Package Design Sizzles at Cosmoprof NA

Packaging designer Steve Corsi strolled the show floor with Beauty Packaging’s publisher, Jay Gorga, and reports on the innovations that caught his eye.

Written by Steve Corsi, Contributing Writer

It is a fact of life in the beauty industry, in fact, in any industry, that innovation is required. Certainly, as a product designer and developer, I am quite familiar with the consistent push for newness. Yet, there has been more than one occasion when I have walked away from a trade show feeling that I have seen it all before.

I am pleased to report that while taking a walk around Cosmoprof Las Vegas 2010 with Jay Gorga, publisher of Beauty Packaging magazine, I was surprised to see innovation and difference between vendors across all categories. Here are some of the companies I’d like to highlight:

Belvada: Based in Montreal, Canada, Belvada’s “push-through mascara” debuted last year. Belvada took “blue sky thinking” and executed a well-engineered, aesthetically pleasing product that offers a totally new and improved way of dispensing mascara. Having designed a number of mascara packages, I know how technically difficult this feat was.

This year, Belvada has adapted their push-through concept to create a new lipgloss package. According to Mario Thibodeau, head of development for Belvada, the new lipgloss eliminates the need for “pumping” and stops excessive build-up at the tip of the applicator. On the subject of lips, Belvada also displayed a sleek new lipstick package, featuring a sheath that covers the whole lipstick assembly when closed. This gives the package the same sleek look as its stablemates. Belvada is now busy working on new products for 2011.

Barista: The story goes that a mother, daughter and niece were together lamenting the lack of bath and body products that addressed their needs when they decided to develop their own line of products based on brewed coffee (please see “Java Percolates in Personal Care” in this issue’s Packaging Spotlight column on page 74). The packaging effort is a great study of uncluttered design, which retains a point of view. According to president Nancy Scuderi (mother), the objective was to appeal equally to men and women, so they opted for a neutral look. I am pleased that the new brand won Cosmoprof’s “most innovative concept for packaging and most likely to succeed in the marketplace” award.

Arrowpak: As a turnkey offering, Arrowpak’s new Cubic collection of glass bottles really stands out, exhibiting very clean silhouettes in minimalist designer style. Jim Slowey, VP marketing, explained that the Arrowpak development team’s objective was to achieve a crystal look with thick, even walls in the style of fragrance. Looking closely, one can really see how clear and crisp the glass quality is.

UPG: Generally, the best glass is still considered to be that made in France, Italy or the U.S. However, judging by the quality of Taiwan-based UPG glass, designers are getting one more serious alternative in the Asia region.

According to Sebastian Belinguier, global sales director for UPG, the decoration on the round bottle I admired was achieved with the use of sublimation. This is a difficult process to get consistent manufacturing results with this kind of a shape. I was impressed by how well registered the deco was on this piece.
The clear, rose-tinted glass bottle retained a high-quality surface finish, consistent wall thickness and crisp edges—high-quality work.

Elcos: Elcos exhibited some face and eye compacts with what I call “cell phonesque” sliding lids. Looking at the base of the compacts, one can observe metal guide rails, which shows how far Elcos engineers went to achieve smoothness and precision.

In terms of pump dispensers, Michelle Joo, general manager, showed us a nice new airless bottle package featuring a screw-on jar base.This would facilitate the packaging of dual product systems, such as a lotion and cream combination.

One of the Elcos jars on display had exceptionally large wall thicknesses, which is hard to achieve without severe shrinkage on the outside surface due to the shrinkage of the plastic. The sample exhibited hardly any uneven surface, which must have been the result of a lot of mold work.

Yonwoo: Already known for their airless packages, Yonwoo displayed a piston airless bottle that features the outside wall and inner cylinders molded as one piece. Innovative and well designed, this package highlights Yonwoo’s engineering and manufacturing ability as these types of package are usually molded separately due to close tolerances required to keep the cylinders airtight. They offer the structure as a dual or single configuration.

Sustainability

To my mind, the sustainable movement is reaching a stage of maturity where the real solution providers will prevail and the “greenwashers” will fall by the wayside. Two sustainable companies at the show caught my eye:

CSI: With innovations in post-industrial resins (PIR), bio-based plastics, and most recently, universally compostable plant-based polymer Mirel, CSI displayed an impressive range of sleek, sustainable containers, which could cater to most requirements. According to marketing director Hiram Santana, CSI can now offer its Mirel jar in virtually any color.

Burgopak:Burgopak’s sleek, low-energy sustainable containers do not immediately look sustainable. For example, their trays, supplied by partner Be Green, are made from fast renewable plant-based fibers, and look exactly like “vac” trays only better. The feel of the packages is silky and well engineered. There is no brown paper bag tree hugger syndrome here. Burgopak is proving a sustainable package does not mean a sacrifice of aesthetics.

See You Next Year

Cosmoprof North America 2011 is planned for July 24-26 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

About the Author
Steve Corsi is a designer, product developer and brand analyst. During his career, he has reported directly to two Entrepreneurs of the Year heading$500 million+companies;served as director of design development at ck Calvin Klein Beauty; led teams in the U.S. Europe and Asia; and developed a system of methodologies to derive products that have garnered profit and award-winning recognition for brands internationally. [email protected]