out a mono-material full aluminum compact, which she said is “the first full aluminum compact on the market, including the mirror.”
Pibiplast, an Italian developer and manufacturer of plastic packaging materials for makeup and personal care products, featured new products developed by Pibilab, the company’s in-house innovation laboratory. Several sustainable product lines were presented. “Mono” includes a mascara and lip gloss solution available in single-material rPET, recycled and highly recyclable. This innovative new range sits alongside more conventional single-material PP solutions.
Foundcealer is a Pibilab pack developed for multi-functionality in cosmetic products. Designed for hybrid products, it allows optimal application of various types of face emulsion such as highlighter, contouring and concealer, thanks to the special design of the flock. Environmentally speaking, it is made in single-material PET, and also available in rPET.
Valmatic highlighted Paperclose, which they say is “the first 3D paper single-dose packaging solution.” Made in Italy, the monodose can be put in the paper recycling stream. The company produces the machines and provides contract packaging services.
Offered in three sizes, the series is ideal for makeup and skincare products. Following the success of Baralan’s Claudette line, the Claudette Large Series is an entirely new design that reinvents a classic, cylindrical silhouette through reimagined proportions.
Two of the sizes are characterized by a distinct super-weight style featuring a heavier glass bottom for a luxurious look and feel.
Maurizio Ficcadenti, Baralan’s global R&D manager, said, “We are thrilled to have reinvented our ornate, original Claudette bottle design, while also expanding into larger sizes. The classic silhouette offers both elegant appeal and ultimate versatility, through its ease of pairing with numerous accessories such as droppers, pumps or applicators. Our customers need refreshed styles and glass novelties to differentiate their brands, which is why we continue to invest in new designs and molds—to help identify new shapes that match their needs.”
Sticks were a popular option at NF Beauty Group, which showcased its new combo tube and stick for products from face to lipstick. Because the tube can be decorated, it adds a new dimension to the package.
According to Easyfairs’ Brooks, “Beauty and high-end beverages represent about 75% of the luxury packaging market. The remaining 25% concerns fine food, confectionery, watches and jewelry, leather goods, fashion, accessories and luxury retail. All these areas are covered by the Packaging Première show and launching Packaging Première at Paris Packaging Week 2023 allows us to create a complete event targeted at the luxury industries.” In addition, Brooks says this initiative is also part of a wider expansion and repositioning of Easyfairs in the European markets with its events in Paris, Milan and London.
The event, organized by Easyfairs, brought together professionals from the aerosol and dispensing (ADF), beauty and fragrance (PCD), premium drinks (PLD) and other luxury sectors—and reported a total of 10,509 attendees (including stand personnel) and 637 exhibitors.
“We are very pleased with the visitor and exhibitor figures,” said Josh Brooks, event director of Paris Packaging Week. “… Paris Packaging Week is back to the excellent figures of its 2020 edition, with an additional human dimension: the pleasure of finally meeting and being together. This is what struck me as I toured the show. The atmosphere was one of smiles, of positive energy, of the joy of being face to face again. It was the reunion our industry needed.”
Brands were out in force again, just two weeks after the successful MakeUp in Paris tradeshow, back in its customary June timeslot and location at The Carrousel du Louvre. Many of the exhibitors we spoke with at Paris Packaging Week, agreed that both of these Paris shows attracted brands primarily from the region—“brands eager to see what suppliers offered, at a local venue, so they could easily attend during the day and without traveling too far.”
Brooks noted that Paris Packaging Week brought “a very high-quality audience, comprised of purchasing, packaging, design or marketing managers representing more than 1,500 brands from the luxury, masstige or indie brand worlds.” Teams from some of the most prestigious companies in the sector were in attendance, he said, including L’Oréal, Chanel, Hermès, LVMH, Nuxe, Coty, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Rémy Cointreau, L’Occitane, Sephora, Pierre Fabre, Beiersdorf, Cartier, Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Campari and many others.
A New Norm in Packaging
Acceptance of re-packaging, light weighting, recyclables and re-chargeables/refillables are appearing all around us—from thin, flip-top low-profile caps on water bottles and recyclable plates and forks handed out on Delta Airlines, to recyclable cardboard lunch trays at Paris Packaging Week, governments are speaking, eco-minded consumers are watching and brands are listening and responding. And such behaviors are gradually defining a new norm.With 2025 legislative deadlines on plastics, ESR and other drives toward sustainable packaging, most suppliers we spoke with accepted the transition as a reality. However, they spoke of the challenge—especially for high-end brands looking to find the balance of “luxe and sustainable.” Many said that it was the number one request of brand representatives who visited their stands.
As at almost all of the events Beauty Packaging has attended this year, enthusiasm was strong and many suppliers said the market is booming after a couple of Covid-induced tough years. But overall concerns center on issues including supply chain, material shortages, pricing and limited production facilities. In fact, we were told that European brands and suppliers are showing a growing interest in purchasing materials from U.S. and North American suppliers. (Please see Beauty Packaging’s report on Made in USA/NA Suppliers in this issue.)
Beauty Packaging honed in on the PCD segment of the Paris event. Of particular interest to attendees were general packaging trends including mono-material packaging; reduction of material use; refills; personalization; and consumer experience.
Supplier Collaborations
With sustainability goals difficult to achieve, collaborations between suppliers continue to provide new solutions in many areas.“The future of the cosmetics sector lies within collaborations between companies in the supply chain,” said Matteo Moretti, president of Lumson, who collaborated with Pusterla 1880, another Italian, family-run company, to create the multi-award winning XPaper—the paper airless packaging.
The partnership came about between Lumson, a leader in primary cosmetic packaging, and Pusterla, specialized in luxury secondary packaging which provided their support for the paper and printing portion, creating a coating out of cellulose acetate, biodegradable and eco sustainable.
“We’re proud of this collaboration and also of the results achieved with XPaper, a centerpiece of the new generation of airless packaging that unites innovation, functionality and safety in a sustainable manner,” said Moretti.
Luca Meana, president of the Pusterla Group commented: “We’re convinced that the collaboration between various players on a single project represents a new frontier of sustainability. The sharing of know-how, commercial strength, and research and development among different companies in the same supply chain is the ideal asset to develop sustainable innovation projects directed at different markets and customers.”
At PCD Paris, the companies made their partnership official through a co-marketing strategy: XPaper samples were on display at both Lumson’s and Pusterla’s stands.
Lumson says its paper airless makes it possible to separate the plastic components from the paper ones once the product within is used up—making the packaging easily recyclable and in line with the principles of a circular economy: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The new paper airless is equipped with an internal pouch that guarantees the integrity of the seal and compatibility, and has a hermetic seal closure patented by Lumson.
Wood Grows as Luxe Option
Wood was a popular material of choice on the show floor—from fragrance caps to lipstick cases, many finely decorated or attractively tinted. This was the core of another collaboration that stood out at Paris Packaging Week—one between Quadpack and Aptar.At Quadpack, Isabelle de Maistre, head of product communications, Quadpack, showed Beauty Packaging a refillable wood lipstick, called IconicWoodacity, that was receiving lots of attention. She said the wooden casing has similar functional properties and stability to plastic, and has no plastic inserts. The mechanism is POM-free, glue-free and lubricant-free—and offers a “new ‘Solo Twist’ gesture,” as a quarter of a turn) opens the tube. The wooden casing is from Quadpack and the mechanism is by Aptar (the mechanism does have plastic elements.) The casing is available in multiple colors—just one of the many decoration options, which include laser engraving, spray coating and lacquering for the casing and anodization, screen printing or pad printing for the mechanism.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Quadpack also highlighted a recently launched recyclable stick for solid formulas. Made entirely in PP, a recyclable material, Multi Stick is available in up to 42% PCR content, making it ideal for brands looking for packaging made with recycled material. Aside from its sustainable features, Multi Stick is a versatile product that serves all cosmetics categories. From sunscreen to deodorants, solid skincare, makeup or fragrance, their multi-faceted stick has a large diameter that is suitable for formulas that need to be spread over a large area of the face or body.At PCD Paris 2022, Albéa underscored its commitment to circular beauty, with a “reduce, reuse, recycle” pledge. The team introduced a wide offer of solutions combining aesthetics, user-friendliness, and responsibility. Albéa Tubes, for instance, featured a reduction of plastic use through weight reduction. The EcoFusion Top—a two-in-one “head + cap” was specially designed to “visualize” the material saving. The fusion of the tube head reduces the weight of the tube by 55% compared to a standard tube, with an equivalent benefit on the carbon impact of the packaging. The system is made from HDPE to guarantee mono-materiality and recyclability. The EcoFusion Top is available with a wide range of sleeves for both laminate and extruded tubes. In addition, Albéa Tubes showcased an extended range of recyclable PE caps, thus taking another step towards its objective of 100% recycled tube packaging by 2025.
In rigid packaging, Albéa Cosmetics & Fragrance highlighted the use of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) to lower the virgin raw material’s environmental impact. The new “Breizhstick” is a four-piece, mono-material polypropylene (PP) stick that is recycling-ready while meeting several criteria of beauty packs including light weight, shape differentiation, and mechanical resistance. The name “Breizhstick” is a nod to Breton identity, as it is made in Plouhinec, France, Albéa’s European center of excellence for lipsticks.
Mono-material lines from full PET were of interest at Axilone, including lipsticks and face sticks that were recyclable and potentially refillable. Some included a “lock key” so the pack can only be refilled with a specific refill cartridge. Julie Vergnion, Axilone’s marketing and communication manager, told Beauty Packaging: “Europe and the U.S. are very hot regarding refillable options. It is becoming the norm with all the new briefs we receive,” She pointed out a mono-material full aluminum compact, which she said is “the first full aluminum compact on the market, including the mirror.”
Pibiplast, an Italian developer and manufacturer of plastic packaging materials for makeup and personal care products, featured new products developed by Pibilab, the company’s in-house innovation laboratory. Several sustainable product lines were presented. “Mono” includes a mascara and lip gloss solution available in single-material rPET, recycled and highly recyclable. This innovative new range sits alongside more conventional single-material PP solutions.
Foundcealer is a Pibilab pack developed for multi-functionality in cosmetic products. Designed for hybrid products, it allows optimal application of various types of face emulsion such as highlighter, contouring and concealer, thanks to the special design of the flock. Environmentally speaking, it is made in single-material PET, and also available in rPET.
Sampling & Single-Dose
Emballator featured mono-material aluminum tubes with twist-off, re-closable applicators that can be made of virgin or recycled materials. The tubes can be decorated in a variety of ways.Valmatic highlighted Paperclose, which they say is “the first 3D paper single-dose packaging solution.” Made in Italy, the monodose can be put in the paper recycling stream. The company produces the machines and provides contract packaging services.
At Your Service
MCBG Packaging Group is a design, development, engineering and filling conglomerate in Europe, with a facility in New York, headed by Kal Kalyanasundaram. Six different companies work in synergy to provide any part of a package from concept to finished product.Glass Responds to Market Demand
Baralan showcased its many glass options for products from skincare to makeup, fragrance to nails. One highlight at Paris Packaging Week was its Claudette Large Series, a new line of slim, cylindrical glass bottles.Offered in three sizes, the series is ideal for makeup and skincare products. Following the success of Baralan’s Claudette line, the Claudette Large Series is an entirely new design that reinvents a classic, cylindrical silhouette through reimagined proportions.
Two of the sizes are characterized by a distinct super-weight style featuring a heavier glass bottom for a luxurious look and feel.
Maurizio Ficcadenti, Baralan’s global R&D manager, said, “We are thrilled to have reinvented our ornate, original Claudette bottle design, while also expanding into larger sizes. The classic silhouette offers both elegant appeal and ultimate versatility, through its ease of pairing with numerous accessories such as droppers, pumps or applicators. Our customers need refreshed styles and glass novelties to differentiate their brands, which is why we continue to invest in new designs and molds—to help identify new shapes that match their needs.”
Decorating That Differentiates
At Tapematic, Antonio Scotti, vice president sales, told Beauty Packaging about the company’s new efficient Inline Decoration Module (IDM)—a dual hot stamping and laser decorating system that uses 50% less varnish, and saves on energy consumption. The module can be integrated into an existing system. Parts no longer have to be moved from one place to another, so there is also less damage and operational costs.Sticks were a popular option at NF Beauty Group, which showcased its new combo tube and stick for products from face to lipstick. Because the tube can be decorated, it adds a new dimension to the package.
Back to January in 2023
The next edition of Paris Packaging Week will be held January 25-26, 2023, at Porte de Versailles. Two major changes have already been announced: the launch of a Paris edition of Packaging Première alongside ADF, PCD and PLD; and a major new partnership with FEA, European Aerosol Federation.According to Easyfairs’ Brooks, “Beauty and high-end beverages represent about 75% of the luxury packaging market. The remaining 25% concerns fine food, confectionery, watches and jewelry, leather goods, fashion, accessories and luxury retail. All these areas are covered by the Packaging Première show and launching Packaging Première at Paris Packaging Week 2023 allows us to create a complete event targeted at the luxury industries.” In addition, Brooks says this initiative is also part of a wider expansion and repositioning of Easyfairs in the European markets with its events in Paris, Milan and London.
