What a Year!

It seems incredible that a year has passed since the 2008 edition of our annual Buyers’ Guide rolled off the presses, and since I proudly announced thatBeauty Packaging had welcomed a new publisher—Jay Gorga.

Now, the publication of the 2009 Buyers’ Guide marks a period of 12 months in which Jay and I strove to meet and speak with as many of our readers and industry suppliers as possible, with the goal of providing you with the most relevant information and communication tools available.

While the printed version of the annual Buyers’ Guide serves as a year-round supplier reference tool, be sure to also access the anytime, anywhere version at nitesh_bp.rodpub.com. This online edition evolves throughout the year, with continuous updates and various enhancements to make your packaging searches (and offerings) more comprehensive.

While you’re on the Beauty Packaging site, you’ll also notice the updates our dynamic Web department has introduced, all with the idea of making your time spent here pleasant, informative and efficient. From breaking news to industry newsletters to invaluable archives to live coverage of events such as HBA and Luxe Pack, we aim to keep you in the know. After all, we understand that all of our 10,000+* subscribers can’t make it to every industry event, so please stay tuned in the coming weeks as we bring you all the latest on HBA, Cosmoprof NA and Luxe Pack Monaco.

This monthy, we review Luxe Pack New York, perhaps a harbinger of good things to come, as a record number of attendees flocked to a sold-out show floor filled with innovative packaging ideas for bringing products to market and sending them home with consumers. Clearly, those in the beauty industry have an insatiable thirst for new packaging ideas as was evidenced not only by activity on the floor, but also by attendance at Luxe Pack’s educational sessions, including the standing-room-only panel organized by Beauty Packaging, which featured esteemed members of our board of advisors speaking on Brand Loyalty.

Value has become key to establishing consumer loyalty, and while prestige brands continue to find their market, stock packaging often plays a role in the overall value equation. Economical, quick and easy, stock can be made to look custom in a jiffy thanks to a multitude of finishing techniques such as those illustrated in Leah Genuario’s article. Caps and closures, too, can bring value as shown in Lindsay Elkin’s story. We can always learn a lot from brands that have successfully combined product and packaging, such as the standouts in fragrance included in my report on this year’s FiFi winners.

Jay and I have many exciting plans for Beauty Packaging, and as we move forward in our second year together, we look forward to your continued feedback.

We hope you enjoy this issue,


Jamie Matusow
[email protected]