When It Comes to Cosmetic Sales, It’s All About the Packaging

When It Comes to Cosmetic Sales, It’s All About the Packaging

Cosmetics are all about appearances, and that includes the packaging.

Are you in the cosmetics business? When you’re packaging your products, make sure the packaging you choose gets your customer’s attention, first of all, and then showcases what your product will do for him or her.

These days, not only do you have your choice of materials, but you can also choose from a range of shapes from the artistic to the high-tech. Packaging for cosmetics has never been more creative or innovative, and you don’t want to be left behind.

 

Glass Is Luxurious

Glass is a classic packaging material, and it appeals to women and men alike. Seniors, especially, tend to go for cosmetics packaged in glass. So if you’re selling anti-aging products—which, by the way, have captured a larger share of the cosmetics market than ever—glass containers are definitely your best bet.

As a matter of fact, glass containers tend to appeal to anyone over the age of 40. It’s what they grew up with and it communicates quality to them.

Glass also tends to be popular among the younger set because it is environmentally friendly.

 

Be Creative with Plastic

Not only is plastic cost-effective, it lends itself to innovative ideas, and it’s great for customers who have children at home.

While plastic isn’t as environmentally friendly or skin-friendly as glass, it works for small, upcoming brands as they compete with better established names, by making highly effective packaging designs affordable.

If you need a plastic cylinder jar for your cosmetic products, for instance, a simple search online could net you great results.

To spur your creative imagination, check out a few of the following examples:

  • There’s WWP, which has made a name for itself by offering tubes that come in rectangular cross-section, rather than the traditional round or ovoid one, and has made a name for itself in this way.
  • Paul & Joe, the French brand, differentiates itself from the competition by printing wallpaper designs from the ’70s on its plastic lipstick packaging, and by molding them into fun animal shapes.
  • MOR builds its packaging to resemble products from upper-crust French patisseries.
  • Metal-plated rocket-like packaging shapes are the trademark of Marc Jacobs’
  • Tony Moly prefers bright, transparent plastic containers in creative shapes.

 

Not Just a Pretty Face

While shelf appeal is enormously important, especially for cosmetics, packaging has its practical side, too.

Cosmetics buyers are more sophisticated than ever before. They know that some kinds of packaging make more sense than others.

For example, savvy customers prefer tubes to jars. People who have used both jars and tubes realize that jars tend to allow contamination with each use when a finger is dipped in. They have come to understand that a large area of exposure hastens the breakdown of sensitive ingredients such as vitamin C and retinol.

When customers who are aware of the problem have the choice between a brand that comes in a tube and one that comes in a jar, they will usually choose the tube.

Airless pumps are even better. As good as tubes tend to be at protecting their contents, they do suck a considerable amount of air in. For liquid products that allow pumping, airless pumps are considered far superior.

Sophisticated customers also understand that when it comes to cosmetics, opaque is better than transparent. While glass can be attractive, it can be risky because of the amount of light it lets through.

Not long ago, for instance, Sephora’s customers wrote to the company in large numbers, complaining about products that turned yellow when they were exposed to light. So many of its customers wrote in that the company switched to opaque plastic packaging for its products containing antioxidants.

 

Innovative and Cost-Effective Packaging Solutions Are at Your Fingertips

By the year 2019, the luxury goods packaging market, by itself, will be worth $20 billion, and cosmetics packaging will make up a large part of that pie.

What this means to you as a purveyor of cosmetics is that your choices in packaging have never been more wide-ranging. You need never compromise when you have so many choices available. So research your options, and don’t settle for boring.

The packaging industry for cosmetics is exquisitely well-developed, and providers of packaging have innovative solutions just waiting for you. You’re sure to find just the right packaging for your cosmetics that’s cost-effective, attractive and practical.

 

About the Author

Kiera Newton is a package designer who loves her job, from initial sketches to finished product in the hands of a happy customer.