The Tie That Binds

I recently received the results of an international study claiming that most women want to look natural and don’t care about wrinkles and aging. Okay, I buy the first part—no one wants to look artificial. As for the cavalier attitude? I’m not so sure. Anti-aging continues to be one of the leading channels for cosmetics/personal care. In fact, our 4th annual ranking of the Top 20 Companies shows that most of these corporate beauty giants are pursuing this avenue with a vengeance, due to growing demand by both women and men.

Procter & Gamble, which continues to hold the top slot on our list, reports that its ever-popular Olay has become the world’s leading retail skin care brand, largely due to its range of anti-aging products. L’Oréal, again in second place, revealed Pro-Xylane, an anti-aging compound that’s the result of seven years of R&D. And while its simple Dove white beauty bar remains the best-seller for Unilever, still No. 3 among our Top 20, its Pro-age lines are positioned to flatter all women—no matter what their age.

Oh, and it turned out most of the women in the study I cited earlier were against invasive anti-aging procedures—at least for the time-being. They were all for treatments and cosmetics that made them appear younger—as long as they still looked “natural”—not totally wrinkle-free, not perfect.

Also this month, Christine Esposito highlights the role of color in branding, in Color Is King and Leah Genuario tells how influential POP display tactics can be.

Finally, I just want to say that as the new editor of Beauty Packaging, I look forward to hearing from you—and meeting you at upcoming events and tradeshows.

We hope you enjoy this issue.