Welcome to Beauty Packaging’s October/November issue, with our annual report on the Top 20 Global Beauty Companies)—our hands-down most popular story every year. This look at 2020-21 may have been the most fascinating yet, due to Covid-19 disruptions around the world—and the relative shutdowns of two of Beauty’s most lucrative segments: Brick-and-Mortar and Travel Retail. Fortunately, corporate and consumer fortitude and resilience, and a swift ramp-up to e-commerce—along with innovative and progressive IT—saved the day, as consumers turned to online shopping with a vengeance. Even as traditional retail opens up again, both e-commerce and m-commerce are stronger than ever, allowing brands to reach far and wide to connect with consumers around the globe—a trend that’s sure to keep on growing.

While some global brands on our list rose in net sales, others faltered or turned to creative means to boost their bottom lines. It’s been inspiring to learn about the many strategies put into effect—all while simultaneously pursuing 2025 goals for CSR and sustainable packaging.

Cosmoprof NA and MakeUp in NewYork—the first two B2B Beauty in-person events to reappear in the U.S. after a long Covid-related hiatus—also had an emphasis on sustainability, as seemingly everything now takes this mandate into utmost consideration. And brands are more reliant than ever on suppliers’ advice and solutions.

In fact, companies on all levels are increasingly working together to achieve impactful sustainability goals. In September, five global leaders on our Top 20 list—Henkel, L’Oréal, LVMH, Natura &Co and Unilever—announced they are developing an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetics products. The goal is to co-design an approach that is brand-agnostic, and which provides consumers with clear, transparent and comparable environmental impact information, based on a common science-based methodology. They are inviting other cosmetic companies to join them in this pursuit.

And just as Beauty has surpassed boundaries, so too, have Indie norms. Unicorn icon Glossier ran a 24-page full-size supplement in the September 26, Sunday New York Times for their latest launch—first-time eye palettes.

“Monochromes” eye shadow trios are packaged in refillable, reusable, recyclable tin compacts. Sephora top-seller Ilia also ran a full-page ad in The Times.

We hope you enjoy this issue—and thanks for traveling with us on this Beauty Without Borders path to the future. BP’s publisher, Jay Gorga, and I hope to see you in-person soon!