Fluoro5 Elixer uses a sleek black dispenser for upscale appeal.

Whether it’s an innovative product like a 3-in-1 grooming bar, dispensers that improve the value and function of a hair care product, or stock components that help reduce overall production costs, packaging plays an important role in decision making in the hair care market.

Hair Care Market 2005-2010. Euromonitor International.

As consumers begin to expect more value from their hair care dollar, greater functionality is likely to dominate brand positioning, according to Euromonitor International’s Report on Hair Care in the U.S. Although hair care sales held steady at $10 billion in 2010, the market is expected to rebound in the next several years. Shampoos, conditioners and styling agents will enjoy higher growth rates over the next five years, according to the report, because hair care remains a fundamental aspect of the American personal care culture, and consumers are unlikely to withhold spending on themselves for very long, say analysts. In addition, natural and organic elements are continuing to be an increasingly important trend. The firm forecasts that value-oriented brands, which promise salon-quality technology or natural ingredients, will perform well.

Dispensing Sense

TIGI chose Lombardi’s powder shaker for their launch of Sugar Dust.

Whether mass or prestige, all brands must listen and react to consumer feedback.

When leading hair care specialist Philip Kingsley needed a larger package for its top-selling range of styling products, the company chose the 100ml Slimline Airless dispenser from Rieke Dispensing. The four treatments—Preen Cream, Smooth Cream, Straight Hair and Minimizer—were originally sold in 50ml containers, but customer feedback showed that the products ran out too quickly and prompted the company to look for an alternative.

“We offer premium products so it is essential that the dispenser is both easy to use and able to evacuate all of the product, and these are the key reasons why we selected the Rieke dispenser,” explains Clare Edgecombe, Philip Kingsley UK’s managing director. “The dispenser offers the exact combination of practicality, convenience and style that we require and has fit perfectly into our existing product range.”

The Rieke airless dispenser is able to handle viscous products with ease to deliver an accurate dose each time and ensure full evacuation of the container.It features a non-metal contact construction and is designed with a special suckback feature that pulls product back into the nozzle for a clean and hygienic dispenser each time. The dispenser incorporates a pre-assembled one-piece follower piston and is designed to pump air via a unique valve system.The top filling dispensing pack ensures a simple-filling operation. The slimline design also creates a stylish appearance on-shelf to reflect the quality image of the brand.

Another high-end hair care brand, Number 4 High Performance Hair Care, exudes sophistication. As part of its Essentials Winter Collection, the company launched Fluoro5 Elixer, a lightweight hair repair treatment serum, which is 100% vegan and paraben, gluten and sulfate free. The clear bottle is topped with a sleek black dispenser and the bottle and carton sport minimal black writing to complete the upscale look. Its design and packaging were created by DesignWorx Packaging. The product retails for $26 at Style Bar Beverly Hills.

Powder Packaging

The hair care industry has recently seen a drive for powder packaging. “Hair powders are increasingly becoming more popular for products, such as volumizers. These powders typically are packaged in one of our stock powder shakers,” says Jack Albanese, sales engineer, of Lombardi Design and Manufacturing.

The company offers a wide stock line of powder shakers. “Our customers have a no-capital expense entry into the market for packaging. Thanks to the various sizes and styles we offer, typically our customers find an ideal package with no tooling required,” he explains.

Recently, the hair care company TIGI used Lombardi’s #6101 powder shaker for their current launch of Sugar Dust. “After testing several stock options, our customer found the #6101 powder shaker best suited for the very light Sugar Dust powder. Upon completing initial testing, Lombardi visited the fill site to ensure the marriage of package, product, and process were all in agreement,” he adds.
Rebecca Holland, marketing director, Kaufman Container Company, has also seen the increase in the number of dry shampoo products in the hair care market recently. “Because of the demand, Kaufman Container has created a custom 4-oz. (for liquid, approximately 2.4-oz. of powder) MDPE Round Powder Bottle with a 31mm special neck finish to accompany a Roto Powder dispensing cap.The size was determined based on industry demand and is perfect for the hair care market,” she explains. “You simply twist open the closure and squeeze the bottle to allow powder to be dispensed. This unique bottle-closure combination allows for ease of use, more directional dispensing of product, and also frees up the user’s hands during application.”

The MDPE material was chosen for squeezability and it is stock available in white, with custom colorization available.

Kaufman’s services lend themselves to hair care clients due to their ability to manage the entire project from start to finish, as well as provide all the necessary elements to launch a line successfully.“For example, often times a hair care company wants to launch a new line with fifteen SKUs that includes ten or twelve different packaging components with different colors and decorating processes. It’s more efficient to work with one source that can do it all, rather than ten different sources that may never work with one another. To be able to have control of all the logistics ensures a positive end result,” Holland says.

Fashion Forward

Selecting just the right color palette helps bring a successful hair care package together. It’s important to know what is coming to get ahead of the trends, explains Doreen Becker, Americhem’s color trends expert. “We buy the trend colors from a color house in Paris. They provide us with the coming season’s couture colors for NY, Paris, Milan and Tokyo and then we style those colors in our product as proof of concept of those coming trends. We offer brand owners and our customers colors that are projected for the runway, rather than using colors that are already on the market,” she says.

Great fashion colors are a key piece of the beauty packaging puzzle. “If you don’t have the beauty products to back them up they are out of sync. You have to have the right product to go along with that. And then in order to have it work you also have to have the packaging that supports those new colors,” she explains.

Becker notes that brand owners are asking for colors with additional visual effects.“One of the trends we are seeing this year is for black colors—they are very urban but very feminine at the same time. There is a very dark black color, but in addition to that there is a multicolor pop. It is smaller than glitter and it changes colors, almost like fireworks, and it has a tremendous amount of energy to it. It is still very urban and still very sophisticated and dynamic,” she says. “It is formulated to combine the black and the sparkle together. At first glance it appears as a very dark sophisticated bottle, but then when you pick it up, it sort of pops out and looks very interesting.”

This visual effect helps tell the product’s story. This color might be used for an ethnic product or hair straightener, she says, adding that this dark color trend is particularly appealing to young consumers. “It is an interesting trend that we are seeing in the tween market right now.”

Added Decoration

With so many colors and decorative techniques available, visually attractive packaging can look high end without breaking the project bank.

Craig Sawicki, executive vice president of design and engineering, at TricorBraun, says, “The need for an upscale look without a dramatically upscale cost seems to be driving innovation in decorating—specifically silk screen and even full body shrink are popular.”

He says many new looks can be provided with differences in decorating even on stock bottles. For example, a stock package with a unique shape can be transformed when run in a soft-touch resin and decorated with a gloss ink. “The dramatic contrast adds an elegance that would not otherwise be there,” he says.

The 3-in-1 Shhh unisex bar is used as a shampoo, shower and shaving bar.

Greater Functionality

Becky Sturm, creator of Shhh and owner of StormSister Spatique, developed the multitasking beauty bar in the height of the recession when she noticed that many customers at her beauty boutique couldn’t afford the bundle of products they were used to. Shhh is a natural plant-based 3-in-1 shampoo, shower and shaving bar for men and women. “After more than 20 years in the beauty industry, I realized that there wasn’t one product that could do three things effectively,” says Sturm. “Not only does the Shhh bar save consumers money and time, but its all natural ingredients are better for the body and the environment which is a win-win for everyone.”

Jay and Nora Schaper, of Bodylish, created the bar that sports a unisex, citrus scent. The ingredients are all natural and organic (when possible), notes Sturm.All packaging is 100% compostable and recyclable. Susan Tinkham served as the graphic designer while Peak Printing did the printing. The French Paper Company, which runs their entire facility on hydroelectric power, provided the paper. Fragrances were supplied by Michael Scholes, master herbalist, Laboratory of Flowers. Shhh is available in a 6-oz. bar for $17 and a 1.5-oz. bar for $5.

Josh Wood Gets New Brand Identity This fall, Josh Wood, Wella’s professional global creative director, color, launched the Josh Wood Atelier in London’s Notting Hill. Pearlfisher created a new brand identity, brand strategy and tone of voice for Wood. The challenge with the brand identity was to focus on the scope of his hair coloring expertise while also capturing his integrity and values—real, discreet, understated, subtle and authoritative, explains Pearlfisher’s creative partner, Karen Welman. “We wanted to position Josh as the Master of Color and also embody what color represents to both the individual and to the masses—as an emotive, suggestive or symbolic expression. The identity reflects this by taking the form of a simple but stylish master’s signature in muted natural colors punctuated by bright bursts of fluorescent color through a set of three perfectly drawn ‘o’s’ to signify perfection and balance,” she says.

Dr. Miracle’s Gets a Makeover Dr. Miracle’s, a leader in the ethnic hair care industry, has stretched beyond hair repair positioning with its comprehensive re-launch. The brand’s multi-tiered innovation initiative kicked off with updates to its product formulas, packaging and advertising. “First and foremost, we’ve increased our understanding of our consumer, learning more about why she likes our brand and why she uses our products. The answer: Our products have helped her repair her hair. So, she knows, first-hand, that our products work,” says Dr. Miracle’s CEO Randy Zeno. “Our new direction will build on these findings to show her that in addition to helping her get healthy hair, Dr. Miracle’s can help her keep it healthy and beautiful.” The packaging redesign reflects Dr. Miracle’s’ efforts to increase consumer shopability because recent studies show that consumers have trouble determining the optimum products to address their treatment and maintenance needs, says the company. As such, the new packaging highlights product benefits, attributes, and key new ingredients. Other changes include an updated brand logo and a new milder, citrusy product aroma. The company worked with NetPak, VBS Total Packaging, and Labels Unlimited for the packaging.