Ask almost anyone in the beauty industry and they’re likely to say that things have changed more in the past few years than in the past few decades. Perhaps No. 1 is an aggressive trend by brands large and small, Indie to Legacy, of moving large portions of product development to full-service providers; outsourcing what was previously carried out by multiple specialists, from design to formulation, filling to packaging, even distribution—to “one-stop shop” solution providers. Thus, many of these companies have been driven to become experts in the whole Beauty supply chain, with packaging experts providing design and formulations; and formulators offering packaging options and more.

Much of the change is linked to the Internet, digital sales and the requirement for speed to market. A product is only new for a short time, and brands have to keep launching at a furious pace to stay vibrant and current.

Along with these pressures comes the necessity for Innovation—both in packaging, formulation and functionality, as you’ll see in this month’s Innovative Packaging feature. Here, you’ll also read about how “ethical consumerism” is a growing part of today’s innovation efforts. Not only in sustainable packaging and clean formulations, but in consumers asking more of beauty brands in general—for instance, to create communities of like-minded people.

Italian Beauty with Benefits

This month’s issue of Beauty Packaging contains a special supplement on Italian Beauty and suppliers, many of which offer full-service options and specify a number of the benefits mentioned above.

For instance, Orietta Riccaboni, director of sales and marketing, Mascara Plus, says: “Our main target is to react as quickly as possible to customers’ demands; speed in time-to-market in projects’ development is giving a significant competitive edge nowadays. Our strength is to be able to offer a wide range of solutions, first of all a full-service offer: from R&D development, to packaging selection and personalization up to bulk production, and filling and assembly.” 

It’s a tall order, but many of these Italian companies—as well as numerous players in the U.S. and elsewhere, full-service and otherwise—are benefiting greatly from the growth and  development of the global makeup market.

We hope you enjoy this issue,
Jamie Matusow, Editor-in-Chief