Whether in the U.S. or on the other side of the world, locally or globally, established brands or start-ups, no one can deny that over the past few years, digital retail and the “Indie Invasion” have shaken up the entire beauty sphere and changed the industry like never before.

Speaking at an event for The Fragrance Foundation earlier this month, L’Oréal chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon said that when he looks back at his 39-year career, he believes the most exciting time in beauty is actually “this moment.” Reflecting on the decades he’s spent with L’Oréal, he said there wasn’t even a fraction of the change he’s seen in just the past few years. “[Today], the world of beauty has nothing to do with the way it was five years ago!” he said. “The consumer is at the heart, and that is absolutely fabulous.”

While legacy brands such as L’Oréal have kept pace—and led—by innovating and acquiring additions to their portfolios, in many cases, Indie brands have become perfectly poised to give consumers options, precisely what they want—and in a speedy timeframe. In August, we attended the Indie Beauty Expo in New York City (see Online Exclusive and Top Picks at BeautyPackaging.com), which had ballooned in the three years since its launch, traveling to cities around the country and expanding to larger venues to meet the demands of a force of independent entrepreneurs on a beauty mission. While touring the show floor, it was clear why this burgeoning market arena holds opportunities galore. Even brands we were not familiar with touted “dream” deals they had recently made with retailers—prominent retailers—including Target, Whole Foods and Ulta.

Along with the myriad of new products comes increased demand for packaging—primary and secondary packs that stand out both on shelves and online; packaging that doesn’t disappoint in any way from visual contact to dispensing features, lest they be flogged on social media. As always suppliers are leading the way, accommodating brands with customized easy-to-fill stock lines, turnkey options, low MOQs and more.

In this issue of Beauty Packaging, Indies come on strong in all of our special staff-written features, from “Supporting Indie Brands” (natch) to Packaging for Skin Care to our annual report on the Top 20 Global Beauty Companies.

Which brands will be in the spotlight next year? Keep an eye out—they’re all around us.

We hope you enjoy this issue.