At the first edition of ADF & PCD to be held in New York, Henry Renella, Senior VP Global Package Development, for The Estee Lauder Companies (and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors), chaired the opening PCD session, titled “Beauty and Makeup Enhancement: The Packaging Innovation Hub.” The co-chair was Hae Chang Gea, Professor, Director and program chair of the Packaging Engineering Program at Rutgers. Additional speakers included several suppliers.

Renella’s remarks were very telling of the current state of the beauty industry in general.

He commented on how the industry is changing very rapidly. “Never before have we seen anything like it,” he said.

In Prestige, he noted: “The whole category is turning upside down.” He explained that it used to be that if a brand couldn’t get into a department store, “that was it.” Fast forward and he says, “Now you need basically just a dollar and a dream. You need an idea, a game plan and a supplier to get into the business.”

Renella said they “feel the pressure every day to delight and innovate for customers.”

He also addressed the change in consumers’ purchasing habits. “Consumers shop differently now,” he said. “They just press a button and buy.”

“Bloggers have tremendous influence and are much more knowledgeable than ever before,” said Renella, adding, “that can be a blessing or a curse.”