Gift Set Packaging Shines

Packaging suppliers have been hard at work creating this year’s all-important holiday gift sets, which many brands rely on to boost their annual bottom line.

These Matrix gift sets from Diamond Packaging feature custom gold glitter and pearl-coated paperboard.

Written by Steve Katz, Associate Editor

Tis the season. It’s widely known that the majority of the year’s shopping dollars are spent during the holiday season. And retailers and brand owners know this, of course, and they also know that creating an engaging, attractive collection of products—the gift set—is critical to success.

But it’s also well known that the recent past has been tough on retail. However, this year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects holiday sales to rise 2.3% over last year to $447.1 billion, the biggest increase in three years. The International Council of Shopping Centers also recently released its forecast, predicting an increase in sales during the 2010 holiday shopping season of 3-3.5%.

“While consumers have shown they are once again willing to spend on what’s important to them, they will still be very conscious about price,” notes Jack Kleinhenz, NRF’s chief economist. “Retailers are expected to compensate for this fundamental shift in shopper mentality by offering significant promotions throughout the holiday season and emphasizing value throughout their marketing efforts.”

And there’s certainly value in gift sets, where it’s implied that the consumer is getting several products with one purchase. And with beauty brands clamoring for the consumer’s attention on store shelves, effective gift set packaging is crucial.

So, how does a brand differentiate its gift set from the others? There’s a lot to consider, apart from value. From a retailing and packaging perspective, designers and brand owners must focus on aesthetics, branding, product combinations, price points and timing.

“Traditionally, gift sets were conceived to drive sales at the counter by offering the consumer a better value by purchasing the set, rather than the items individually,” says Scott Kestenbaum, VP of sales and marketing, Maesa Group. But the gift set has become a lot more than a good deal. “In recent years, they have evolved to become an integral part of the brand marketers’ toolkit,” he says. “Gift sets are used to gain the attention of and introduce consumers to a new brand, and are used as educational devices, grouping together products that complement each other. They can also be used to infuse a beauty brand with seasonal trends and to decorate and enliven the merchandising environment,” Kestenbaum explains.

Mix and Match

Having the right mix of products in conjunction with the right price, is key to gift set success, notes Claude Desmarais, VP business development for Bellwyck Packaging Solutions. He says that fragrances have been the “preferred” gift set SKU, and are often offered with a matching product such as a deodorant or facial balm (for a men’s set), while for women, with an atomizer or purse size fragrance. However, gift sets are also used for many product commodities such as bath products like salts, soaps and loofahs.

Chicago Paper Tube & Can Company’s round packaging provides its customers with shapely differentiation.

“We have also seen many color cosmetic kits coming to market with a color story and/or a complete makeover regimen,” says Desmarais. “It is really up to the creative marketing team to come up with neat gift ideas that will be cost-sensitive and attractive.”

John Dudlak, owner of Chicago Paper Tube & Can Company, points out that a recent trend has been brands packaging multiple varieties of gifts sets. “Each gift set contains a signature product common to each set, and is differentiated by other products within the brand. The gift set allows brands to launch new products to consumers who may be purchasing based upon their knowledge of the signature product,” says Dudlak. “The gift set gives consumers the product they know and love, and also gives them a chance to try a new product, which may lead them to attach themselves to more of the brand’s products.”

Stephen Frey, senior VP, Disc, agrees that gift sets are a great way to introduce consumers to products that perhaps they wouldn’t normally purchase. “A combination of products from a line is a great way to go. By that, I mean, perhaps a fragrance, a spray and a skin care application–creating a ‘sampler’ that either introduces the consumer to a line or allows the consumer to experience extensions of a line that they may not be familiar with.” Frey says that most beauty products are a good fit for gift sets. “I think skin care products can do particularly well due to the fact that most consumers feel comfortable giving a gift that they feel will be used and appreciated by the person receiving it,” Frey says.

Travel-sized products that promote portability have recently become popular gift set items, notes Sylvie Darensbourg, North America market development manager of Gift + Promotion, Aptar. “With air travel restrictions in full force, smaller packages are becoming the answer to traveling with your favorite fragrance or lotion in tow. Also, the younger demographic is requesting portability as an answer to today’s ‘on-the-go’ trend. Consumers want to adapt their fragrance to their feeling; small countenance is offering the possibility of changing more often,” she says.

To meet the gift set demands of its customers, Darensbourg emphasizes that Aptar’s Stilo and Teleglass have been very popular. Both can be customized by silkscreen decoration, or made more luxurious with metallization (pump and cap in the case of Stilo). Stilo presents the added advantage of being refillable. “This year,” says Darensbourg, “we are launching Travel Spray, also with many high-end finishes (metallization, lacquering, silkscreen), to answer brands’ request for branded ‘atomizers.’ “The Travel Spray can also be sold or offered as a gift with purchase.

Window Shopping

The beauty products buying experience is a visual one, and gift set buying is no different, despite the fact that there are more products—and packaging components—involved. A trend that has clearly emerged (pun intended) is the use of a “window” or some sort of transparent feature to let the customers see just what they’re getting.

Pierre-Yves Azuelos, president of Dapy USA, says when Dapy puts together a gift set, it’s necessary for the product itself to be seen. “We often need at least a portion of the package to be transparent,” he says, adding, “this way, the product is beautified by the box; the gift set provides a beautiful secondary package, serving as a means to highlight the product.” Azuelos says the packaging adds value to the product, offering a better and attractive visual to the brands and a gift to the customer.

Maesa’s Kestenbaum says the window trend is being driven mostly by the demands of retailers, and “we are seeing an increasing amount of self-merchandising gift sets—in which the products are fully visible to the consumer,” he says. “This style of box, usually created through PET windows, sleeves, or dust covers are great in that they allow the products to speak for themselves.”

It’s in the best interest of retailers to protect these products, and being able to see the showcased product goes a long way in protecting the item. A window’s function here is twofold, providing protection from theft as well as alerting the retailer of possible damage.

“The package needs to catch the consumer’s eye while showing its content, like through a window, so that the risk of it being opened and/or damaged is reduced,” says Bellwyck’s Desmarais. “Bellwyck offers customers a ‘pilfer deterrent’ process that will help reduce the amount of damaged goods returned from the retailers.”

Raising the Bar

While in many ways gift sets are quite different from their standalone product counterparts, the skills and concepts that go into the packaging are very much the same—creative and eye-catching graphics and effects that generate shelf appeal.

The window feature on this Kat Von D gift set from Maesa Group allows the products to speak for themselves.

Using different packaging materials or a unique shape for the gift set is a way to set a brand apart from the competition, notes Dudlak of Chicago Paper Tube & Can. “An effective gift set has to be an aesthetically pleasing package that keeps the brand’s image consistent while standing out on a shelf full of gift sets. The majority of packaging seen on store shelves is a square box. Therefore, our round packaging has value built directly into its aesthetics. Our unique paperboard containers provide a strategic advantage to our clients by simply differentiating themselves from the norm. Since we are a custom manufacturer, we have the ability to combine different elements from our lines, creating a one-of-a-kind package for our clients,” he says.

Jeremy Cohen, president of Knoll Packaging and Printing, has high praise for those that conceptualize gift set packaging, and feels that with the right mindset, anything is possible. “The designers today are younger, but they are extremely talented. And they’re raising the bar. If you have the budget—anything is possible in packaging for luxury goods,” he says. Cohen points to a recent Knoll project as a prime example: the complex Viktor & Rolf’s Holiday Collection that was a finalist in Fragrance Prestige at this year’s HBA International Package Design Awards.

“An effective gift set package incorporates many of the traditional decorative methods for creating an appealing package that delivers impact in the retail environment, including specialty coating, foil, stamping, and embossing/debossing,” says Dennis Bacchetta, director of marketing for Diamond Packaging, adding that hair care and fragrance products are a particularly good fit for gift sets. “And Mylar and foil board remain popular for certain gift set product lines,” he adds.

Diamond recently worked with L’Oréal USA/Matrix, to create a holiday program that maximizes Matrix’s presence across multiple brands in salons. Targeting females 25-55, the holiday promotion is perfect for Matrix users looking for holiday gifts or “self gifting,” Bacchetta says. They’re prominently displayed at fine hair salons nationwide, he explains, and the annual promotion is a proven success and highlights the value of creativity and shelf appeal. “All cartons feature a custom gold glitter, pearl-coated paperboard that captures the essence of luxury. The attractive graphics are enhanced by decorative foil stamping on the front and side panels,” says Bacchetta.

Bling Bling

Inspired by the lights of the season, glimmering and shimmering effects are widely used in gift set packaging. “From a trending perspective, this year’s holiday boxes were all about ‘bling’, says Maesa’s Kestenbaum, referring to boxes adorned with reflective substrates and decorating techniques. “This year, Maesa produced an increasing amount of boxes printed on shiny mylar,” he says. Maesa’s client base also blinged-up their boxes using silkscreened spot glitter applications, holographic foil stamping, and large scale rotary hot stamping. “Bling captures the customer’s eye at the cash register where they are more likely to pick up a gift set, and sets it apart as exciting and special,” says Kestenbaum.

Knoll’s luxurious packaging for Viktor & Rolf’s Holiday Collection was a finalist in Fragrance Prestige at this year’s HBA IPDA.

Another successful Diamond gift set package that Bacchetta cites is the Bliss Holiday Collection, in which the company sought to create an eye-catching holiday campaign that captures the essence of the brand and maximizes its retail presence.

“Diamond produced inspired packaging for the collection, which includes one large and four small carriers/straight tuck cartons with a tented fifth panel, and a straight tuck carton with a printed insert,” explains Bacchetta. “The carriers’ unique structural design maximizes billboard space and product visibility, and eliminates the need for a separate insert. The tent structure also keeps bottles secure and prevents them from falling forward. The straight tuck carton’s paperboard insert/tray creates a ‘floating effect’ and eliminates the need for a separate thermoform insert used in previous versions.”

The cartons were offset printed with three PMS colors followed by an overall UV gloss coating and inside printed with one PMS color (two hits) in-line with an overall aqueous coating. The holiday-themed graphics were enhanced and complemented by decorative foil stamping on the front panels.

Disc’s Frey points out that it really does depend on which market you’re talking about: prestige or mass. “Within the prestige market, brands are still embracing the set box or KDF style with highly decorated treatments like foil, high gloss UV, embossing and stamping.”

Achieving the bling effect, while perhaps the trend, is not inexpensive. And due to their large sizes as well, gift set boxes are costly to produce with multiple components required to hold it all together. “As such,” Desmarais says, “manufacturing costs need to be kept to a minimum via automation. Since many boxes come from afar or are bulky to ship, a new trend is to use ‘collapsible’ boxes such as simplex, cushion wall or a combination of folding and set up components. Bellwyck offers all of these solutions as well as a new collapsible ‘hybrid’ set box.”

Gregg Goldman, director of sales for Arkay Packaging, feels that sometimes the best play is to keep it simple. “Gift set packaging is normally iconic, so that it conveys the image of the brand, but should also be unique enough to stand out on the shelf. Sometimes simple is best, with a differentiator achieved through spot coatings or embossed textures,” he says. “Many of our clients are looking at alternatives to set boxes through simulations and unique constructions. This saves material, reduces cost, and puts something a little different on the shelf.”

Timing and Execution

Challenges abound with gift set packaging. As previously mentioned, there’s the drive to differentiate. There’s also simply more packaging that needs to be manufactured. Of course, everybody is on a budget and a schedule; the calendar can’t be changed.

“The biggest challenge is to transform an idea or concept to a pack that can be industrialized at a reasonable cost,” says Azuelos.

“Timing and execution are the biggest challenges,” emphasizes Arkay’s Goldman. “The holidays cannot be postponed, believe it or not. So, the day we ship our holiday cartons, we begin development on the next year. We allow as much time as possible to create unique constructions to hold each custom mix of products. The key is tracking everything carefully and really just thinking about any possible scenario that could cause a delay. We try to anticipate and test any pitfalls of the design well in advance. We know that there will be changes, so having as much buttoned up as possible is helpful.”

“The biggest challenge from our perspective is with regard to pricing and being competitive with overseas suppliers,” says Disc’s Frey. “We are developing alternatives to rigid box packaging, which can still provide an upscale experience without the inherent expense of a rigid box.”

“Deadlines can be a major challenge because many gift sets are holiday specific,” concludes Dudlak. “Holidays cannot be moved because of delays in production. Deadlines are discussed upfront in conversations with clients to ensure that delivery of packaging meets their timeline. Manufacturing in the U.S. gives us the advantage of short lead times and quick delivery.”