In its 21st year, HBA Global Expo once again united cosmetic packaging suppliers with industry attendees in three days forproduct development educational discussions and exhibits June 18-20 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Many of the suppliers were showcasing new packaging options.

The International Package Design Awards (IPDA) were a highlight of the show (see story on page 86 of this issue)—and the winners were on display at Beauty Packaging and Happi’s booth, as the two publications are the long-time sponsors of the annual competition.

An extensive list of expert speakers participated in the 50 different conference sessions that were on the schedule this year. A number of free seminars also drew visitors to the Trends Spot Theater, located on the show floor.

Jill Birkett, brand director, UBM, HBA Global, spoke to Beauty Packaging about one market trend she observed at the show this year: “Brands are ramping up their development plans and want to win market share with differentiating attributes and customized packaging that connects with consumers and creates brand loyalty. The strong attendance at the brand development, marketing and innovations-focused sessions in the HBA Global conference program underscored this market movement.”

The team at HBA Global also connected with visitors digitally, through its website and Facebook page. Birkett said, “Our online New Product Showcase highlighted new innovative packaging and finished products, and generated over 10,000 ‘likes’ from all over the world.”

Keynote Panel Focuses on Trends

Packaging trends were discussed at the keynote panel, which opened the show. The panel’s moderator was Jennifer Walsh, CEO of Behind the Brand Media.

During the discussion, panelist Carol Puttre-Czyz, director of purchasing at Clarins USA, mentioned how challenging it is to be “green” in the luxury market, saying, “You can’t wow the shopper at Bloomingdale’s with crunchy granola packaging.”

Clarins is looking at ways to reduce its carbon footprint, Puttre-Czyz added, saying that the brand has just repackaged its men’s line to eliminate its foil board.

Panelist Bob Bastedo, executive director of purchasing for Shiseido America, felt that it is a lot easier to be “green” now, since the costs of environmentally friendly packaging materials have come down in recent years.

Another factor contributing to lower packaging costs is recent advancements in printing technologies, according to panelist Ken Kearns, global practice lead-packaging at Procurian. Kearns said that one example of this is how the quality of flexo printing has improved.

When asked more about packaging trends for the future, Bastedo mentioned a new direction in which package design may be headed—converging with digital technologies, such as picture compacts with USB ports and iPhone cases with pans for makeup. A few companies have already done this, he said; “Maybe we’ll see more in the future.”

Conference Speakers Offer Insight

In addition to the keynote panel, expert speakers were featured in more than 50 different conference sessions, covering everything from product development to global regulations.

A few that were offered this year included the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Capstone Panels on Beauty in the Digital Age; as well as a seminar “starring” Jacqueline Laurita, of the reality series “Real Housewives of New Jersey” and founder of Altruistic Beauty.

Laurita, and her publicist, Suzanne Somers, co-founder of Skybox Industries, spoke about how social media, as well as becoming a reality television star, can elevate a brand’s presence to the point where a traditional press release is no longer relevant.

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) held a one-day program filled with conferences about the impact packaging plays at the retail level, as well as the challenges of short lead times. One of these sessions, “Optimize Packaging for the Web,” featured Jonathan Asher, executive vice president of Perception Research Services. Asher presents his insights in the “Expert’s View” column on BeautyPackaging.com, titled, “Even As Packaging Shifts Online—The Package Still Matters!”

A sold-out session that drew a large crowd was “Direct Response Opportunities: What does it take to get into DRTV? Is Innovation Enough?” featuring Dr. Nicholas Perricone, founder of Perricone MD; Jamie Kern Lima, co-founder and CEO, IT Cosmetics; and Jani Friedman, vice president of new brand development, Guthy Renker.

All have seen success with their products on shopping networks such as QVC, and shared their insights with the audience. Innovation is important, but a charismatic spokesperson and intriguing founding story are critical, experts say.

According to Friedman of Guthy Renker, 63% of the adult population buys products from television. But out of 146 beauty spots that launched in the U.S. since 2010, only 7% are “blockbusters,” with examples such as Wen and Meaningful Beauty.

Another seminar, “How to Build a Successful Brand,” was featured in the Trends Spot Theater and was given by Eve Pearl, celebrity makeup expert and founder of Eve Pearl Cosmetics. Pearl gave the audience valuable insight into the many packaging challenges she faced as a new brand—and how others can avoid making the same mistakes.

One tip Pearl emphasized to the audience was to ask suppliers a lot of questions—and customize your package whenever possible, because it will improve the experience of using the product. One example of a useful customizable option, Pearl noted, is to change the pan size in a compact, or the number of pans, to suit your product’s needs.

Kara Natural Products, a new bath and body line from Peru, was in the Splash! pavilion.

Meeting New Brands

The Splash! pavilion featured new beauty brands hoping to make some valuable connections and gain exposure.

Kara Natural Products was a new bath and body brand from Peru that was exhibiting. Kara means skin in the ancient language of the Incas, the brand’s founder explained to visitors. The packaging features colorful labels with photos of the natural ingredients used in the products.

Another brand exhibiting in the Splash! pavilion was 3 Sisters Restorasis, which was showing its skin care “regeneration system.” The brand’s cream is formulated to penetrate the skin’s cell walls, according to the brand’s representatives. The product is housed in a double-wall airless bottle.

Another skin care brand, Resvology, was a favorite among visitors. The brand won two “People’s Choice” awards, which were voted on by attendees (see sidebar).

Airless bottles in Fusion Packaging’s new Lift Collection are decorated in Pantone’s 2013 trend colors.

Suppliers Showcase Innovations

Suppliers were showing a large variety of packaging options, including many which were available as stock items.

The selection of airless packages for skin care was especially plentiful. Cospack America featured its airless bottles, available as stock packages, many of which had sleek, matte silver finishes ideal for prestige brands.

Fusion Packaging was showing its new Lift collection at the show, which includes airless bottles in 10 different sizes—ranging from 5- to 100ml. The supplier also offers decorating capabilities.

Another airless option was Nest Filler’s “airless beauty syringe.” It has a unique look. The user pulls off the cap by tugging at the O-shaped ring, then pushes down to dispense a product through the syringe tip. This package would make it simple to precisely apply a product such as a wrinkle serum.

3C Inc.’s pens were popular among visitors.

3C Inc. was highlighting its extensive line of double-wall spray bottles and matching jars. Its eyeliner pens, which are available in six different designs with a soft brush or nylon tip, were also popular among visitors.

At Arrowpak/Baralan’s booth, a collection of double-wall circular-shaped bottles with square caps was one of the many on display.

Olcott Plastics was showcasing its attractive heavy-wall jars in various sizes.

Since nail polish packaging has been in high demand, PinkPac Co. developed a new collection. Its nail polish bottles are designed specifically for gel formulations, and can be customized. The bottles are decorated with a special coating that will prevent the lacquer from being exposed to UV light and curing inside the bottle.

One of the collections Arrowpak/Baralan was featuring at the show; the circular bottles are customizable, and can be decorated in any

Tubes were on display at several booths, including Viva Healthcare. The supplier was showing the superior photo quality achieved on its injection molded tubes and in-mold labels.

Anisa International’s Retractable Lip Glider is available as a single or double-sided tool.

Express Tubes featured its new Twist Click cap for tubes, but the supplier was showing its many options for bottles—including unique decorating capabilities. The bottles on display featured a combination of embossing and debossing for a unique look.

In sampling options, Xela Pack was showing its eco-friendly “xela packs,” which are ideal for travel-sized products.

At Anisa International, founder-president Anisa Telwar showed Beauty Packaging several of the new innovative brush heads and tools they were introducing at the show. But Telwar also wanted to get a message across about industry support and the necessity to network and exchange information. “It’s a strong industry,” said Telwar. “We need each other, no matter what category.” Telwar said this is why she’s always enjoyed participating at HBA. In addition, it’s an ideal opportunity for the customers to get educated, she stressed, adding that that was Anisa International’s intent at the show.

Xela Pack’s “xela pack” is eco-friendly and ideal for sampling, trial size, or travel size packages.color.

ABA Packaging was at the show with a wide range of packaging options. One especially cool product—the Promens Trio—is a sampling item developed with the hotel amenities industry in mind. Three sample size bottles snap together for a perfect cluster ideal for shampoo, conditioner and body wash—or any combination of choice. It would also work great as a retail travel pack. (Promens Personal Care Packaging is represented exclusively in the U.S. by ABA Packaging.)

Since more single-use products are now being sold at retail, Unicep has expanded its offerings and was showing visitors its new secondary packaging options, in addition to its single-use swab applicators.

At the YonWoo/PKG Group’s booth, the supplier’s IPDA trophy was on display. YonWoo won for creating the packaging for the Artistry Intensive Skincare 14 Night Restore Program, by Amway.

Executives from YonWoo/PKG Group proudly hold the trophy presented to them at the International Package Design Awards (IPDA).

In addition to the packaging suppliers at the show, other types of suppliers were featuring design, printing, software and labeling solutions.

Esko is one supplier that offers useful package design and labeling software solutions, and has recently been expanding into the beauty industry. One of its newest products, called Studio Visualizer, features the supplier’s patented print modeling technology. It has the ability to simulate finishing and printing operations, one by one, in the correct order and on the right substrate.

Using this tool allows a designer to know for sure whether or not a design is technically feasible, but it can also show how a design will look on all types of different luxe packaging materials, using different decorating techniques and printed effects.

Splash! and People’s Choice Winners Visitors to HBA Global Expo and its Facebook fans were asked to vote in the People’s Choice awards. The HBA community chose the following winners: The People’s Choice Best of Splash! 2013 winners were: The Beauty Company (Kumiko sponges) and Resvology. The HBA Global’s People’s Choice winners, in the Finished Product category, were: Age Corrective Eye Cream and Age Corrective Wrinkle Treatment by Resvology; and Anti-Aging SPF Moisturizer by Twinluxe LLC. The HBA Global’s People’s Choice winners, in the Packaging category, were: double wall spray bottles with matching jars and eyeliner pens, both by 3C Inc.; and a cosmetic sponge tube by Guangzhou Ouxinmay Packaging Company. The IPDA Awards (see page 86) also had a People’s Choice winner: Beauty Red by Esika.

Highlights from HBA Global 2013

HLP Klearfold

Royal Labs Natural Cosmetics

Unicep

Baralan USA

Olcott Plastics

Cospack America Corp.

ITW Foils

CoValence

Highlighted in New York City’s Times Square: Beauty Packaging’s publisher Jay Gorga, with publicist and HBA Global’s Trends Spot Theater presenter Suzanne Summers of Skybox Industries; celebrity presenter Jacqueline Laurita, star of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” and founder of Altruistic Beauty, and Jill Birkett, brand director, HBA Global Expo.

Diamond Wipes

Badger Color Cosmetics

Alpha Packaging