Latest Launches
Inspired by Candy Canes
RPC Bramlage-Wiko’s (Northants, UK) Magic Star 150-ml PET dispenser was chosen for Victoria Secret’s Beauty Rush Body Glimmer Swirl Cream, which combines a scented moisturizing body lotion with shimmering color.
The product was filled by Thibiant (Chatsworth, CA) in the Magic Star dispenser using a unique double-layer swirl pattern inspired by candy cane designs.
Says RPC Bramlage-Wiko, the Magic Star’s controlled dosing and hygienic properties were ideal for the high-viscosity, double-layer cream, and the dispenser is capable of dispensing the correct amount of product without clogging or “spitting.”
Burberry Beat Box
Edelmann (Pontoise, France) hot-stamped Burberry’s trademarked plaid pattern on the folding carton for Burberry’s The Beat fragrance. The plaid pattern is featured in metallic silver and black colors on a white background.
The folding carton was designed to resemble a jewelry box. A special construction utilizing silver insets and hollow walls ensures that the fragrance bottle is protected.
Adidas’s Olympic-Worthy Bottle
Gerresheimer AG (Düsseldorf, Germany) produced a yellow fragrance bottle for Coty for its new Adidas fragrance honoring the 2008 Olympic Games.
The clear glass bottle was coated in an opaque yellow finish, while the plastic cap is also yellow, creating a seamless yellow theme throughout the packaging. The bottle itself is a softly contoured triangle, whose shape is slightly twisted from the cap to the base.
Caps for Lancôme
For Lancôme’s redesigned eye makeup remover lotion packages, VPI (Orgelet, France) provided an engraved injection-molded plastic cap that was embossed with the signature Lancôme rose icon, as well as an injection-molded collar that was hot stamped and screened. Both components were produced for supplier Valois, which was in charge of assembling all packaging components.
Lancôme’s Vibrating Mascara
Lancôme’s vibrating mascara package was produced by Oekametall Oehlhorn GmbH & Company KG (Bamberg, Germany) in just four months. A small battery-powered motor was assembled in the bottle’s cap. Pressing the button causes the brush to vibrate at 7000 oscillations per minute.
The cap was decorated with hot stamping. Both bottle and cap feature a transparent UV-lacquered finish. This UV finish provides chemical resistance and adds brilliant shine. Uniquely, the parts were not coated individually, but rather, the cap and bottle were coated in one piece.
FSC-Certified Cartons
Skin by Monica Olsen, a new line of organic and chemical-free skin care products, chose FSC-certified paperboard for its cartons. The paper incorporates 10% PCR and was printed with soy inks.
Olavie’s Line Redesign
Spa brand Olavie, whose Chardonnay skin care line features grape-seed extract from France, recently redesigned its packaging and added a smaller, 375-ml wine bottle for its bubble bath to complement the product’s larger 750-ml spa version.
The smaller size is intended for spa customers to purchase and take home with them. The brand also switched to direct printing for a more upscale look and edited its labels to remove some of the clutter.
Q&A with Kenneth Heng, director, Olavie
Why did Olavie decide to redesign its packaging?
Our previous design had too much information cluttered in a small area. It was hard to read the label. The new design is a lot cleaner. Also, the previous design did not properly reflect the quality of the products. That’s why we redesigned, for a more upscale look.
What is the difference between the old and the new packaging?
The main thing we did was add silver as a main color in the graphic design. Our Olavie logo is now either silk-screened or foil stamped. For a lot of our packaging, we have switched to silk-screening when feasible, for a more upscale look. For other packages, we changed the label design to achieve better quality.
Why did Olavie add the new, smaller wine bottle size?
Because of demand. A lot of customers who visit our resort spas have expressed how much they love our bubble bath after experiencing hydrotherapy with it. However, it’s hard to pack [that size] if you are traveling by air to go home from your vacation. The smaller bubble bath bottle makes it more convenient.
What were some challenges involved with the design and production of the packaging?
We tried to convey so much information in the initial design. For example, we thought it was very important to let people know on the front of the package that the Chardonnay grape seed extract in our product is seven times more potent than Vitamin E. However, the design became so cluttered that people just weren’t reading the label. With the new design, it’s simple and upscale. Customers understand the high quality of the products just by looking at them, without having to read all the details. We also moved the details to the back label so that people who want to know more can still find the information.
Erotique’s Violet Glass Protects Against UV Light
Organic Skin Repair is a skin care brand that also offers Erotique, a purely botanical lubricant for men and women made without additives, chemicals, or synthetic ingredients. To protect the product’s delicate botanical ingredients, company founder Joan Elliot chose violet glass packaging that protects the product against UV light. Miron Violettglas AG (Switzerland) imports the packaging from its Swiss inventor.
“I am delighted that I found [this bottle],” says Elliot. “I wanted packaging that speaks to the integrity of the products. I wanted to preserve the precious phyto-nutrients and the molecular balance of the remedies I make. Using these sleek, sexy, and elegant bottles also adds so much to the look and feel of Erotique.”
According to Miron Violettglas, the packaging offers several benefits: protection in the visible spectrum from blue to red; preservation and stimulation of bioenergy; quality production for long-term storage; and 100% recyclability.
“I think [these bottles] are the wave of the future—though they are expensive—for cosmetic manufacturers who care about the quality of their ingredients,” says Elliot. She adds, “We place the glass bottles into clear containers for protection and shipping. Clear outer packages are better than dark boxes because of the light spectrum—a dark box would defeat the whole purpose.”
Jouer, Redesigned
Jouer Cosmetics commissioned packaging supplier/designer Zorbit Resources (New York City) to redesign its trademark connectable compacts. Prior to the redesign, the compacts were white, rectangular, and all one size. (For more information about the original compacts, visit: http://www.cpcpkg.com/magazine/05/05/cosmetics.pdf)
Zorbit was the supplier of the original compacts. Like the original compacts, the new compacts feature tracks on either side that allow two compacts to be slid together and connected. Smaller square-shaped compacts were added to the new line, and two small compacts can be connected to a larger rectangular compact. “Jouer wanted the pocket-sized individual compact for eye products,” says Scott Kestenbaum, senior account manager for Zorbit. “Jouer also wanted a larger compact for products like bronzer and concealer, and a vial for lip gloss, mascara, and brow gel. The compacts and vials slide together using a similar track system as the original, although it is much improved. Like the original design, a peg-in-hole system allows the compacts to also be connected back to back.”
Besides the addition of the smaller compact, “the primary difference between the old and the new lines is styling,” says Kestenbaum. “We updated the look and gave the brand greater shelf presence.”
As expected with packages that connect together, the greatest challenges involved precise molding. “The slide-together tracks and the peg system require the highest-degree quality mold construction,” says Kestenbaum. “The tolerances are at the very limit of what is possible in injection-molded resins. To achieve the required fits, we needed to use only the best copolymers on the market.”
The compacts were molded from ABS resins, and glass mirrors were fitted under the lids of all of the compacts.
Matte for Men Expands Line
Now sold in Sephora, the Matte for Men skin care line has launched three new products.
The brand first became known for its Complete Head Care SPF lotion, geared in part to men who shave their heads or who have experienced some hair loss.
The new products follow the earthy colors used in the line’s packaging. The new products include an antioxidant daily face wash in a stock PETE bottle with pump by Kaufman Container (Cleveland). Custom clear labels are applied to the bottles at the time of filling. According to Matte for Men’s president, Lee Jacobs, the biggest packaging challenge involved applying these labels and “making sure that no air bubbles were present and that the labels were applied in the exact specified location on both sides of the bottle. This was very difficult because both the bottle and the label were transparent.”
The new Complete Cleansing Cloths were made and packaged by VM Global Manufacturing. The packaging comprises foil packettes, with which the biggest challenge lay in color matching. The cleansing cloth format was “chosen for its ease of use and travel convenience, as well as its smaller environmental impact because less packaging is used,” says Jacobs.
The last new product is Man Powder, an absorbent neutralizer, perfect for use after the shower or at the gym. It is packaged in a custom-colored HDPE bottle by Matrix Packaging (Mississauga, ON, Canada). The bottle was decorated with a custom foil label. Read more about the Matte for Men line.
Men’s Fragrance Sampler
Just months after its worldwide debut, Rexam’s (Purchase, NY) Sof’Cell sampler was selected for the new Leonard Homme men’s fragrance.
Sof’Cell is a mini vial that is designed to be attached to a mobile phone, backpack, belt, or key ring. An opaque pouch was also created to house the sampler.
Sof’Cell is designed to be a fun-to-use, brand-building package that appeals to younger, fashion-forward product users. “Rexam’s Sof’Cell is truly special and perfect for the demographic we want to reach,” says Stephanie Cabon, Leonard Paris’s marketing officer for new product development. “It is an innovative, impactful marketing tool that will help communicate the youth appeal of our new fragrance.”
The Sof’Cell was fitted with Rexam’s Sof’n Touch applicator, which dispenses the fragrance by capillary action upon touch to the skin, like a mini roll-on.
“In today’s challenging market environment, with so many new fragrances being launched, cost-efficient, innovative sampler programs are the way to create the right customer contacts,” says Eric Desmaris, Rexam’s global sales director of promotional samplers.