The economy is in a funk. More SKUs and entire product lines are getting swept from the shelves. Yet the holiday season is still the biggest shopping event of the year, and it is just around the corner. Many forward-looking executives in the personal care industry were well aware of this a year ago and have mapped out concrete packaging plans. Moreover, Hanukkah starts early this year, and in the midst of all of this hustle and bustle and planning, packaging suppliers are already busy filling holiday orders.

According to the old adage, the early bird gets the worm. Perhaps the saying should be amended for holiday package planning to be the early bird who gets the worm has the least amount of stress. Jeffco Envision Packaging executives agree.

“We recommend that customers plan holiday projects as early as possible, especially for large custom quantities,” noted Joanne Thornton, senior packaging designer, Jeffco Envision Packaging, Tucson, AZ. “This leads the way to a stress-free Christmas.”

This year, suppliers have noticed demand has increased for certain colors and materials, but these would not have been made possible without the help of technology. And with technology comes increased efficiency and de-creased costs.

“Cost is everything, and with increased technology, we have been able to make more functional-type products, such as window tins,” said Richard Hartman, president of Brook-lyn Accent (formerly Brooklyn Bow), a Riviera Beach, FL-based source of packaging components. “Making packages that are more efficient, yet still attractive, remains a top priority in the industry.”

But even if materials are less costly today, some companies still cannot afford to splurge for the holiday season. But other less expensive options are available.

A snowman is featured on Presentation Packaging’s First Snow box top design.

The Holiday Debate
With the U.S. economy still on shaky ground, many companies were hit hard in the past year and are looking for ways to economize. Whatever the reason, some experts said that holiday packaging details have been curtailed this year, if in existence at all. Many manufacturers have chosen to present their packages with only slight changes around the holidays. And it seems for smaller companies, this is the norm whether it has been a good or bad year.

“Certain marketers, such as small cosmetic and skin care companies, will always look for year-round packaging and then make them festive around the holidays,” said Matthew Levine, president of the New York-based Metro Packaging Group, distributors of Pres-entation Packaging. “As companies tighten their belts, they try to make their packaging usable all year.”

Mr. Levine suggested that using silver, red and green trimmings can achieve a seasonal look. Naturals too can be used all year round and be dressed up with bows or other accessories for the season. “Boxes and bags with hot stamping, ribbons and tissues are also combinations to make an ordinary package look like a holiday package,” he added. “In this economic environment, it makes a lot of sense.”

Presentation Packaging does, however, offer boxes for those who can afford that extra zing around the holidays. New items include the Silver Plated and Silver Brushstroke (shimmering silver) collections of elegant, mix-and-matchable stock boxes. Pres-entation also features the First Snow collection with an illustrated snowman on the box top and sturdy corrugated fiberboard. Cream of the Crop, a cream-toned collection, offers a quiet elegance for all giftables in sturdy fiberboard for improved shipping, according to executives.

At the same time, however, other executives insist that due to the poor economy, many companies are focusing packaging on the holiday season since it is the most profitable time of year.

“The holidays are still a separate business for us,” said Steve Eigner, secretary treasurer, Artistic Ribbon, New York, NY. “Because the economy is so weak, larger percentages of gifts have been marketed for the holidays lately. So retailers buy less during the year and concentrate more on packaging for the holidays.”

And because of a soft economy, the driving force at retail is achieving a high fashion look at the lowest possible price. In essence, it is the consumer who dictates what they want and how much it will cost, according to Mr. Eigner.

“Since supplies have become increasingly abundant across the world, the packaging industry has really become consumer-driven,” explained Mr. Eigner. “The market has opened up so much that we have to be totally responsive to the demands of the consumer. They call the shots in terms of design and requirements. In the past this was not so; the market was much more limited with less competition.”

So far this year, consumers have demanded frosty, sheer products, though traditional items such as plaid designs remain a popular.

Jeffco Envision Packaging offers a variety of polypropylene bags for any occasion.

A Frosty Wonderland
Not only is Frosty the Snowman popular around the holidays, but frosted packages are fashionable this year too, according to Ms. Thornton of Jeffco Envision Packaging, a manufacturer of semi-rigid polypropylene bags that are often used in gift sets. The company has a large and versatile stock line that is fitting for Christmas and other seasons or occasions.

“Our Natural Frost material, having a heavy tracing paper look, is very popular,” said Ms. Thornton. “Cord handle purses have gone quite well this year as well, but there is no one particular look that is in for Christmas.”

Jeffco Envision’s bag range includes triangular to pillow-shaped packages as well as traditional shopping bags and purses. Jeffco executives insist that these materials are only limited by creativity. For instance, printing can be achieved on the inside or outside of the package for a layered effect. And for holiday presentations, Jeffco Envision Packaging and sister company Office Supplies under the parent company Jeffco Inc., have combined packages for overall presentations.

In response to changing color trends, UK-based James Cropper, which is distributed by Central Lew-mar Fine Papers in Newark, NJ, has added 10 new iced pastel colors to its Colorscope line. The colors include candy pink, pistachio, lavender, azure blue and ice white. The company recently created the bag craft for Kate Spade’s pink shopping bag. In contrast, the Colorscope line features richer colors such as purple, royal blue, claret, racing green and ebony for a classic look. Newer grades of James Cropper paper have also been popular, such as pearlescent paper. This line, Peregrina, has optimum fade resistance due to high lightfast dyes and virgin woodpulp, and water resistance with the help of wet strength agents and moisture repellants.

Sheer Joy
Following the trend for frosted and pastel colors, sheer fabrics are gaining ground in the industry, including the upcoming holidays, according to Artistic Ribbon’s Mr. Eigner. Artistic Ribbon manufactures roses, ribbons and other packaging trimmings with or without elastic bands and stretch chords.

“For the holidays, we are still featuring gold and silver; however, more and more combinations are sheer with gold and silver edging or wire edges,” said Mr. Eigner. “We now offer a larger assortment of colors and sheer ribbons. Sheer rosettes are especially popular on packaging as well as rosettes with twist ties and rubber bands.”

But Mr. Eigner insists, it if weren’t for the economy, the expanded use of sheer ribbons would not have occurred.

“One of the most important aspects of the market is that as the domestic economy becomes more difficult, suppliers must be increasingly responsive to buyers,” explained Mr. Eigner. “Otherwise there is no potential for market growth. So there are so many more styles than ever before with lower pricing.”

And for those who are watching their wallet, bows and rosettes are not only economical, but make a consumer satisfied with a purchase.

“Though the bow is the easiest thing to pull off of a package, the flip side is that the bow helps sell the package,” said Brooklyn Accent’s Mr. Hartman. “First of all, it distinguishes one product from another. Secondly, it makes people feel good about what they are buying because a bow adds warmth to a package.”

In other accessory news, Brooklyn Accent’s account executive, Kim Skip-per, noted that big flowers are making a comeback. Colors are still popular too, especially for teens, she said.

Lady Steston sold products in a half teapot made of chicken wire that consumers later used as a wall hanging.

Rainbows Are for Leprechauns
Some personal care companies prefer to stick with traditional holiday colors, especially tried and true high-end manufacturers. Yet as more materials become mass-produced, prestige colors and materials are easier to find and cheaper to buy.

“As more woven ribbons become less expensive, more and more printed ribbons and satin materials have become available to middle markets,” noted Artistic Ribbon’s Mr. Eigner. “There has been a tremendous influx of printed ribbons, sheers, metallics, stripes and tartan plaids around the holidays.”

Plaids, especially, are classic designs that have become increasingly popular in the past few years, Mr. Eigner said. The only difference is that this year, most ribbon requests are metallic- and wire-edged so the bows do not lose form on the shelf and travel well. Other industry executives said that tactile materials are the rage for prestige manufacturers.

“Burned out velvet for high-end retailers is popular for a flashier look and sheers are used for more decadent ribbons,” noted Brooklyn Accent’s Ms. Skipper. “Natural-looking packages, on the other hand, use corrugated paper for a handmade feel.”

Bob Kriesner of ROK Promotions in Oceanside, NY, insisted silver and gold are primary Christmas colors. But if traditional holiday colors are not used, companies enhance the color of an existing package to strengthen brand identity, he said. And even though most industry experts agree that holiday colors are green, red and burgundy, these may not be preferred across the world. Each season is expressed differently in other countries.

“Consumers in some European countries find the traditional purple springtime color offensive,” explained James Cropper’s Kim Dyer, vice president, specialty packaging, Central Lewmar Fine Papers. “So color variations really depend on where they are being sold. For example, Asian countries prefer reds all year.”

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Gift sets are a staple of the holiday season and industry veterans know the functions of gift sets. They not only make shopping easy for the consumer and expose the lucky recipient to several different products at once, but they are also very profitable for the manufacturer since vinyl bags and baskets are remarkably affordable. They also allow the consumer to see the product inside. ROK’s president, Bob Kreisner, insists that’s not all. A gift set offers the added bonus of a new container.

“Gift boxes traditionally did not have other uses and were fairly expensive,” Mr. Kreisner said. “Today, manufacturers have moved toward alternative packaging that has an after-use, such as a bag or a tin.”

Mr. Kreisner is familiar with gift sets, which is the bulk of his holiday business. In fact several manufacturers are so excited about the holidays, they have asked him to source some very unconventional items. He revealed that ROK sources the world for materials ranging from wood, wire, plastic, naturals and tins, in addition to other items.

“We can do anything that is new and innovative, but it really depends on what the retailer asks us to do,” he explained. “Everybody goes in different directions around the holidays. For example, a few years ago, Calgon executives requested little rubber ducks for shower-ready baskets.”

Lady Stetson products were packaged in half of a three-dimensional chicken wire teapot a few years ago as a gift set container. The pot was later used in homes as a decorative wall hanging with dried flowers, executives discovered. To target men, Coty, Aspen and Stetson executives chose wooden trays with wood peels to impart a rustic and outdoorsy feel, Mr. Kreisner noted. Last year, Calgon packaging featured a tin paint bucket that can be used for storage when empty. The packaging for male fragrance Joop! featured an oak gift box with a sliding lid as both a container and a keepsake. The Healing Garden executives requested a fully functional galvanized watering can a couple of years ago. Other packages have featured flip-top wooden birdhouses and lunch boxes that house the products inside, he said. Since most of these items are for mass merchandisers, prestige manufacturers often do not take the same route.

“Mass marketers tend to use plastic containers for gift sets,” Mr. Kreisner explained. “But department stores will use wire baskets or ornamental shapes, for example, to retail gift sets around the holidays, or fabric boxes.”

Organza, a fine mesh fabric, and other materials such as velvet and silk are especially popular for fine gift sets, he said. In addition, ROK sources natural boxes from the Philippines that are wrapped with sea grass and straw for more natural-type products.

Plastics, Benjamin, Plastics
In the classic movie “The Graduate,” Benjamin was advised to pursue a career in plastics. The widespread use of plastics in packaging today from medicine to food is a testament to that sound piece of advice. Diamond Packaging in Rochester, NY, a company that has direct printing and package conversion capabilities, has heeded that wisdom. Whether it’s holiday packaging or all-year packaging, Dennis Bacchetta, marketing representative at Diamond Packaging, noted that the industry is using plastic more and more as both a promotional material and as an integral packaging material for personal care products.

“Our company has received more requests for plastic,” stated Mr. Bacchetta. “The newest designs utilize plastic in some way, especially A-PET (amorphous polyester) and PVC, by incorporating it either into the entire structure of a package or into a portion of the overall design.”

For example, Diamond Packaging manufactured the Gillette for Women Venus shaving system packaging. The package used A-PET for the razor card so customers could really see what they were buying. The razor cards’ graphics were printed on the outside and allowed the consumer to view the razor inside due to A-PET’s translucent nature. The company also participated in the Gillette MACH3 launch a few years ago as well as the Bristol-Myers Squibb Vaniqa launch earlier this year.

“Companies are using plastic not only for shelf appeal, but to improve the visibility of a product,” he said. “A-PET is more elegant than other plastics and catches the eye more than traditional paperboard. It offers improved clarity over PVC, and allows for better graphics reproduction when printing directly onto the A-PET material.”

The Venus package featured Pan-tone UV inks, special colors, tints and in-line UV coating. The graphics were designed to express the product’s themes of ovality, smoothness and fluidity. Different types of hot foil stamping were applied to the cartridge packs, including combination stamping to emphasize the individual blades within a multi-level embossed illustration of the razor, giving the image form and dimensionality. It is these design extras, Mr. Bacchetta said, that add a special spice to a package on the shelf.

“Rather than a four-color process, I have seen the utilization of other technologies to make a package stand out on the shelf such as embossing or foil stamping, or both, to create more shelf impact,” Mr. Bacchetta noted.

Haute Paper
In addition to plastic, gift set containers and embellishments, paper is a holiday staple for bags and innovative boxes and box liners. James Cropper, a Kendal, UK-based luxury paper manufacturer, has the ability to produce considerably thick paper, up to 120 points. The company has produced complete packages from bag to box for perfumes such as Clarins’ Red and Calvin Klein products. James Cropper is also regarded as a color specialist with more than 5000 colors available for small and large quantities alike. There are 80 shades of black alone.

“James Cropper of-fers a traditional paper with a classic appeal,” said U.S. distributor Central Lewmar’s Ms. Dyer. “James Cropper is also known for being consistent in color, which is important in the prestige market so a package will look the same in London as it does on Fifth Avenue (New York).”

The James Cropper facility recently purchased an in-line duplex machine in which a combination of color print effects and textures can be produced in one operation. The effects and textures include coating, embossing and lacquer. Today, James Cropper offers more than 40 embossing patterns.

The papers also have wet strength agents added during manufacture to prevent dye running and weakening of paper in inclement weather. The papers can be shipped globally and currently are distributed to 50 countries.

Again, with any of the options offered for holiday packaging, innovations are limitless. For example, The Paper Trading Company, a customer of James Cropper, used luxurious waterproof linen texture paper for a container called the popVase to hold flowers in water at a major florist event in the UK. The popVase also featured a printed sleeve with space for the sender to write a personal message.

As the Clock Ticks
So now the countdown to the holidays has officially begun. But with the variety of options out there, it shouldn’t be a daunting task. Especially with the ever-increasing amounts of technology, things can be done faster and in less time. And since everyone wants a winning holiday package, quicker often means better.

“The second half of the year is always busier because holiday planning is not done as far in advance as it was in years past; technology has made turn-around times much faster,” noted Brooklyn Accent’s Mr. Hartman. “For example, digital artwork is instantaneous and saves time and money. Times will continue to compress as technology increases, and this will ultimately lead to less lead times.”

So a Merry Christmas may no longer mean a hurried Christmas. Still it never hurts to plan ahead.