At Paris Packaging Week, beauty sampling specialist Arcade Beauty showed new additions to its Retail range. The company’s alcohol-free fragrance formulas are designed to promote new fragrance gestures.
Paris Packaging Week was the launchpad for three new alcohol-free fragrance formulas at Arcade Beauty. Silky Gel comes in a bottle with applicator, while Perfume Oil is housed in a dropper pack. A stick format was developed for Stick-to-Powder, a cream that turns into a light powder upon application. Developed by the group’s in-house laboratory, the formulas can be personalized with a perfume concentrate and enriched with skincare properties for a hybrid formula.
Arcade Beauty also revealed two fragrance formulas made with alcohol: a body mist and a hair mist, which both come in pump bottles.
Also on show were a range of washable silicone accessories to be used along with a product formula. These include under-eye patches and a sheet mask. Customizable in terms of shape, color and the addition of glitter, the items can be reused up to 50 times and are said to increase product efficacy by 30-50%.
Industrial optimization & sustainable materials
At a press conference held prior to Paris Packaging Week, Arcade Beauty gave an insight into its business and development axes.
Laurent Oulès, appointed General Manager of the group’s European business in August last year, said that industrial optimization and a focus on sustainable products are key areas of development. On the product front, this means moving from plastic to paper, monomaterial solutions, and items that are recyclable and/or made using recycled content. The company already works with recycled PET, and plans to explore integrating chemically recycled PE in its products. On the industrial front, automation and energy efficiency are big topics.
In sampling, Arcade Beauty is shifting its focus to more "sophisticated" or larger formats, with an eye on premiumization. Sampling accounts for around 80% of the group’s business, versus 20% for retail, where the company is developing in full-service. Its digital sampling platform Abeo accounts for 2-3% of sales. In 2023, the company plans to explore how to connect its digital and sampling businesses.
2022: a year of recovery
Arcade Beauty said 2022 was “a year of strong recovery”. Growth stood at 8% at constant scope and exchange rates, driven by Europe (+10%). The business in China was “difficult”, while the US market was quite weak. In terms of product segments, fragrance and make-up drove growth.
CEO Carl Allain says the company is “cautious but optimistic” for 2023. Fragrance is growing, he says, with high demand driven by Asia, notably China where niche brands are strong. Skincare should see a reboot in the second half, facilitated by the reopening of China’s borders. In China, Arcade Beauty says it is working with several US and European brands that want to produce locally.
