Repackaging During the Recession

For several companies, it’s not just an expense; it’s a long-term brand investment.

By Joanna Cosgrove

Finesse’s fresh new look was tooled to reinvigorate the venerable brand.

Last year, L’Oréal ended 2008 by slashing 500 jobs (4.7% of its U.S. workforce). Last month, Estée Lauder eliminated 2,000 jobs (6% of its workforce) due to declines in makeup and fragrance sales. In January, NPD Group, Inc. confirmed what the industry already knew: Sales of prestige beauty products are down in the U.S. -3.3% in 2008, to be exact. Karen Grant, NPD’s senior global industry analyst and vice president of beauty, says, “It is important that the industry find new ways to engage consumers, especially as they become more independent about their product selection.”

From prestige to drug store brand beauty products, consumers are tightening their purse stings and scaling back their usage. At a time when the dismal economy is prompting most companies to cinch their budgetary belts in another notch, it might seem like a bad time to spring for a packaging makeover. Not necessarily, according to several companies who have done just that.

Finesse was a dominant hair care brand in the 1980s but it’s since been relegated to the bottom of the shelf. Lornamead, Inc., the brand’s Stamford, CT-based parent company, decided now was the time to reinvigorate the brand, and it partnered with Little Big Brands of Nyack, NY, to evolve the design in a way that was both stylish and budget conscious. “This project was equally driven by the strategic need to contemporize the brand with premium, custom-looking packaging, as well as the need for cost savings,” says Lornamead’s Karen Murabito, group brand director. “One of the goals for the new look was to optimize the design and create a more cost-effective package. We achieved this by simplifying graphic elements like the icon, which dramatically reduced the number of colors in printing and actually allowed us to introduce silver into the design, without increasing costs. The size of the pressure sensitive labels on the bottles was reduced to eliminate waste. Also, caps were sourced that fit both the 13- and 24oz bottles, reducing inventory.”

“The previous package was difficult and costly to print,” adds John Nunziato, creative director, Little Big Brands. “Simplifying graphics and using techniques to enhance each substrate was key to giving Finesse a vibrant, upscale new look.”

The new labels for Nature’s Gate Organics products better communicate the properties of the brand.

The redesign features a new retro-inspired look with an upgraded identity and simplified brand icon to help create a stronger “brand blocking” on the shelf. Design elements were developed that would reproduce consistently and across the substrates: pressure-sensitive labels, and steel and aluminum cans. Bottles were supplied by Silgan Plastics Corporation, steel cans were supplied by Crown Cork & Seal, aluminum cans came from CCL Container, labels were from National Label Company and the caps were supplied by Arminak Associates.

Murabito was thrilled with the result. “It just launched, but at a major chain drug customer, which reset its hair care shelves with the new Finesse design in January, we have seen a 30% increase in unit movement,” she says.

Making a Case for Clarity

For 30 years, Nature’s Gate of Chatsworth, CA, has been dedicated to developing personal care products based on botanical remedies. After feedback from retailers and consumer focus groups revealed that the company’s Organics labels were not effectively communicating each product’s function, attributes and benefits of its Fruit Blend line, the company decided it was time for a makeover.

“They found it difficult to differentiate between product category (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, etc.) or to determine how each product was relevant for a particular hair or skin type,” says Laura Setzfand, vice president of marketing, Nature’s Gate. “The botanical illustration and color bar relating to the product’s key ingredients and scents were not easily recognizable and the mono-color label design was not producing an impactful presence at retail.

SKIN by Monica’s new packaging is an investment in environmental responsibility.

“We also learned that consumers and retailers were not aware that the Fruit Blend and Herbal Blend lines were formulated to offer distinct benefits,” she continues. “The Fruit Blend line protects color-treated hair from fading and defends skin from environmental stresses and the signs of aging. The Herbal Blend line is formulated to offer solutions for the entire family, targeting a variety of hair and skin types.”

The company decided it was time to create a more informative and eye-catching package to attract and educate consumers about the brand to drive sales. “From a material standpoint, the move from a one-color silk-screened bottle to an eight-color labeled bottle added cost,” says Setzfand. “However, using a label provides more flexibility from an inventory and production lead time standpoint, which are important benefits. Our expectation is that this material investment will be more than offset by sales increases and greater operational efficiencies.”

The re-tooled labels, supplied by Tri-Print LLC, Huntington Beach, CA, feature a larger font, improved graphics and more communicative verbiage to better identify the positioning of the products. “We worked very closely with [Tri-Print] to create a label that would stand out on a retail shelf,” comments Setzfand. “The previous package design used the bottle as the focal point while the label was intended as a background element, functioning primarily to provide information, not attract retail attention. With the new design, we wanted the label to be the focus without changing the bottle colors, which have become synonymous with the Herbal and Fruit Blend lines.”

The new packaging used by Molton Brown’s Body Therapies line is wholly recyclable.

This led to several challenges for Tri-Print. The company tried many different processes and techniques to ensure that the images and color bands we incorporated into the label design stood out against the strong bottle colors. To create a barrier between the bottle and the artwork, they added a yellow opaque backer under each colored element. This required getting the trappings just right, especially on the botanical illustrations which had very fine and detailed elements. The new label began appearing at retail at the end of 2008, and is expected to be completely phased in this month.

Setzfand says that the investment in the new label has already yielded dividends. “Our retailers are thrilled with the changes and the initial sales results have been very positive,” she says. “The new packaging has also resulted in new distribution.”

Principle Versus Price

For Los Angeles, CA-based SKIN by Monica and New York-based Molton Brown, the moral commitment to environmental responsibility carried more weight than the cost of new packaging.

When SKIN by Monica recently overhauled the packaging for its women’s and men’s products, going green was at the forefront of the decision.The company is currently using managed forest paper versus recyclable paper due to the amount of energy needed to recycle paper. “Managed forest paper (Forest Certification System, or FSC) is renewable, and while it is considerably more costly, it is environmentally sound and ultimately less draining on our energy resources,” explains the company’s founder, Monica Olsen, who added that the current economic climate did not weigh heavily in making the decision to move forward with the packaging change. “We feel that we have a responsibility to our consumers and the environment to look beyond dollars and cents solely. Our business model doesn’t allow political or economic conditions to be major considerations because our culture encompasses responsible, green living.

“While we must look at what is going on economically, we stand behind our products; as a result we will not lower our standards especially when it comes to making eco-friendly decisions,” she says. “Our company does not make decisions based solely on costs; we must stay true to our cause, which is a strong commitment to the consumer and our environment.”

From a merchandising standpoint, SKIN by Monica’s new packaging embodies a more organic and natural look than the previous packaging. The new packaging was launched in January 2009.

Molton Brown’s new packaging for its Body Therapies line also affirmed the company’s commitment to the environment. According to product developer Jo Jackson and chief product designer Meg Mackintosh, the range was very much focused on efficacy and end benefit, and they wanted the packaging to reflect the strength of these products and stand out clearly from our other body ranges. “In addition, we were committed to creating packaging for the range which was our most environmentally sound yet,” they say. “All items bar two (room aroma rocks and the carton for the temple soother) are 100% recyclable at a domestic level; this varies from our current core body packaging where mixed materials in the cap make that element recyclable only if professionally separated.”

The range was launched last month and although the pair acknowledges that the range was designed and produced ahead of the recent global economic changes, they both feel that the packaging would not have changed if being developed under the current climate.

As the aforementioned companies have demonstrated, it’s not easy to enact packaging changes during a recession. But a well-thought out game plan and smart choices can parlay the cost into a long-term investment that positions brands for future success in an uncertain economy.