A new market report from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, predicts 5.5% annual growth for the global personal care packaging market through 2019. The industry is growing, and it’s no surprise. The real surprise is the changing consumer wants and needs shaping the industry, most notably the idea that smaller is better. According to the study, brand owners are seeking ways to reduce waste by using less packaging overall as consumers’ demand for convenience has led to a surge in smaller, more portable packages.

The current trend in personal care packaging surrounding smaller sizes poses a challenge for packagers that must still create a label that includes all necessary information, but on a much smaller space.

“Brands want to create/offer trial- or travel-size versions of their full-size products. It’s a way to make it easy to try a new product or launch a line extension, or for consumers to have a convenient way to take their favorite brand away from home. But regardless of the size, the brand owner must still comply with labeling requirements,” says John Giesfeldt, senior manager, marketing, WS Packaging Group, Inc.

Creating that unique experience

Consumers want an experience from personal care products. New packaging graphics, technology and sizes ensure that this happens, especially with personal care items that are designed to make users feel refreshed, clean and attractive.

You’ve heard that two heads are better than one, and in the case of cosmetic packaging, it is as true as ever. VariBlend (variblend.com), a leader in custom-blending, variable-dispensing technology, announces the launch of Million Dollar Tan’s Sheer Tan Glam sunless tanning system, which utilizes VariBlend’s patented packaging technology.

Lindsay Dickhout, CEO of the California-based Million Dollar Tan says, “We wanted to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace and give our customers the flexibility to completely customize their own tanning product… the degree to which the VariBlend design allows customization is incredible.”

How does it work? The Variblend system allows for the custom delivery of two formulas, which can be of varying viscosities and flow rates. By rotating the dispenser head, consumers select multiple formula strengths and, in the case of sunless tanning products, vary the intensity of the color. According to the company, as the dispenser head is rotated, it changes the position of the actuating disc, which interacts with the pump pistons. When actuated, this disc pushes each pump piston at different angles depending upon the selected mixing ratio.

With this packaging, consumers get two products in one package. In this case, they get a hydrating tinted moisturizer in one chamber and an anti-aging sunless tanner in the other. This technology is also being used in other segments, including hair care and skin care. VariBlend offers dual chamber dispensers in both airless and atmospheric versions, and dual-chamber designs that can be operated 50/50, in fixed ratios, or in multiple formula strengths. Recently, the company added a mechanical foamer version.

Another airless dispensing system has launched to help protect sensitive beauty products. Quadpack Group (quadpack.com) presents the Presto system. Developed by manufacturing partner Yonwoo (yonwookorea.com), the Presto system comprises of a pump, which features a unique push button alongside a dispensing hole. Pressing it down automatically opens the valve, dispensing a controlled dosage onto the disc, where it can easily be swiped off.

The major perk of this system is that it avoids direct contact with the bulk of the product, as well as from external contamination. This keeps the formula protected in the underlying airless container. The Presto system is available in a 50ml jar, made of PP, which is ideal for high-value skin care brands that require strong protection, such as anti-aging creams. The system will soon be available for a liquid foundation compact, complete with mirror and applicator. With the foundation compact, the product is dispensed by gently pressing the button. The compact’s hinged flapper provides an airtight seal and it can be removed to make it refillable.

Designed to enhance the sensory experience, Aptar (aptar.com) releases a new spray technology called PZ Heaven, which provides a longer and dryer feeling spray. The technology behind the new offering provides a longer duration spray than before (up to three times longer). This allows consumers to apply body sprays with a sweeping gesture for broader coverage and an even fragrance. The new longer spray technology delivers a dryer spray because the spray is more uniform, which means less product will land in one area on the skin. The wider gesture dispenses an extremely homogeneous spray with fine particle break up, giving the feeling of a dryer spray.

Breakthroughs in dispensing and spray technology and smaller containers are finding their ways into consumers’ medicine cabinets and bathrooms. Personal care packaging delivers functionality, aesthetics and feel-good characteristics to keep consumers coming back for more. Personal care packaging is getting personal, appealing to the broad and the niche, and delivering a unique experience unlike any other segment.

Kenra Platinum Hot Spray launches in trial size

Extended-text label helps beauty brand capture new customers.

submitted by WS PACKAGING, wspackaging.com

Over-the-counter cosmetics and drug products that claim to have an active ingredient have to comply with regulatory requirements. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Health Canada and EU 7th Amendment (the agency is European Commission) are just a few of the agencies that require consumer labeling law compliance, which must be maintained regardless of the size of the product.

Kenra Professional wanted to create a 2-ounce sample/travel-size container of its Kenra Platinum Hot Spray. The packaging is an exact miniature of the full-size offering, which recently went to market with a new high-end luxury look. The 2-ounce package is a single SKU available at shelf next to the full-size offering. The labeling had to have multi-language content appropriate for the U.S. and EU markets. In addition, the 2-ounce package had to be presented at shelf without a folding carton, to match the original branding.

To meet the regulatory requirements, the need for multiple languages and give the brand the opportunity to build additional brand loyalty, Kenra turned to WS Packaging Group (wspackaging.com) and its MultiVision® line of extended-text labels. The Kenra Platinum Hot Spray label is an EasyTab® label, which has a patented construction that is pre-curved for tight-diameter surfaces, and features a top panel that opens and reseals for a minimum of two years. A key advantage of the Kenra EasyTab construction is how the two pages above the base ply are run in a single press pass, with a tab. Together these features make this label a very cost-effective solution to get five pages of copy space.

The five-page pressure-sensitive label features two colors, black and silver, as well as a high-gloss over-laminate. The base material is a 2.6 mil white top-coated film with two sheets of C2S paper and a 1.2 mil clear polyester laminate. Even containers like lip-balm barrels, or tubes as small as .33 ounces, can be labeled with extended-text labels that meet compliance requirements. Extended-text labels combine graphical cues of the prime label with expanded real estate that allows for telling a more detailed story, usage information that stays attached for the life of the product.

Small or full-size, brand owners must comply with labeling regulations. Extended-text labels enable brands to meet their labeling requirements regardless of the container size. This creates a tremendous opportunity for brand owners to easily expand into new geographic markets with trialing or small packages that make it easy for on-the-go consumers to engage their favorite brands.

The EasyTab extended-text label gave Kenra a labeling solution that enabled it to further build its brand with sample/travel-size packaging that mirrored the full-size product. The solution gave the company the opportunity to cost-effectively meet labeling requirements for active ingredients, and bridge language barriers in multiple markets using a single SKU, all with an attractive label.