Here Comes the Sun

Sunbow’s kid-friendly packaging features Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants.

With consumer awareness growing, the sun care market is getting more sophisticated,
and packaging suppliers are keeping pace with dispensers everyone can count on.

Written by Steve Katz, Associate Editor

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in over two million people are diagnosed annually, and one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime. Over the past 31 years, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.—The Skin Cancer Foundation

The above facts and figures might seem staggering, and they are certainly sobering. Organizations like the Skin Cancer Foundation are doing their part to educate the public, and as consumers become more aware, the sun care market grows. Hence, the marketing and packaging of sun protection products have become increasingly critical for brands.

When it comes to the cautionary advice associated with sun exposure, consumers are apparently listening. Mintel reports that the sun protection and sunless tanning market has increased by nearly 50% since 2005 through FDMx outlets (food, drug, mass excluding Walmart), and was worth $701 million in 2010. “A focus on ‘ultra’ and ‘sport’ protection, including SPF protection levels of 100+, has driven an increase of $77 million from 2009 to 2010,” the firm reports.

Packaging for the sun care market requires a delicate balance, and also a range of different branding and packaging concepts. Lazy days at the beach and pool are classic summertime rituals where worried parents are constantly fussing with their children about sunscreen application. Here, packaging that’s fun and attractive for kids can be a big selling point. And adults have their own relationship with the sun—many want to be tan. The reality is, environmental factors such as a thinning ozone atmospheric layer, in combination with the Western societal beauty ideal of tanned skin, has created a very dangerous sun worshipping lifestyle.

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to sun care packaging, so it’s vital for marketers to become multidimensional. And brand owners have at their disposal lots of new, innovative concepts and technologies to get their products in the hands of the consumers—and then to the beach, pool and playground.

Not So Simple

“The sun care market presents unique challenges, and great marketplace opportunities for brand owners and packaging suppliers,” states Virginie Lemeunier, product manager-lotion, for Rexam. “Consumer awareness of the damaging effects of the sun has led brand owners to develop better and more advanced formulations,” she says.

Coty’s Lancaster brand features an airless dispenser paired with Rexam’s SP343 lotion pump.

Lemeunier points out that the higher the SPF, the more viscous the formula and the greater the challenge to dispense it effectively. “Sun care packaging must dispense flawlessly, and still have the ergonomic appeal and end-user benefits to build brands and encourage trial and repeat purchase. The technology to easily dispense thick SPF formulas must be in place and the package has to be easy to use, so that the application is convenient. The consumer is at leisure, and wants to be able to depend upon the product—via the packaging—to dispense the formula cleanly, evenly, precisely, with complete evacuation, and with a 360-degree application,” she says.

Sun care products often have to travel well. They’re applied at the beach and the pool, and also accompany travelers on planes and in cars. These products need to be secure—no one wants a mess at the bottom of their bag.

Serene Seebol, Cosmogen’s North American sales director, says, “It needs to be easy to travel with, easy to apply, ensure a uniform application, and the packaging should not allow for any foreign objects, such as sand, to get into the package. The sun care category has been using the same packaging without matching the consumers’ expectations. One of the issues consumers have with sun care is that they want to keep their hands clean of the lotion, and if you look at the majority of the packaging that is on shelf today, it is either a tube or a bottle which does not meet their expectations,” she says.

To meet the “clean hands” expectations when applying sun care products, Cosmogen offers options, such as the Squeeze Range, with its Squeeze’n Tint. It is a brush mounted on a tube for easy and even application. Seebol says, “The second item in our Squeeze Range is our Squeeze’n Puff that has a flocked foam material mounted to the tube. What makes these items ideal for sun care is that we can develop a co-ex tube that will be compatible for the SPF formula; it has an upside down application for uniform results, and our patented on/off closure prevents leakage or the ability for foreign matter to get into the product,” Seebol says, adding that the Squeeze’n Tint was Sephora Europe’s choice for its sun care brand the last two years.

Sun care products are chemically aggressive and can be very difficult to package over longer periods of time. “The biggest challenge is maintaining package performance over the shelf-life of the product,” says Karen Reagan, personal care commercial business manager, Amcor Flexibles. The company offers two key products for use in the sun care market—the RFA-022 and RFR-034. “These products are leaders in the industry with regard to maintaining performance over the shelf life of the product. RFA-022 is targeted for the bag-on-valve applications and RFR-034 is targeted for sachet applications.

“Our high performance barrier laminations have made inroads into the flexible packaging market, offering the superior burst and chemical resistance needed to package sun care products and other chemically aggressive products,” Reagan says.

SPF Spraying

In the sun care market, a requirement is the successful handling of high SPF formulations. The growing trend toward increased SPF formulations has packaging suppliers creating product lines accordingly.

“The SPF formula is always going to create a challenge when developing a package for sun care due to its strong chemical content,” Cosmogen’s Seebol says. “When developing a tube for a sun care product, we will always have to use a multi-layer, co-ex tube, so that there is not leakage from the SPF chemical.”

Neutrogena’s new sun care line utilizes Aptar’s Bag on Valve System and Moritz actuator for 360 degree continuous spray and hoodless convenience.

Casper Kleiman, Rexam’s product manager-foam, notices an increase in the use of sprays, as well as combinations of different technologies. The use of sprays, he says, is “logical when you think of the easy application and great coverage. And, for after-sun usage, we see a trend towards use of mechanical foamers, which produce gentle, soothing foam that feels great after a day in the sun. Plus, it is easy to apply, has even coverage and doesn’t spill,” he says.

Kleiman also points out that, in addition, Rexam’s Turbo Insert boosts sprayed application of lotions as high as 100-times the viscosity of water, which makes it perfect for the sun care market. “It is used in combination with dispenser tubes, and is available with both lotion and spray pumps. The Turbo Insert works great with our SP22 and 32 emulsion pumps, which brand owners like because of their precise and even spray and the variety of attachment systems,” he says.

MWV is another supplier that is seeing inroads made in sprayers, specifically inverted sprayers. “Inverted sprayers for sun care have been in Europe for quite some time, but they are finally growing beyond niche applications in North America,” says Earl Trout, MWV’s director of marketing for beauty and personal care. “Inverted sprayers, such as MWV’s Mini-Trigger allow consumers to easily spray their favorite sun care product, including in upside-down or laying-down positions. The integrated lock on Mini-Trigger also helps consumers looking for less mess and on-the-go portability, providing a better all-around brand experience,”Trout says.

Airless and Aerosol

Many suppliers of sun care packaging are noting a common theme—a move toward airless technology and aerosol products.

Rexam’s Lemeunier points out that in the past, product was typically dispensed in squeeze bottles. “Today,” she says, “with the advent of complex SPF formulations, we’re seeing a rapid advance in the use of airless dispenser tubes. These are pre-assembled and shipped to the customer as a single pump and tube, for simplified high-speed filling,” she says.

Rexam’s airless dispensers paired with its SP343 lotion pump are a great way to protect advanced formulations and build brands in the sun care space, Lemeunier adds. “Coty’s Lancaster brand recently introduced two formulations with this combination. The pump is very smooth and can handle higher viscosity. They offer an enhanced consumer experience, in terms of function and aesthetics, versus a regular tube.”

Sun care is for hair, too—such as with Ouidad’s Sun Shield Spray.

Terence Sweeney, director of sales for Mega Pumps, also emphasizes the importance of ingredient protection. He says, “Airless dispensers offer particularly good product protection, and because they protect the formula from exposure to air, formulations can be made with little or no preservatives.” Mega Pumps’ standard offering in package sizes from 15- to 200ml covers a wide range of sun care product possibilities. “Our self-sealing actuator is particularly well suited for extra product protection, and offers a good solution for a package that can travel well, helping to prevent leakage into the consumer’s purse or travel bag. Also, Mega Pumps airless dispensers are convenient to use. The consumer can dispense in any position, unlike a dip tube pump or a sprayer—where the consumer can only dispense when the package is right-side-up,” Sweeney says.

MWV’s Trout points out that while, traditionally, tubes have been the mainstay for the sun care industry in the U.S., formulations are evolving to greater sophistication, as is the packaging. “Consumer experience has become a major focus for the sun care industry, which is driving shifts to more consumer-friendly packaging such as inverted sprayers, airless systems, and, of course, the huge growth in aerosol,” he says.

“Aerosols in sun care have been a massive change to this market,” Trout adds. “Like any fast growth category, the packaging decisions have been tied strongly to product performance and speed-to-market. If you look to other growth aerosol markets such as air care or body spray, you will see brand owners differentiate their products by projecting brand personality in custom cans and actuators. Sun care is heading in this same direction.”

Branding Strategies

Like any competitive market, competition among brands is fierce and any edge to stand out on shelf is paramount.

Michael Yankaus of JSN promotions emphasizes that on the crowded sun care shelf, color is critical. “JSN specializes in producing plastic squeeze tube packaging with a precise matching of custom Pantone colors—in gloss, matte, pearlescent, and metallic finishes—to help sun care companies realize their most unique, and attention-grabbing packaging aims.

“The sun care industry has become highly competitive in recent years, both in terms of a broader emphasis on natural products, and more natural packaging colors,” Yankaus says. “And at the other end of the scale, there’s been an emergence of ultra high-end tanning, spa products that utilize very playful tube colors and designs featuring creative foil and hot-stamp applications. JSN offers all these tube manufacturing and decorating services domestically, at our facility in southern California—thus saving customers the concerns often associated with offshore suppliers.”

Making sun care products kid-friendly is another effective strategy, as they often don’t have a choice when parents insist that their kids have sun protection. An example of kid-friendly packaging is Sunbow, where each product features a kid-favorite Nickelodeon character, including Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants, and goes on initially in a color, designed so kids can enjoy the application.

Kiss My Face is another good example. It applies and stays on pink for safe outdoor fun. And the sunscreen stick also includes a cap that is easy to clip on to backpacks and other outdoor gear.

A broad target audience, and the ability to infuse a fun-in-the-sun attitude, opens up a wide range of marketing possibilities. In April, Sephora and The Skin Cancer Foundation unveiled the fifth edition of the Sun Safety Kit. Sephora says the annual partnership in sun protection is one of its most popular kits. The collection features SPF products where 100% of the net profits benefit The Skin Cancer Foundation.

“Today’s beauty products offer effective sun protection in lightweight and targeted formulations, so now there’s no excuse to skip the SPF,” says Melanie McGuire, Sephora’s VP of education. This year’s kit also comes with a bonus travel and beach-friendly tote bag and a Sun Safety Tip Card featuring The Skin Cancer Foundation’s prevention guidelines, thus ensuring a fun—and skin-safe—summer for everyone.