Label Trends

By Michelle Sartor

Packages provide consumers with non-verbal communication. Some speak of fun, others tell a story of sophistication, others promise serenity. No matter what the message, packages must communicate clearly. If the package doesn’t succeed, the consumer will move on and pick another product from the shelf.

In the beauty and personal care industry, labels provide one way to differentiate and sell the product to consumers. “The packaging plays a critical role in the effort towards image upscaling, and we find our personal care and cosmetic product customers are constantly working with us to find ways to convey their value proposition through the label,” says Elisha Tropper, president of Prestige Label, Burgaw, NC.

Label converters have noticed several trends with regard to packaging choices. Some cited extended labels as an industry trend. Extended labels allow for additional text by folding out from the container into a longer piece of material. Paulette Carnes, MultiVision product manager of WS Packaging Group – Ampersand Label, Huntington Beach, CA, says, “In the beginning, extended text labels were for regulatory demands only.” She explains that now, brand managers also use it for other purposes, including using multiple languages and furthering consumer education.

Carnes says the use of multiple languages is the biggest trend in the beauty industry right now. Usually English, French and Spanish are included on extended text labels for consumers. “More and more companies are looking to produce products with multiple languages from the beginning instead of updating or changing it,” she says.

In addition to accommodating various languages, Carnes says extended text labels are used for consumer education. She explains that the legal requirements for the industry take up much of the space, but with extended labels, “We can use marketing copy with extended text. It gives us options where there wasn’t before.” She says that companies are more willing to look past the traditional packaging choices, adding, “There are leaders out there who are redefining what is acceptable in this industry in packaging. Others are following.”

Others concur, seeing legal requirements propelling increased use of extended text labels. “Year after year, more and more copy has to be added,” says Ron Tarantino Jr., vice president of operations for Paris Art Label in Ronkonkoma, NY. “Extended text labels can have up to 11 panes of information that can be added and suites a lot of needs with all the copy the government is mandating.”

Gary Henzl, division manager at Stoffel Seals, Tallapoosa, GA, believes the biggest label trend in the industry is the concept of “just in time”. This means that customers order smaller quantities more often so they have the exact amount of labels they need right when they need them.

Nick Van Alstine, president of Macaran Printed Products, located in Cohoes, NY, sees cost reduction as a trend in the industry. He also cites more environmentally friendly, or “green” issues as growing concerns among customers. “Finally, concerns about counterfeiting are affecting what personal care companies need in their labels,” says Van Alstine. Leslie Gurland, vice president of Logotech, Fairfield, NJ, agrees. She says there has been a push for labels that offer tamper evidence.

The beauty and personal care industry is seeing a number of trends when it comes to labels, says John McDowell, sales manager at McDowell Label & Screen Printing, Plano, TX. McDowell Label’s customers have been using high definition UV printing (HDUV), which he says offers “the ability to print extremely brilliant graphics, both process colors and spot colors, with the finest and most crisp dots with a glowing, multi-dynamic effect.” McDowell believes combination printing, which he describes as using various color inks, and the use of specialty materials, including ultra clear, matte clear, holographic and metallized films, have also increased in popularity. Heat shrink sleeves and flexible packaging are two other areas he says have become trends in the industry.

Andre Michaud, graphic director at Dow Industries, Wilmington, MA, says, “Full, eye-catching color seems to be a trend in personal care products.” He says HDUV printing has become a part of the trend because it “utilizes the best technology available in a fully digital workflow to produce a label that has eye-popping color and detail.”

According to Gurland, other trends exist as well. She says hot stamping and silk screening are becoming popular because of the more luxurious look they offer. “There has been a move towards products that will catch your eye in a store,” she says. In addition to using processes that offer brighter colors, Gurland says many in the industry are using inks that appear to change color when the product is turned or when customers walk by a store shelf.

What People Want

In the beauty and personal care industry, the no-label look may not be new, but it is popular. Products containing these clear labels look like they have no label at all. Tropper says the no-label look is an industry standard for certain products. He says they “enable the customer to apply high-definition printing images and text to containers on which direct printing would force a compromise in image quality and cost effectiveness.”

Carnes points out another trend. She says that in 2005 she saw many in the industry “reverting back to matte and satin finishes and moving away from the gloss.” She continues, “A lot of color I see is very muted and warm versus bright colors.” Tropper disagrees with that, however. “Perhaps the most visible trend is that towards brilliant, vivid colors, particularly in the personal care market. Shelves today, in addition to being more crowded than ever, are exploding in colors, and a great deal of that is due to the improved inks and the prepress and on press color management techniques of label converters,” he says.

Van Alstine says, “We are seeing more requests for combination printing: multiple color rotary screens on both clear film and dark colored backgrounds combined with UV flexo for opacity and texture.” He says varnishes can be used to add further dimension and texture, such as combining matte with gloss. Cold foil stamping as an alternative to hot foil stamping is another popular choice according to Van Alstine.

McDowell says McDowell Label’s customers are asking for foil stamp heat shrink sleeves. “Brand owners who used heat shrink sleeves for decorating were limited to just metallic inks. Now, they can enjoy the same value of foil stamping/combination printing on heat shrink sleeves that they use on their labels.”

Andy Farquharson, president of Dow Industries, says embossing is popular since customers want upscale quality to make their products stand out. Michaud adds that hot stamping is also popular. He explains that gold and silver are not the only desirable colors any more. He says, “Clients now want to have what appears to be multiple hot stamped colors.”

According to Tropper, “Shrink sleeves are now emerging as a solid alternative to pressure sensitive labels, especially for those companies who need the full complement of capabilities that shrink sleeves deliver, such as improved conformity to odd-shaped containers as well as expanded real estate for promotional purposes and legal copy.”

Why Labels?

With the numerous packaging options available, why would those in the beauty and personal care industry choose labels? Cost is one major issue. Labels are a cost-effective way to include color. Jean-Marc Perez of MEPCO, East Orange, NJ, explains that the number of colors in a print job determines the amount of necessary passes, which, in turn, determines the price of the packaging job. Perez says, “People will choose labels, which allow you to apply more colors for less money.”

Tropper agrees that cost is one reason to choose labels. He says, “Screening on bottles, especially multicolor screening, can be considerably more expensive and require higher production minimums than label production. In addition, for multiple SKUs within a single product line — where the same container is being used but with different printing — carrying multiple inventories of the expensive containers as opposed to a single inventory of the containers and multiple inventories of the less expensive labels just is not justifiable.”

Because beauty and personal care companies often release new versions of their products, labels may be a more practical packaging option. Gurland says, “The minimum order quantity for silk screen bottles is dramatically higher than labels.” This means labels will create less waste if the line changes. Carnes says, “Instead of throwing away tubes, you can remove the labels.”

McDowell agrees that labels offer more options for customers. He explains that using a label “allows brand owners the flexibility to introduce multiple SKUs or items in a family of brands without having to guess which SKUs will sell the best or fastest. Additionally, the brand owners have the freedom to very quickly introduce new SKUs in mid-season to capitalize on unforcasted promotional opportunities.” Carnes believes the ability to have options in color matches is another reason why labels can be a good packaging choice. She says, “They can have any color they want using UV flexo or water based inks.” Four-color process images can also be printed on labels.

Van Alstine says flexibility is the main reason people choose labels over other packaging techniques. He says labels have the ability to personalize the message more effectively, respond to changes in customer demand more rapidly and reduce inventories for components. Time may be another factor in the decision. Tropper says, “Labels can be produced quicker and with a much shorter lead-time than direct printing onto bottles.”

Appealing to the Senses

In addition to incorporating unique looks into packaging, label converters say the senses of touch and smell are also being tapped to differentiate beauty and personal care products. Tropper says, “We are seeing an ever-increasing usage of tactile inks and varnishes that provide products with a feel that actually becomes incorporated into their look.”

According to Michaud, selectively textured graphics are becoming popular. For example, “Causing droplets of water on a piece of fruit to have some dimension and shine or even working with different levels of metallization on metallized substrates incorporated with graphics and color,” he adds.

Tarantino is seeing labels that mimic other, more expensive textures. Specifically, “labels that have a leather-looking appearance have really started to take off in the last year and a half.”

Gurland says that she has not seen many textured labels in stores, but that a lot can be done with textures in silk screen. She says Logotech is looking to push the use of textures into the market because statistics show that 80 percent of purchasing decisions are made by customers touching the products.

Scents are not as popular. Tropper says, “Scented labels, including scratch and sniff, have been around for quite some time, but the startup costs for such endeavors usually chase away smaller companies or those with price-sensitive products.” Gurland says toothpaste is the area of the industry that is using scents the most.

Shrink Sleeves

Shrink sleeves, which conform to the shape of the container, are also popular packaging techniques. Carnes says shrink sleeves have been taking business from the pressure sensitive category, but generally require large orders to keep costs feasible. She says, “Someone starting out with a brand new line wouldn’t go to shrink sleeves right off the bat because it’s quantity driven.” Carnes also offers a warning. According to Carnes, a lot of companies are starting to provide shrink sleeve printing, “but maybe not with the quality the cosmetic industry wants.”

McDowell says shrink sleeves have become popular because they provide brand owners unlimited options with respect to the size and shape of containers. They also allow for 360° of graphics. He adds, “They also enable brand owners to cover up unsightly product in clear glass or plastic that separates or suspends when unshaken prior to use.”

Gurland says, “Shrink sleeve is definitely growing. People want a 360° area for putting information.” She points out, however, “Shrink sleeves are challenging from a production point of view because of bottle shapes. It’s easier to use labels.”

Tropper agrees that creating shrink sleeves is a more difficult process than producing labels. He says, “It is important for companies to work with converters who understand the effect shrinking has on artwork, and who can work with them to ensure the delivery of the intended graphics onto the finished product.”