As eco-design continues to take center stage in the luxury packaging industry, Luxe Packaging Insight spotlights a selection of the latest refill format innovations.
Quadpack and Aptar Beauty + Home have joined forces to create a refillable lipstick housed in a wooden case. Dubbed the Iconic Woodacity lipstick, the premium pack is manufactured in Europe. It uses Aptar Beauty + Home’s Iconic mechanism, combined with a certified ash wood case, part of Quadpack’s Woodacity line. Rather than the traditional click closure associated with lipsticks, the pack features a patented ‘Solo Twist’ twist-and-lock gesture. To refill the lipstick, consumers simply snap in the new mechanism after pulling out the used one.
Stoelzle partnered with French closures specialist Technicaps to develop Le Perpetuel, a standard refillable glass jar weighing in at 129 grams. Designed to be “simple and intuitive” to encourage consumers to adopt the refill reflex, the partners looked to make the refill cup easy to remove and replace. This meant positioning the inner cup on top of the jar’s threads so that the component isn’t involuntarily removed as the cap is twisted off. Ease of use also guided the design of the inner cup, which features a three-notch fixation system: a first to position the component, another to maintain it in place and a third to lock it. Technicaps produced a 100% recycled PET cap (with the injection point inside the cap), while the 50ml inner cup is in virgin PP; using a recycled grade of plastic put the formula at risk for contamination, says the supplier. The glass, meanwhile, contains 15% PCR content.
Along with the previously cited refillable lipstick developed with Aptar Beauty + Home, beauty packaging supplier Quadpack has added a wooden refillable jar and compact to its Woodacity range. Both feature the same patented twist-and-lock opening and closing system as the lipstick. The compact's aluminum pan can be glued or held in place with a removable magnet. The jar has a PP removable inner cup and a PE liner. In terms of decoration, the packs can be hot-stamped, laser engraved, silkscreened or spray coated.
Quadpack has also rolled out the Regula Refill Jar, a premium doubled-walled refillable jar in PET, with a PP removable refill insert and a PP cap.
Fragrance refill solutions specialist Techniplast presented a prototype of an in-store fragrance refill machine this summer that works without electricity. A hand pump action pushes air into the full flacon, which transfers the liquid into the bottle to be refilled. As the device does not require the removal of the pump from the bottle, it is compatible with crimped pumps as well as screw neck flacons.
FusionPKG’s (Aptar Beauty + Home) Repeat refillable airless solution is a patent-pending pack featuring a recycle-ready PET reusable shell and a PP refill cartridge. In what the supplier says is an industry-first, the POM-free pump engine is integrated into the refill cartridge, rather than the reusable outer part, which means a fresh pump engine with each refill. The patent-pending system has a locking mechanism that clicks into place. PCR material options are available. The inner and outer packs are oriented to one another, ensuring perfectly aligned décor – options include metallization and hotstamping.
French plastic packaging company Somater’s refillable CTA Eco Mascara offers a patented Click, Twist and Apply system that offers a new application gesture for mascara. “With this ‘click’, we are bringing a gesture more associated with lipsticks to mascara packaging,” the supplier explains. Rather than unscrewing the mascara wand, consumers click and twist the pack instead. The monomaterial pack is made of PP, with PCR options available. Decoration options include screenprinting and hotstamping.
MYC Packaging Innovation has added mascara packs to its Refill Me! Collection. With a click closure, the outer case is in aluminum, while the inner bottle is PP (recycled materials are also an option). Both the cap and base can be weighted for a more premium feel. Molded and twisted-fiber brushes are available, including bio-based options. To refill the mascara, consumers remove the cap, unscrew the collar to pull out the cartridge and insert a new one.
Mktg Industry’s Stick GEA Refill is a refillable beauty pack made from paperboard. Said to cut down on the use of plastic by up to 75% compared to traditional stick packaging, its plastic refill can be separated from the cardboard base and cap to facilitate recycling. Available in 6g and 14g, the stick format is aimed at solid skincare and make-up products.
HCP Packaging’s refillable and mono-material formats include new lipsticks. Two of these combine both characteristics: one is made entirely of PP, including the refill, and is suited for modest budgets; the other is in transparent PET. Other models are refillable but not monomaterial, such as a high-end mechanism made of recycled ABS and clad in aluminum that is equipped with a patented security key to prevent the refill from being used without its case. Another lipstick case combines plastic and a paper sleeve and has just come out in a refillable version. This offer now includes the 6mm diameter Super Slim Refill Lipstick.
