Is it Estée Lauder?
That is the question that drives the work of the global package testing group, according to Harry Bennett, CPP, vice president, technical packaging, The Estée Lauder Companies. Presupposing the knowledge of the company’s commitment to the highest quality, the question underscores the goal of assuring that every detail of every Estée Lauder brand meets that high standard.

“We focus on producing the best quality of product and package—and consistency. The role of package testing is to add quantitative analysis that assures that the package will contain and deliver the product with Estée Lauder Companies’ excellence,” stressed Bennett.

“It’s our mission to bring the best to everyone and everything we touch,” added Richard Lehrer, CPP, vice president global package testing.

Every new product and proposed package goes through a rigorous battery of testing procedures devised to evaluate everything that affects its fashion and function. All told, the ELC package testing group responds to over 5,000 test requests from its development groups, performing approximately 17,000 individual tests each year. “We also get involved with field problems and factory issues,” noted Bennett. “When needed, they send the parts back here to test in order to diagnose the problem.”

Michael J. Swistun, CPP, executive director global package testing, works with product developers to devise a test plan for each particular item. “Sometimes, when it is a totally new product, we have to devise new testing,” said Swistun.

It’s a constant balancing exercise, said Bennett. “We want to have the product ready to launch by a certain date, but the package testing has to be done and approved. We will not compromise the quality of the package and product. We have to find a solution that meets the deadline AND meets the quality standard.

An Estée Lauder Companies technician measures the amount of pressure a compact hinge will stand up to before breaking.	A lipstick tube is dropped on its head to test its ability to withstand falls without breakage.

Testing for Every Variable
The package test plan for a new or redesigned product/package covers four basic areas—in great detail.

An optical comparator is used to determine dimensions not easily measured with calipers. The machine can also produce high resolution photos that can be sent to a supplier if needed.	Some of the Estée Lauder Companies’ packaging compatibility studies are done in 40° environmental chambers.

Nothing Gets by this Testing Team
Because Bennett, Lehrer and Swistun all have experience with component manufacturing, quality assurance and packaging, they are able to identify those package shortfalls that are supplier related, and “hold the line,” with suppliers so that quality is not compromised.

The day that Cosmetic Packaging & Design visited the Melville, NY facility, a technician noted that they had recently had a good news/bad news outcome in the testing of a new lipstick product.

“The good news was that none of the bullets came loose from the cup inside the package,” he noted. “The bad news was that the lipstick package itself exhibited part separation.”

“Our package testing is not a secret, said Bennett. “Why would a supplier give us a package without being as sure as possible that it could stand up to the tests?”

The specifications for lipstick cases dictate how far up and down the swivel will move the bullet, as well as how much force is needed to remove the cap, the base and the sleeve—and that’s just the first six items on a specifications list of 15 features.

Compacts Pose New Challenges
The pressed powder products of a decade ago were much harder than today’s, many of which aren’t pressed at all but baked, explained Bennett. Package testing saw that a new test method was needed to assure that these new formulas would stand up to consumer handling, including drops, without crumbling and breaking. A procedure was devised in which the compact and product are subject to a test that mimics a fall onto the edge of the compact in a controlled and precisely repeatable fashion.

A three-page list of testing specifications details other standards for a compact. Everything, from the hinge to the push buttons, from the mirror and pan, to the material for the compact itself—plastic or metal—is tested to assure that the standards have been met.

New Ingredients Demand New Packaging
With all the new and often active ingredients being incorporated into formulas, the greatest challenge today is to prove that the bulk and the package are compatible, said Lehrer. “We test for product stability and for product compatibility—that the package won’t compromise the product or vice versa. Research and development comes up with new formulas with new materials. The challenge is then to find packages that are good for those materials—that can contain and deliver them to the Estée Lauder Companies’ standards.”

Decoration: A Critical Element
Each Estée Lauder Companies’ brand has an image that must be reflected in its packaging—from the moment a consumer opens the carton, until the last bit of product is delivered. The company’s protocol lists 14 distinct tests to assure that the decoration will meet expectations.

“Right now finding foils that are compatible with products and containers is a challenge,” said Lehrer. “We test to see what happens when a consumer opens the product, uses it and then handles the package with some product on her hands. None of the decoration can come off.”

Because a key graphic element of the Estée Lauder brand is the EL initials logo in gold, the search for a foil that will adhere properly has become a quest.

“It’s about the quality of the inks, the foils and the application process,” said Bennett and they all have to work for the decoration to be applied properly and to wear satisfactorily.

Future Expectations: More Testing
With the constant demand for new and ever-more innovative beauty products, package testing expects a stream of new challenges.

Bennett observed that current package trends are to increased complexity—multi-part caps, compacts that have more than one compartment (one for formula, one for applicator) and more sophisticated dispensing systems. The combination of high-tech packaging and state-of-the-art formulas will keep the package testing laboratories busy. “And look for more fragrance to be housed in plastic,” said Bennett.

They’ll need some new tests for that too.

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