When it comes to standing out in a crowd, nothing is more powerful than color.

Color is King

When it comes to standing out in a crowd, nothing is more powerful than color.

By Christine Esposito, Contributing Editor

In the cosmetics business, color is king— except when it comes to packaging. Whether the result of cost pressures or conservative thinking, many cosmetics companies stick to a few basic hues.

Experts, however, insist that beauty companies can make better use of color when it comes to their bottles, tubes, pots and cartons.  After all, color reinforces a company’s image, helps consumers recognize brands on the shelf, and, well, sells products.

“Packaging is imagery and a first point of contact, and often the longest-lasting image; it’s important that color is used effectively,” notes Linda Carroll, color insight manager with Ampacet, a provider of color and additive masterbatch solutions headquartered in Tarrytown, NY.

That’s not to say companies are color-blind.

“Over the years, way before anyone knew what branding was, the color of the brand was intrinsic,” says New York-based packaging expert Marc Rosen. “Lauder was blue, Arden was pink, Revlon was red, Chanel was black . . . There has been a long history of color-coding in the cosmetics business.”

According to Carroll, beauty companies continue to make strides in understanding the relationship between color and packaging and the message the pair projects in the marketplace.  “In the past, it was one of the last components. Now, companies are approaching packaging and color holistically,” she says.

Yet for the most part, beauty companies continue to play it safe.  And like the proverbial little black dress at a wedding reception, dark components are commonplace in the cosmetics market.

Clinique’s iconic green has been a staple since the brand debuted in 1968.

“Companies often choose a non-color, such as black,” notes Rosen. “Add a little gold and it’s a surefire winner. People are afraid to take a chance. There is a lot of money at stake. It’s hard to get a client to look at a color that hasn’t been used.”

But that might be just what a company should do. 

Color can be used to stop consumers in their tracks—or at least slow them down—as they wade through a sea of products.

“Many companies use color as a disruption on the shelf—looking to zag when the rest of the market is zigging,” says Carroll, who is also a member of the Color Marketing Group, an international not-for-profit association of color designers.  “Using red within a category dominated by red can cause your packaging to lack differentiation or worse, become recessive. The position of adjacent packaging color on the shelf in relationship to your color is extremely important.”

The Right Colors

Color can be a powerful branding and re-branding tool, say color consultants.

The right color choice can help a new product stand out on a crowded shelf. A prime example (and one still referenced today, almost a decade after its launch) is the John Frieda line of hair care products. Sheer Blonde’s golden tone packaging colors spoke volumes to consumers when it hit shelves in 1998. Subsequent line extensions—Brilliant Brunette and Radiant Red—feature brown and red color schemes respectively.

“John Frieda used a color concept to aid the customer in shopability, identify a brand and set a trend,” says cosmetic packaging consultant Camilla Taft. 

In addition, the line’s use of color, “diminished the potential collateral damage of adjacent packaging colors by effectively using enriched tonal characteristics,” adds Carroll. “The category colors chosen connected with the targeted consumers on an emotional level as well as provided shelf differentiation.”

Uncovering the right color can also help revitalize a brand. Yet while a new hue can provide a spark, it is important to tread lightly when adding more color to the mix.

“It’s tricky,” says Carroll about adding new colors to long-standing packaging. “But as you move forward, bring along the heritage of a brand and infuse a color projecting the new contemporary image.”

For example, she cited Jergens, a Kao brand with a steeped history, which combined its heritage color (white) with green (rebirth and renewal) to provide a new and fresh presence in the category.

Color Trends

Fashion and the beauty business are so interconnected, yet it has proven difficult to quickly incorporate fashion-forward changes in cosmetic packaging. But it is possible to follow the shifting and seasonal color trends, say experts. 

“As hard as it may be for many marketing folks to believe,” says Taft, “most brands can maintain their brand identity in a four-color world quite nicely, with a spot color here or there, and the customer will still buy the product.”

Whether you’re a blonde, brunette or redhead, the John Frieda Collection is sure to turn heads.

According to Taft, a company can follow color trends and bring them into their packaging/branding in a variety of ways without diluting the brand. She suggests taking a variant color that already exists within the brand or logo and bringing that color to the forefront on the next product extension.  Another method: Replicate seasonal colors. “If ‘pomegranate’ is big as a color, flavor or food, a brand can use this in its graphics, ingredients, fragrance, product color(s) tastefully without diluting the brand,” notes Taft.

A trendy choice back in the 1970s has become one of the cosmetic market’s most iconic packages. Inspired by the fabrics of Lilly Pulitzer, Maybelline opted for a bright pink and green combo for its new Great Lash mascara. Since it came to market in 1971, Great Lash’s outer packaging has remained essentially the same. To this day, it has remained a top seller (one tube is sold every 1.9 seconds in the U.S.) even as preppy pink and green clothing has ebbed and flowed in popularity.

To follow trends, Carroll suggests employing Interbrand’s 70/30 principle. Keep 70% of the brand’s initial/core color stable, but experiment with 30% selected from tints or hues from a master color collection.

The Culture of Color

Adding in trendy and seasonal shades may be possible, but willy-nilly color additions aren’t recommended. Companies must do their research and seek experts who can help them understand the nature of color, especially in a global marketplace. The underlying meaning of color and color combinations vary from region to region.

“You have to consider that regional sensitivities effectively appeal to targeted demographics,” notes Carroll, who recently presented “Cultural Color in Your Brand’s DNA,” at HBA Global Expo 2007 in New York City. For example, teal is strong in North America, but it is not as popular in Brazil.  And don’t even think about using lavender in Thailand—it is associated with the color of mourning.

“You need to really understand culture. It’s not just heritage in a linear sense—the shared beliefs and color preferences that are handed down. But it is more complex, too,” says Carroll.  “Color is a reflection of mood in real time, of a mindset, shaped by daily personal experiences, from a socio-economic standpoint.”

Companies can use the same color globally in different hues or tints to reflect regional sensitivities.

“The use of multiple finishes for different regions can also work to reinforce the corporate image,” says Carroll.  But again, regional likes and dislikes need to be understood.  For example, in North and South America, liquid looks are popular, but in Asia, matte effects and anodized looks are gaining in popularity.

Sending a Message

The power of color can be harnessed in cosmetic packaging, but there will always be some trepidation by those who take chances.

“People are afraid of color. It takes a very secure person to strike out and use a new color that hasn’t been done before,” says Rosen.

And whether your project is a startup company or a venerable brand ready to make a subtle change, don’t go about the color process wearing rose-colored glasses.

“Realize the importance of color in conjunction with packaging and the brand right at the beginning,” concludes Carroll. “The right color is the silent messenger for your brand.”

Iconic Colors: Browns, Blues, Reds and Greens Picture this: You are on a warm beach, the water is a picturesque blue and on the horizon floats a small brown fishing boat. Because color is so subjective, there are as many different shades of each color imagined as the number of people who read the above passage.   Now picture this: You are on a warm beach, the water is a picturesque Tiffany Blue and on the horizon floats a small UPS brown fishing boat.   No question about it, the vast majority of you now “see” the same shades of blue and brown.   UPS and Tiffany are two companies that have recognized the importance of color in building an image. Tiffany’s blue boxes—introduced in 1837—and UPS’s brown uniforms and fleet vehicles have become synonymous with their success and stature in their highly competitive markets.   UPS, which refers to itself as a color (“What can BROWN do for you?”), has long recognized the value of its brown heritage.   “At UPS, brown is more than a color—it’s a tangible asset that people associate with all the things that are good about our brand,” a company spokesperson said in 1992 when the tagline debuted. According to Linda Carroll of Ampacet, “Color is one of the primary components of cultural branding and companies need to reinforce and deliver it consistently.”     In the beauty business, Clinique has done just that. The Estée Lauder brand has stuck with a simple color scheme for its primary and secondary packaging components, and by doing so, has carved out an instantly recognizable appearance in the department store marketplace.      Clinique’s green—a custom color that the company says is a signature piece of trade dress and is protected within cosmetics—has been used on all treatment products since 1968. But the company has been able to complement the green with a floral pattern, which is used for makeup products.     According to Megan Marsanico-Byrne in Clinique’s global communications office, the company has found that there is “strong equity” in the original designs.