Do It Right the First Time

Penny-wise and pound-foolish has special meaning when choosing appropriate packaging for cosmetic and personal care products.

By Victor Suben, P. E.

n recent years many small companies have entered the cosmetics business. Greeted with initial success, these companies have expanded their lines going perhaps from color cosmetics to skin treatments, or vice-versa. Realizing that it takes a considerable amount of capital to manufacture and package their products, these companies usually rely on outside (contract) fillers to produce the finished goods.

Very often, the client company relies on the contract filler to not only make the batch, but to procure and fill the packages as well. Sometimes, it signs the contract filler to even drop ship the finished goods. While this hands-offs approach may seem to be a quick and easy way to get into the business of marketing personal care products, it does have pitfalls that could be very costly to the client company.

In some cases, the aesthetics of the package dictate not only its shape, but many times the type of materials that are to be used. For example, if a high gloss plastic package is required, then plastics such as polyethylene might be eliminated, even though it could well be the most suitable material for containing the product. Ignoring incompatibility with the selected material could result in a container that cracks or collapses.


If the design requires a very tall cap, manufacturing considerations might require that the inside of the cap have a sealing land at the top of the threads and the balance of the interior might have to be hollow. Occasionally, the sealing land is not wide enough to prevent leakage in transit, which could ruin all the packages in the shipping container.

These are just a few of the risks a company takes when it chooses to make aesthetic design the only consideration in selecting the specifications of the package. It can also be costly later if the retailer returns the finished goods due to a packaging defect, or when consumer complaints must be answered with either refunds or credits. Even if a dissatisfied consumer does not follow through with a formal complaint, every one who decides to discard the product and never buy the brand again is a loss of goodwill and potential sales.

Marketing companies with annual net sales in the high six to seven figure range will have their own packaging development groups that can review new product formulations and recommend appropriate packaging materials. In my experience with such firms, it was recognized that there might be unsuspected synergistic effects occurring as a result of the combination of all the ingredients. Package testing laboratories therefore were staffed and equipped to test the formulae with the recommended packaging material.

But what is a smaller company without such resources to do? One method of ensuring that there will not be an adverse reaction when the package is filled is to have some package testing performed. Some cosmetic and personal care companies are now sharing the burden of package testing with their suppliers. If the volume is high enough, a supplier may be willing to perform the testing at little or no additional cost. If a supplier is unable to perform any of the needed testing, engaging the services of an independent laboratory should be considered.

The cost of independent laboratory testing may seem extravagant, but not when weighed against the costs of a serious packaging mistake. The amount of money spent, coupled with the loss of potential sales usually far outweighs the costs of getting the project right in the first place. Reducing or eliminating the potential for problems in the marketplace is a truly cost effective means for successfully launching your new products.