Eco on Display

From ingredients to packaging to point of sale, this company communicates the environmentally friendly message it’s all about.

To make eco-friendly consumers aware of its efforts, Kiss My Face provides the following explanation right on the display: “Because you care, this display is planet friendly. To minimize waste and maximize recycled and sustainable resources, all corrugated components are from minimum 90% recycled materials. Graphics are printed with non-polluting water solvent inks. Steel parts are made from 70% recycled material and powder coating on metal parts use non-VOC materials that eliminate airborne pollutants.Wood components are biodegradable and treated with an environmentally safe lacquer.”

Kiss My Face, a company that has been committed to creating natural products since its inception in the early 1980s, is taking its eco-consciousness to a new level, with Greenhouse, an in-store point of purchase display that is not only recyclable, but made from recycled materials—down to its nuts, bolts and lacquers.

The Gardiner, NY, firm worked with LG&P In-Store Agency, Paramus, NJ, to create eco-friendly display racks made from the highest level of recycled materials possible. Sourcing recycled materials strong enough to support Kiss My Face products proved difficult and expensive, but the company was committed and, by gathering materials from various sources, the project reached completion.

Retailers such as Wegmans and select Borders have committed to using the Greenhouse display, and Kiss My Face looks to expand distribution to additional retailers.

Lewis Goldstein, vice president marketing for Kiss My Face recently spoke to Beauty Packaging about the trials and tribulations of this project—and why it meant so much to the company.

BP: What was the motivation to create this display?
KMF: To create a primary or secondary display for retailers that enhances their store’s appearance while communicating the essence of the Kiss My Face brand to sell product. In the end, it is always about selling more product, but how you do it is the key to being true to your brand. By making it environmentally friendly in every way that is possible with today’s manufacturing capabilities, we are reinforcing our commitment as a company to work toward preserving our planet and doing what is important for our retailers and consumers. Kiss My Face has always been militant about making products that are as natural and organic as can be while still working. So this is the natural extension of the mission that Bob and Steve [Bob MacLeod and Steve Byckiewicz], our founders, started over 25 years ago.

BP: Will consumers be made aware of its eco-friendly nature?
KMF: We are at an important point in the movement to conserve and recycle and it is vital that we communicate and educate about what can be done and what consumers can demand from the companies they buy from. The eco-friendly nature of the display is a key selling point to retailers when they are deciding which company’s display they will put on their floor. We have both our mission as a company and the specifics of how the display was manufactured clearly positioned for the consumer to read at the top of the rack.

BP: How does the cost compare to previous displays used? Will eco-friendly displays replace all Kiss My Face displays?
KMF: The cost to Kiss My Face is about 30-40% more than previous racks because in many cases, recycled materials are more expensive than virgin. The process to design and source this was also much more time consuming and difficult because manufacturers have to do more work to find recycled and sustainable materials. This is new for them. When more companies demand recycled content, the price should go down, but we are a long way from that. Our goal as a company is to have all displays be made from 100% recycled content and be recyclable after their use. This isn’t always possible today because some materials are not available in recycled materials and also because 100% recycled materials may not yet offer the strength that a display needs. In those cases, we use as much content as we can and still provide retailers with a tool that will accomplish its goal at store level.

BP: What has response been?
KMF: Retailers have been very receptive and excited that we are taking a lead in this area. Whole Foods in particular had a number of their key partners to their headquarters in Austin earlier in 2008 to discuss bringing recycled content and environmentally friendly practices to packaging and this is one step further.

BP: What were the particular challenges encountered and how were they overcome?
KMF: The challenges were: (1) making sure the recycled materials, especially the metal, would be as strong as virgin metals; (2) pushing the factories to use the greatest amount of recycled content as possible; (3) bringing the cost in at a level that could make it affordable; and (4) making sure paints, lacquers and other coatings are environmentally friendly.

BP: Do you think this will mark a new trend in POS?
KMF: I believe this will be the future. But it will probably start in the natural world before extending into the conventional market. The challenges will be educating and converting manufacturers to make this option available. Manufacturers that are educated on environmentally friendly components are few and far between today.

BP: Does this display hold particular products—or can new launches be placed?
KMF: This display was made to hold every format of product we make, but is meant to be customized to a particular retailer’s needs.

BP: What effect might this display have on the market?
KMF: We worked long and hard [with LG&P] to figure out what was possible and then convince the manufacturer to do it. This is only the beginning of using new sustainable and environmentally friendly materials and I hope that we will be able to educate consumers on what is possible with different materials while providing our retailers with attractive displays that may encourage people to think outside of the box.