Online Exclusive: The Big Push Toward Pump Closures
As consumers demand increased protection and precise product dosage, plastic dispensing closures may fade into the background.
by Dr. Benjamin Punchard

Pump closures are making inroads across the globe as consumers demand more from their beauty and

Dr. Benjamin Punchard

personal care packaging. The screw closure previously gave way to plastic dispensing closures on easy-to-use squeezable bottles and tubes offering one-hand application and no separate lid to lose. Now it’s the turn of pumps, in particular, lotion pumps, which also offer one-handed application, but also provide product dosage, an important attribute in these value-conscious times where wastage is not tolerated.

Pump closures already have high penetration in the core categories of fragrances and liquid soap, where pumps account for 80% and 79% of all closures respectively. As such, these categories will deliver by far the highest incremental unit gain in the years ahead, particularly in liquid soap where the switch from bar soap, and the drive from health scares such as swine flu, continue to provide drivers for sales growth.

Airless pump technology enables product manufacturers to deliver high preservation properties throughout the life of the product content with minimal use of preservatives. This fits with consumers’ increasing desire for products positioned as “natural,” “healthy” and “additive free.”

Nourishers/anti-agers is one product area where product efficacy is key and hence preservation of active ingredients is a key deliverable for both packaging and closure. As such, Euromonitor International expects pump closure use in this category to grow at a strong CAGR of 5% over 2010-2014 to reach 86 million units in 2014.

Airless pumps are also helping product manufacturers to customize product dispensing and again, offer a packaging solution perceived to be of a higher quality than simply a plastic dispensing closure or screw, for example through finer atomization in spray pumps, or dual dispensing airless pumps.

Sun care, where pumps currently represent 12% of closures or 83 million units globally, offers further opportunities. Spray pumps have performed very well in children’s sun care, enabling parents quick and

US and Brazil lead the way in the pump closure market. Source: Euromonitor International

even application of sun protection. Now they are increasingly also seen in adult sun care where a pump spray again provides even application and is suitable for modern clear sun protection formats that are less viscous in formulation and less likely to clog this closure format.

Dosing is similarly important in foundation/concealers where lotion pumps are now making an impact. A dosing pump gives the consumer a feeling of being in control of the amount of product used for a consistent appearance day in, day out.

Aside from premium demands, pump closures are expected to further benefit from a move towards economy and family sizes, with brands potentially switching from plastic dispensing closures to lotion pumps when introducing new, larger sizes.

These large sizes lend themselves to products often shared by the entire household, such as standard shampoo and body wash/shower gels. The use of bulk sizes appears to be a long term trend, with consumers increasingly prepared to accept large family formats in higher priced branded products, in addition to the private label and economy lines historically associated with family sized personal care packs. One recent launch that illustrates this trend is Imperial Leather shower gel in 750ml sized bottle (advertised as “New 100 wash size”) with a lotion pump in the UK.

With pump closures providing this wide range of benefits over the traditional screw cap, and the commonplace plastic dispensing closure, Euromonitor International predicts that pumps will increasingly erode the share of plastic dispensing closures in beauty and personal care packaging.