Giving Each Link Its Due

Even as beauty executives anticipate a better holiday selling season, long-standing issues are causing concern.

Overseas competition has expanded from manufacturing inexpensive packaging components to total sourcing of projects, even to formulation and filling. How American and European suppliers answer the challenge remains to be seen, but in this issue, an industry executive, Scott Rusch, vice president of sales and marketing for Anomatic Corp., makes some good points on the advantages of domestic sourcing (p. 18).

We’ve spoken to other executives who expressed strong opinions regarding overseas competition and other industry issues. Cosmetic Packaging & Design is a magazine that not only reports on the industry, but also gives its readers an avenue for expression. We invite anyone with a point-of-view to share to write a contribution to Cosmetic Packaging & Design’s Letters to the Editor department, which will begin appearing in the January/February issue.

We also welcome articles from our readers and will be happy to consider those that are of interest to the industry and not promotional of a single company.

This issue is full of the kind of variety that you’ve come to expect from Cosmetic Packaging & Design. Oh Baby! (p.20) is a small, niche color cosmetics company with a unique story. The L’Oréal Institute for Ethnic Hair & Skin Research (p. 24) represents an international marketer’s commitment to all consumers. In Hair Care Packaging (p. 26) we talk to brand marketers and packaging suppliers to find out the latest in packaging for this diverse category. Semiotics (p. 32) is a kind of research that can help designers determine how cultural codes can work for or against packaging. A look at how the tube industry is changing through consolidation (p. 34) also details how innovation is making the humble tube a more sophisticated choice in beauty. The Mighty Mass Market (p. 42) reviews how color cosmetics and fragrances are developed and sold through this most active channel.

It’s a lineup that covers the entire supply chain in packaging—from packaging components to brand marketers and on to the ultimate consumer. All the links are critical in bringing products to the market and we aim to cover them all.

May all the links have a happy, prosperous holiday season,

Janet Herlihy
Editor
[email protected]