The Spice of Life

Putting together the Annual Buyers Guide is a long, complex job that always reminds me of just how diverse the beauty business is. Just in product alone, it runs the gamut from things that make you clean (soap, shampoo, toothpaste), to things that make you attractive (lipstick, foundation, mascara), to things that make you smell good and others that promise to help you look younger. These products—lotions, gels, creams, powders—come packaged in bottles, jars, tubes, boxes and cartons and are dispensed in all manner of ways—twist-off and flip-top caps, pumps, sprays, brushes, puffs and other mechanisms.

The multitude of product is sold through an array of channels: bricks and mortar retail, online retail, television and direct sales, salons and spas. When you add prestige, middle and mass criteria, the sheer variety and number of products makes it no surprise that in many ways, it’s hard to keep track of this business. The Fragrance Foundation helps all of us understand the fragrance business and sponsors the FiFi Awards (p. 24) each year to recognize the best in the major categories.

A healthy market requires new products and new consumers to keep it all vibrant and growing. After decades of Communism, Poland (p. 32) is evolving into a country with consumers hungry for new beauty products and a foundation of domestic manufacturers seeking to reach out to other markets.

Products developed to replicate the spa/salon experience (p. 36) have been a bright spot in recent years. Marketers supplying these lines range from major department store brands to independent specialty firms.

The companies that supply packaging goods and services to beauty brand manufacturers are no less diverse. From huge multi-nationals that produce components in plants around the world, to small specialty suppliers that make or do one small part of the package or process, there are so many, it can be hard to find the right one for the job. For a small start-up it can be a daunting task. Read how one new line found its way from concept to retail shelf on p.18.

Once you’ve read this issue, it will be one to place on a bookshelf to use as a reference the next time you need a Bottle – Glass, a Label – Pressure Sensitive, or any of the 134 other categories of goods and services included in the Buyers Guide (p. 46).

As soon as possible, the 2004 Buyers Guide will also be available at www.CosmeticPackagingandDesign.com.

Have a wonderful summer,

Janet Herlihy
Editor
[email protected]