With the plethora of reality TV shows and films depicting life as the real “reel,” we are now designing packaging for a consumer who no longer desires glamour as an escape, but feels so much better if she sees her favorite TV star’s life as a train wreck. Last summer’s film “Tammy” is a perfect example. Melissa McCarthy, an XXXL sized actress whose life turns to crap, tried to rebuild it with the help of her drunken nympho mother. What could be more inspiring or aspiring?  Eau de Tammy is just around the corner. With universally terrible reviews, millions of women flocked to see it. TV shows like “Celebrity Wife Swap” and “The Biggest Loser” empower women to feel thinner or more secure by contrast. Can fragrances from the housewives of Kansas City be far behind?

According to Karen Young, CEO of the Young Group, modern culture is moving consumer products in myriad directions. Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel couture show for Fall 2014 featured models in a supermarket setting wearing clothes that ran the gamut, paired with running shoes. What better way to depict today’s modern woman! Briefcases are being traded for backpacks and we’re all showing up for work in clothes we’ll do yoga in later. Pajamas as outerwear, evening gowns with pockets and neoprene wedding dresses complete the story.

So while our concept of luxury and aspiration may be taking a more “realistic” turn, it’s clearly part of the evolution. Environmental responsibility is the cost of entry today in every industry. It starts with product concept and design. Consumers expect it and our planet deserves it.

This marks a turning point in fragrance packaging.  The old school concept of creating fragrances that imply sensuality, aspiration and romance, with packaging to match, have switched to smelling clean and fresh, with humor as an appeal by way of bottles topped with bumblebees or daisies. Bottles that were formerly designed to be glamorous for vanity table display are now fashioned like bombs for the bathroom shelf.

But ‘Reality Packaging’ is also about being green and this is a good thing. Our reality is about saving our planet and consumers want to tap into this reality as well. Having hidden our heads in the sand for decades regarding biodegradable packaging, this generation is insistent that they want good looking bottles, jars and boxes, but they need to be ecologically appropriate.

Mitchell Kaneff, CEO of Arkay Packaging, believes the trend towards ecologically sound and environmentally responsible packaging is here to stay. “At Arkay,” Kaneff states, “we are finding that increasingly more clients are requesting unique printing techniques in order to give consumers an ‘X-Plus’ factor to meet design innovations that are also recyclable and ecologically responsible. For instance, the Christmas carton we created for Bobbi Brown accomplishes this by using environmentally friendly board containing 50% PCW. As Arkay is affiliated with and certified by SFI and FSC, we care about using groundbreaking, eco-friendly technologies while still creating fashionable and eye-catching cartons for our customers.”

So reality packaging needs to contain the product, be innovative but not frivolous. Underscore the consumer’s reality about the product efficacy, look good and be green. It’s a tall order for a little package.  

Designers take heed!

About the Author

Internationally acclaimed designer—and seven-time FiFi award winner—Marc Rosen is known for his fragrance, cosmetic and fashion packaging. He is also a professor (Package Design Workshop) at Pratt Institute Graduate School. Marc conceived and authored Glamour Icons: Perfume Bottle Design (Antique Collectors’ Club, 2011). All proceeds from the book—and from the Art of Packaging Award Gala he runs—benefit the Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design at Pratt. Marc is also a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors.