Dispensers might be among the most overlooked packaging components, but they are tops when it comes to package functionality. Dispensers can deliver product in metered dosages, help evacuate all traces of a product from a container, and cap off the overall look of a package with style.

One of the biggest current trends in dispensers has been the renewed interest in droppers, which have become the dispensers of choice for many skincare formulations, thanks to their ability to deliver the targeted dosing and application of thick serums and viscous oil formulations.

“We have seen a big resurgence in droppers, whereas five years ago there was barely any new dropper packaging,” says Curt Altmann, vice president of global development, Yonwoo/PKG, New York. “Three years ago we set out to re-invent the dropper [and] discovered that the dropper had changed little since it was developed by Louis Pasteur in the mid 1800s. He used it as a means of dosing precise amounts of re-agent in his microbiology experiments.”

Altmann says Yonwoo/PKG set out to accomplish four objectives with its research into dropper technology: to improve overall ease of use and precision; to eliminate the dispenser’s propensity for leakage; to improve cost-effectiveness; and to eliminate re-contamination of the product from a pipette that touched the skin.
 
The fruits of the company’s R&D resulted in an auto-loading dropper that employed a piston system for improved dosing accuracy in comparison to a traditional dropper bulb. “Every time the consumer closes the package, it automatically re-loads the dropper for the next use,” Altmann says.

Not stopping there, the company then combined auto-loading with product mixing whereby consumers can mix powder to liquid or liquid to liquid with a simple turn of a collar before the product is dispensed via the dropper. “Then, we innovated the airless dropper where product is dosed from an airless system directly into the pipette and the pipette never comes in contact with the formula in the container,” he continues. “Finally we developed the dropper tube as a cost effective way to combine precise dropper dispensing with the package cost and conversion of a tube.”

Lancôme was so enamored of the innovation behind this dispensing technology that it selected it as the dispenser for its Génefique skin care serum.

Joanna Milne, sales manager, Virospack, Badalona, Spain, also expressed excitement in the renewed interest in droppers. “These droppers are often being uniquely decorated, with a tendency to emboss or deboss logos on collars, or to add value by spray painting a functional bulb the same tone as the bottle,” she remarks, adding that Virospack has adapted the traditional dropper format into a new, syringe-style, push-button dropper design.

“This new shape actuator offers better control and precision during the application for the customer, and because it functions as a syringe, the dosage is highly controlled,” she says. “The style is cosmeceutical and very attractive to the upper end markets.”

Virospack developed a new DuoMix dispensing solution for CellLife, a skincare product from Hamburg, Germany-based SBT (Sensitive Biology Therapy). The hallmark of the dispenser is that it blends two products together at the point of application. “This concept of DuoMix is an ideal system for extemporaneous product, it maintains the powder separate from the liquid solution as the shelf life of mixed product is very short,” Milne says. “Thanks to this pack, the consumer can mix the powder contained in the hermetic capsule (silver top) into the serum solution in the vial. Once shaken well, the consumer replaces the capsule with the dropper in order to have a better and precise application on the face, neck and décolleté.”

The CellLife package is capped off by an aluminum cap that features a polypropylene press button, all of which coordinates with the custom-made, green frosted bottle’s front and back hot stamp and silk screen decoration.

Lust for Luxe

Another big trend influencing dispensing technologies in the cosmetic, personal care and fragrance sectors is ‘premiumization’ – the premise that luxury isn’t just reserved for high-end products. “Consumers today expect more at every price point,” says Kristy Hooper, category manager, skincare and cosmetics, MWV, Richmond, VA. “All brands are trying to elevate the overall product experience while still remaining loyal to their brand’s positioning.”

  MWV’s recently redesigned Orchestra fragrance pump delivers on the experience of luxury. “Orchestra is a low-profile and compact pump featuring a low actuator height which makes it ideal for a variety of bottle designs and models,” says Sandy Gregory, MWV’s fragrance marketing director. “It is highly customizable to achieve the desired consumer experience and is available in an array of sizes and options, from crimped and screw pump versions to metal, plastic and customized colors.”

She adds that the newly enhanced spray generates finer particles leading to a smoother and more elegant spray. The dispenser can also be paired with the NoC invisible dip tube, allowing brand owners to deliver an even higher-end aesthetic. This combination can currently be seen in Ferragamo’s Emozione fragrance.

Also in the vein of premiumization are two dispensing solutions from Lindal Group, which is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Sunny, part of the company’s aerosol dispensing range, is a new twist-lock, overcap-free actuator for deodorants and antiperspirants, sun protection, self-tanning products and more. “The Sunny actuator’s attractive, ergonomic design was developed for easy actuation and high top-load resistance, for use in a wide range of personal care product applications,” says Philip Brand, Lindal Group’s global marketing director. “The new actuator is the first to be produced at the company’s Itupeva facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil [and] represents an enhanced supply chain benefit for customers throughout the Americas – and globally.”

Lindal Group’s newest launch is its Truspray technology, which Brand says is the first aerosol solution designed to handle the highly viscous formulas used in popular personal care and household product categories, while cutting propellant and solvent use by as much as 50%. “The eco-friendly, patented, Truspray technology offers improved spray quality, with low flow rates,” he says. “Its reduced need for propellant and solvent allows for compact packaging that saves on materials and transportation cost, and enhances easy, on-the-go consumer use.”

According to Jo Jackson, marketing and innovation manager, Colep, Gainsborough, UK, consumer convenience goes hand in hand with sustainability. “For people on-the-move, it is more important than ever for manufacturers to create dispensing technologies that are non-spill, minimum waste, functional, yet innovative enough to set them apart from competitors,” she says. “Furthermore, according to Datamonitor, rising consumer concerns about sustainability will drive packaging innovation.

“The consumer product landscape is changing and evolving,” Jackson continues. “Sustainability goals demand us to be creative and innovate, not only in relation to packaging engineering and design, but across the whole supply chain.”

With this in mind, Colep has developed a new aerosol technology platform that provides a novel dispensing solution for beauty and personal care products. Demonstrated via Natrue’s certified, organic aerosol cream, the technology features a bag-on-valve system that uses compressed air as the propellant, with CO2 directly added to the formulation, creating a gentle foaming cream that is quickly absorbed by the skin without excessive rubbing. The product has already received recognition by the aerosol industry, with a special distinction accolade being awarded at the 2014 Aerosol & Dispensing Awards in Paris.

“The bag-on-valve aerosol pack brings its own advantages, mainly in the form of extended shelf-life due to the contents being hermetically sealed, protection from both oxygen and light, and in addition,  separation of the product from the propellant,” comments Jackson. “Furthermore the pack is ideal for travel due to its portable-sized nature, and ‘non-spill’ properties.”

Albéa, NY, also developed a unique dispenser poised to literally turn foam product packaging upside down. EZ’R is a patented, upside down squeeze foamer that is pump-free and provides continuous foam dispensing and requires just one hand to evacuate the product.

According to the company, EZ’R is a sustainable foam solution because it contains less componentry, which requires fewer manufacturing steps and less energy consumption. The EZ’R format additionally reduces water consumption up to 22% in comparison to liquid soap products. It also needs up to 65% less formula per body wash usage, which allows a packaging size reduction up to 50%.

Enhancing the Consumer Experience

The creation of the MixByMe dispensing platform was borne out of necessity when Melanie Werner, CEO, Mouse Trap Design, LLC, Carnegie, PA, surveyed her vanity and realized she had invested in five similar yet slightly different high-end fragrances, all with a limited shelf life. “I thought, ‘Why is there not a dispenser which allows the consumer to ‘dial-up and create’ their own scent based upon time of day, occasion, or mood?” she recalls. “It seemed to me that ‘dialing up’ was a more efficient way to wear fragrance plus I would be the creator of my own scent.”

The idea of wearing a customized scent resonated with her and after researching the market, she discovered no such dispenser existed and since artisanal fragrance boutiques were cropping up in Paris and New York, the demand for customized perfume was clearly growing. “MixByMe is a contradiction; the dispenser helps create a unique, highly personalized perfume experience, but the technology itself speaks to mass-personalization,” she says.

The dispenser had to look “sexy” and fit comfortably in a woman’s hand. After several years of R&D, and multiple prototype iterations, Mouse Trap Design has designed and patented a dispensing system that enables consumers to customize their own scent using a metered pump technology and dials that combine three or more liquids in varying concentrations.

“Each of the three chambers has over a dozen settings creating thousands of possible combinations,” Werner explains. The MixByMe Valve system is designed to work with a single pump head, which is fed by three fluid paths. The flow through of each of these three fluid paths is controlled by the user via a dial. Each path is independently variable and the flow through each path is regulated. By combining 13 positions on three dials, there’s a total of 2,197 possible combinations.

The technology can easily and conveniently alter the “mood” of a branded fragrance. For example, the branded fragrance can comprise the central vial, and complementary accords (i.e. top, heart and base notes) can be filled into adjacent vials within the same package housing. Furthermore, the dispenser models can be configured to be refillable or disposable, accommodating not just fragrance applications but also skincare and color cosmetic formulations.

Erwin Boes, commercial technology director, Airopack, The Netherlands, says there has been a greater movement toward packaging that encourages more consumer interaction. Another illustration of this trend is transparent packaging, which identifies when the package is empty and automatically triggers re-purchase decisions. To that end, Airopack developed a patented pressurized dispensing technology that utilizes standard compressed air to dispense formulations with a consistent pressure from start to finish. This technology even dispenses high viscosity gels and creams, and spray-able and post-foaming formulas such as skincare, deodorant and shave care products that are typically relegated to tubes and jars or aerosol dispensers and fine-mist finger pumps.

Flexible Packaging Solutions

Flexible packaging is making increasing inroads in the personal care segment and this influx has contributed to the development of several new and exciting resealable dispensing closures to suit these unique packages.

“The North American consumer [is showing] a growing acceptance of liquid products dispensed from flexible packages in a range of product sectors that go well beyond beverages,” comments Carrie Strieter, director, strategic marketing & innovation, Zip-Pak, Manteno, IL. “We’ve already seen a number of brands successfully market liquid products in flexibles in other parts of the world. It’s only a matter of time before North American consumers fully embrace the idea of liquid products dispensed from flexible packaging for a greater range of products.”

And given that convenience is an overarching trend currently influencing most packaging categories, the resealing and reclosure technologies that go hand-in-hand are well ahead of the curve from a commercial availability standpoint, she adds.

Zip-Pack recently debuted three dispensing solutions for the flexible packaging market. PresSURE-Lok, Sensus and Fragrance-Zip.

Billed to be an alternative to blow-molded bottles, PresSURE-Lok was designed for liquid products that require controlled dispensing such as shampoos and similar personal care products. Its Controlled-Chamber Technology combines a flexible pouch with a flexible and self-contained fitment, eliminating the need for a separate dispensing component. The user squeezes the flexible pouch to open the seal, allowing liquid product to flow into the dispensing chamber, and then the package automatically reseals itself. This proprietary sealing mechanism is designed to allow the flexible package to lie on its side, or even upside down, without unintentional dispensing.  

Sensus, the first in a family of resealable closures from Zip-Pak’s Sensory Feedback Fasteners, is a sealing feature that provides both audial and tactile feedback to assure the consumer that their package has been firmly sealed. The Sensus re-closure profile is specifically designed to create a tactile bumping sensation and audible clicking noise when the zipper is opened or resealed. Made of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Sensus can be applied to virtually any type of flexible packaging regardless of pouch size, and is especially well suited for form-fill-seal machine applications.

Last but not least, Fragrance-Zip, also part of Zip-Pack’s Sensory Feedback Fasteners portfolio, is a zipper closure that emits a customized aroma whenever the flexible resealable package is opened and closed. The scent is embedded in the reclosure during the manufacturing process. Working in partnership with several fragrance companies, Zip-Pak explained that it has the versatility to duplicate virtually any desired aroma.

Whether they’re geared to be low-profile or decorative, functional accents, dispensers continue to bring innovation and excitement to the rapidly evolving cosmetic, personal care and fragrance industries.