Orlandi’s IApply cosmetic applicator (center) is one of the company’s more popular sampling products.

Sample Sizes Show Growth

Whether due to travel restrictions or as a way to entice consumers to purchase full-size products, samplers and small beauty packages of 3.4-oz. or less are proving to be big business.

Written by Steve Katz, Associate Editor

Savvy consumers, if they can, like to try things before spending more—or any—money. This can apply to food, drink, and medicine—and perhaps to an even greater degree, beauty and personal care products. The beauty product used by a consumer is a very personal decision, and it’s one that’s often scrutinized by the individual to get just the right look, feel and smell, whether it be cosmetics, skin care, or fragrance.

Consumers also like convenience, and in fact, they require it nowadays. If you’ve traveled by airplane in the last 10 years, you’ll know that long gone are the days of indiscriminately packing your favorite, everyday bottles of shampoo, perfume and lotion in your carry-on bag. The law, at least in the U.S., requires liquids, gels and creams to be contained in packaging that’s 3.4 oz. or less. So, beauty packaging manufacturers have spent a great deal of R&D designing and enhancing sampling, unit dose, and travel size packages to meet the needs of their customers.

Sampling is also just good business. According to the Opinion Research Corporation, a global market research firm, 81% of consumers will buy a product after they receive a free sample, and most prefer to sample products at home. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has taken note, and has recently launched a program it calls “Samples Showcase,” a box of assorted beauty, health and snack food items from multiple consumer packaged goods companies. The boxes will be branded with the Postal Service logo and include the tagline, “A selection of free product samples.”

“Consumer packaged goods companies are always looking for new ways to build brand awareness for their products,” says Robert F. Bernstock, president, mailing and shipping services for the USPS. “One method they often turn to is providing trial-size samples to consumers. A large and growing industry, product sampling offers the Postal Service the potential for millions of dollars of added revenue.”

Checking Bags?

Just which beauty products are an ideal fit for this type of packaging? It seems the possibilities run the gamut, and these days, any product that’s going to travel with the user is a particularly good fit.

Eric Ludwig, president, Telmark Packaging Corporation, Matawan, NJ, points out that in addition to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) regulations, travel sizes are on the rise as it’s no longer free to check bags on many airlines. “It has become increasingly difficult to travel with full-size containers of personal care products,” Ludwig says. “The newly initiated baggage fees are causing travelers to consolidate to carry-on baggage. These bags are subject to the restrictions for toiletry products—and shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, makeup, makeup remover, skin lotion, toners, and sunscreens are essential, daily products for many people. Many companies are now producing travel sizes of their full-size products so that their customers have the option of packing these items when they travel.”

Margery Woodin, VP of marketing and sales for Identipak, McAllen, TX, says that all personal care products are perfect for packaging in unit dose sizes, and with most airlines charging no less than $25 per checked bag, carrying unit dose sizes is now more popular than ever. “I would like to see my favorite perfume sold in a .5-oz package so I can carry it onboard,” she says. “When it comes to shampoo, most hotels offer a decent quality product, but this is not the case for hair conditioners, so this is an item I carry with me. I pack sachets with conditioner, facial care and sun block when I travel. It takes little space and is perfect for weekend or business travel.”

Woodin notes that travel size kits offer brands a great opportunity to have consumers sample their products both out of necessity and convenience, “and most likely in a relaxed, happy environment—which is how I feel when I’m traveling,” she adds, pointing out that creating brand loyalty is a byproduct of manufacturing travel-sized packaging. “More and more, we see unit dose samples delivered in tandems, where one piece will carry at least four SKUs in the package.This, of course, creates loyalty for the full regime, and the results are probably best when they are used in conjunction with the other products in the package. With sachets, designs range from loose pieces inside creatively designed folders, or attached with perforations in between.Identipak’s specialty is in diecutting the sachets to look like the actual retail containers, then forming and filling these in tandem. Up to seven different SKUs can be attached next to each other to accommodate a complete treatment, size permitting,” Woodin says.

Carole Grassi, category manager, cosmetics, Rexam Personal Care, says that products designed for use on the face, as opposed to the entire body, make a good fit for what she calls “mini-products.” She says that products such as day or night cream, serums, concealers and fragrances are applications that require less product than for bodily applications and are ideal for the category. “We offer a wide range of mini-products, from 1- to 7.5ml. In a sense, the mini-product is another spokesperson for the new line, as it perfectly recreates the end user experience of the full-sized product,” she says.

Anthony Gentile, Xela Pack, Inc., Saline, MI, points out that any beauty product that offers the user a noticeable benefit with only a few applications should be a good fit for sampling and unit doses. “The purpose of a sample is to provide enough product for a consumer to properly experience the benefits of the product. Any time that is achieved, a good fit has been found. The brands that benefit most from sampling are those that give results the fastest. If it takes weeks to experience the benefits of a skin cream, that skin cream likely won’t benefit from sampling as much as a cream that shows benefits with one application,” he says.

More than a Giveaway

In this niche of the beauty packaging industry, there are a variety of options, and they range from the simple to the complex.

“Brand owners have a diversity of sampling options that can be used. The device can be simple, and deliver just one dosage, such as a sachet,” says Jim Gabilanes, senior VP sales and marketing, Flexpaq Corporation, South Plainfield, NJ. “It can also be more sophisticated such as a thermoform in a card, that could deliver usage instructions, and a coupon to enhance the value of the sample,” he says, pointing out that brands could also use a regimen approach to deliver a range of products such as a wash, toner and a moisturizer. “The consumer benefits in that they save by not having to purchase the retail size, and they get to try a sample of the product very economically. By providing samples, the consumer is encouraged to try different things, and depending on the sampling program, the brand manager can build brand loyalty by sampling products within their product line.

Telmark Packaging’s Ludwig says consumers like that sample sizes afford them the opportunity to “try before they buy.” In addition, he says, this form of packaging provides another important function—advertising. “Samples and travel-size packaging allow brand owners a relatively inexpensive method to have the end user try the product prior to purchase. There is a much higher percentage of consumers that purchase products they have tried than any other form of advertising or promotion. It also creates brand awareness. Reproducing the graphic look of the primary container on the sample package gives the consumer brand recognition. Samples that are mini-replicas of the full-size containers are among the highest percentages of sample-to-purchase ratio,” adds Ludwig.

Rexam’s Grassi notes that to the brand owner, today’s “mini-product” helps strengthen consumer brand loyalty by offering a “gift-with-purchase.” She says, “This gesture flatters the consumer.Of course, the mini-product is much more than a giveaway. It’s a brand-building tool that amplifies launch excitement, and encourages the consumer connection. Samples also enhance the trial, and that can perfectly capture the essence, or soul, of the full-sized retail product.Further, mini-products can energize mature brands or help brands reach a young, active demographic, through development of surprising and fun effects. For example, the fun Rexam Sof’Cell allows tweens to ‘wear’ their fragrance, as it easily attaches to the kids’ backpacks, belts, purses, cellphones and more.”

LF of America provides multiple variations in a strip of five.

“Sampling allows the consumer to experience the benefits of a product without making an initial investment. If a product is good, proper sampling will most definitely increase sales of such product,” adds Gentile. “This is the ultimate benefit for the brand owners. In the case of travel sizes, offering travel-sized packets of your product can help ensure that your customer won’t be trying other products while they are traveling. This also allows the consumer to feel ‘at home’ while on the road, which can be a major benefit to any traveling professional.”


What’s New?

Flexpaq offers a number of options in the category, and Gabilanes says that sachets, thermoforms, and rollerball packages for fragrance are most popular among its clients. “The sachet is the most flexible sampling option, allowing it to be easily adaptable to any distribution method—mail, special events, magazines, newspapers, etc. Thermoforms are being used especially for color, as clear laminates allow the client to showcase any number of colors along with an applicator. And the thermoform can then be inserted into a card, single fold, gatefold, any design needed to enhance the perceived value of the sample.

“Our rollerball package, with its lower profile rollerball fitment, versus the competition, offers an elegant way to sample fragrance or serum product,” Gabilanes says, adding that it enables a “focused application,” and is available in sizes starting at 2ml. “The 10ml rollerball package has morphed into a retail SKU, as some clients package it into a folding carton and sell it at retail. New packages include a snap cap rollerball package, which offers savings of up to 20% versus a conventional screw cap rollerball package.”

Flow Wrap from Orlandi is an example of upscale pouching for multi-product offerings.

Pablo Lopez, president of LF of America, Corp., Hollywood, FL, says his company’s most popular product in this category is its 2ml container in a strip of five. “They offer the right amount of entire face treatment product for single use. One of our larger clients uses these containers for a skin exfoliant used by professionals only during facials. Our other small packaging includes our Easysnap container and the Bachetta applicator system,” says Lopez, adding that the Easysnap is also convenient, as it requires only one hand to open. The Bachetta, he says, has five different applicators with a re-closeable top, and are available smooth, or have nodules, bristles or ridges.

Ken Kane, senior vice president, Orlandi, Farmingdale, NY, discusses his company’s array of sample-sized packaging. He says that the category today is much more focused, with smaller lots being produced in order to appeal to specific demographics. “Indiscriminate sampling is passé,” he says.

According to Kane, some of Orlandi’s more popular products in the sampling range include label products such as Oasis, a cosmetic “wet label” delivery system; IApply cosmetic applicator for blush, eyeshadow, lipstick and foundation; Flow Wrap, an upscale pouching for multi-product offerings, and the ColorKiss lipstick applicator. “Our products are designed for mass distribution or magazine insertion, and we also perform secondary pouch-packaging with up to three products per pouch,” he says.

Xela Pack takes into account the drive to become more eco-friendly with its newer products. Gentile says, “All Xela Packs are made with about 75% paper. The paper portion can be made using SFI certified virgin paper or 100% post consumer recycled paper. In the past, the SFI paper was most popular with our beauty customers, likely because it offered a smoother, shinier surface for graphics that is more similar to what was being used for retail products. Today, many of our biggest beauty products customers are choosing the Xela Pack constructed with post consumer recycled paper.”

Cost, Convenience and Green

Eco-friendly packaging is a major trend among all areas of beauty packaging, and the sampling and travel size arena is no exception. However, there are other prevailing themes.

“More and more, clients are looking for cost-effective, sophisticated sampling packages,” adds Jim Gabilanes. “Innovation continues to be key; however the cost and payback has become more of a focus as companies try to get the most for their investment. One other trend that has become more apparent is that clients recognize that sampling drives sales.”

Lopez also recognizes the economic and financial trends. “Small is big,” he says. “And this trend will last for a long time in light of the projected length of worldwide economic recovery. Sampling is the best way to get a beauty product to be tried and tested. This will always be a major force behind beauty marketing.” Also, he says, unit-dosing is on the rise in the U.S. market as it “allows less or no preservatives to be used, precision dosing and portability.”

Ludwig says another trend is the implementation of not just travel sizes, but also travel “kits.” This, he says, is a way of combining sampling and consumer convenience. “Many brand owners sell these kits as a convenient way to use the product. Consumers can try the product without having to spend the higher cost for the full-size products. Unlike giveaways and handouts, the brand owners can basically sample their products for no cost by selling travel sizes,” he says.

Grassi points to another trend, one she calls “nomadism,” in which consumers carry their favorite personal care products with them wherever they go: in the car, at the club, in the office, in the park.On-the-go consumers appreciate easily transported mini-products—exact versions of the full-sized retail products they have at home,” she says.

And of course, there’s “green.” Gentile says: “Beauty companies are trying to find a way to achieve and/or retain their luxury appeal while also being more eco-conscious as younger consumers are growing more aware of environmental concerns.Fortunately, as consumers progress with their knowledge of environmental concerns, they are growing less attached to overstated, oversized packages and more comfortable with simple, easy-to-use packaging choices that are more environmentally conscious.”