Success is in the Details

This issue marks the first of Cosmetic Packaging & Design’s expanded schedule for 2005.

The Fragrance Foundation has named its first round of 2005 FiFi finalists and CP&D is happy to introduce them to you (p.15). Pick your favorites and check back in the April/May issue to find out which won at the FiF’s on April 7.

Well worth the time to peruse, the Corporate Profiles section (p. 35) is representative of the many capabilities that must come together before a cosmetic, fragrance or personal care product gets to the shelf.

Getting to that shelf is becoming more complex in order to, eventually, be less problematic. Read the latest (p. 24) on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and how Wal-Mart is phasing the new label tracking technology into how the retail giant handles getting products into its stores and out on the shelves.

It’s a given that package design can help sell a product—once. How that package performs, once the consumer gets it home and opens it, is even more critical. The Estée Lauder Companies’ package testing team has developed a wide variety of protocols to assure that every package works—not only to reflect the brand’s high quality image, but also to contain and deliver the product in the best way possible. See how the ELC testing team keeps up with new ingredients and new packaging technologies in The Proof is in the Testing (p. 28).

Hirst Pacific, a more-than-design studio (p. 30) is ready to help brands make decisions with exhaustive research that identifies consumer attitudes and expectations as well as manufacturing capabilities to keep projects on track and within budgets. Kenneth Hirst, founder of Hirst Pacific is committed to getting all the details right on every project.

The major packaging materials—plastic, glass, metal and paperboard—are another example of the importance of the details. Plastic is continuing to grow its marketshare in beauty (p. 31), not only because it has cost advantages but also because new resins are being engineered to perform in new and better ways in beauty packaging.

When Susan Posnick (p. 33) couldn’t find a foundation that suited the special needs of healing skin, she did the research and came up with ColorFlo, a line based on pure mineral pigments.

In today’s complex world, it is not enough to have a good idea. That good idea must be backed with solid attention to all the details—from formulas to packaging materials, from consumer trends to retail requirements.

We’re committed to getting the details right for you as well. Check out www.CosmeticPackagingandDesign.com to see how our redesigned Website can help you make sense of our complex business.

One last, optimistic detail—March 20 is the first day of spring!

Janet Herlihy
Editor
[email protected]