In part two of our packaging innovations round up from Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2022, we spotlight innovations in paper and wood-based packaging, refills and the latest in airless technology.
HCP is making a big push into skincare, especially for the Asia market. The beauty packaging company unveiled several novelties, including its first pumps. The patented Affinity Atmospheric Pump with dip tube design is said to offer soft and smooth actuation and targets facial serums, lotions and liquid facial make-up. It comes with two standard collar neck sizes and a range of actuator and collar combinations. The supplier says that the Affinity Airless Pump will soon follow.
Noting a trend in Europe for paper-based packaging and a global airless packaging market that is set to grow by 130% in the next five years, Lumson showed Xpaper, its airless packaging with outer paper shell developed in partnership with Pusterla 1880. Once empty, the paper bottle can be separated from the airless pouch dispenser and recycled.
Embelia presented Baïa, its airless pouch range with eco-design options. The bottle is available in either PP, recycled PP or bio-based recycled PP (chemical recycled plastic or plant waste). PE or aluminum can be used for the pouch, while the cream pump is in PP (a spray version is available) and the overcap either PP, recycled PP or bio-based recycled PP. The range comes in three sizes; 15ml, 30ml and 50ml. Decoration options include hot stamping, offset printing, lacquering and screenprinting. Embelia says a refill version with a plastic pouch is in the works, slated to launch in the second half of this year.
Baralan showed caps made with a portion of organic waste by-products. Produced by Baralan’s Labor Plast entity specialized in injection molding, they combine 30% coffee or rice husks with 70% virgin PP. Recycled PP is also being tested.
With its strategy focused on "premium sustainability", German cosmetics pencils specialist Faber Castell showed its new Gather collection. The highlight of the line is a PEFC wood pencil with cellulose cap (60-80% cellulose combined with polyester) whose formula is said to provide a highly pigmented, long-lasting application with high-performance texture.
Indonesian company Kemas showed injected beauty packaging components made from Limex, a patented, limestone-based material. Limex combines a minimum of 60% limestone with PP, and is coated with Musashi BioPaint made from plant-based materials, such as castor seeds, sugar cane, canola flowers and pine resin. Positioned as a plastic alternative, Limex can be used for lipsticks, compacts or jars, among other applications.
Quadpack showed functional and aesthetic improvements to the design of its insert-free Woodacity wooden fragrance caps (pictured below). In June, the beauty packaging supplier will launch a range of refillable Woodacity products, including jars, lipsticks and compacts. Quadpack has launched the Regula Refill Jar, a premium doubled-walled refillable jar in PET, with a PP removable refill insert and a PP cap. The company is also rolling out a full PET lipgloss pack, with a LDPE wiper and PE applicator.
With Korean company Yonwoo’s Lift Up Gravity Cap, the consumer lifts up the bottle so the gravity cap moves down beyond the bottom of the pack, revealing the dispenser ready to use. With no cap, the pack twists to lock. The 30ml format, which has a refillable inner bottle, is suited for skincare formulas include serums, essences and creams. The company says it was originally developed with men’s skincare products in mind.
Samhwa showed wood-effect jar caps made from PCR PP. Available in various colors, the caps have a wood-like grain and are 5-6mm thick in a bid to replicate the weight of wood.
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.
MYC Packaging Innovation, headquartered in China and with an innovation team in Italy, has added mascara packs to its Refill Me! Collection. With a click closure, the outer case is in aluminium, 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.
Luxe Packaging Insight's US correspondent Deanna Utroske polled suppliers from the America's region at the show.
New Jersey-based WWP was showing packaging collections made of materials new to the supplier, including nature2need, a bio-based, biodegradable line made in partnership with the Biopolymer and Biomaterial Compounds company of the same name (pictured below).
The exclusive partnership means that WWP Beauty Group is the only supplier in the cosmetics and personal-care industry able to offer this new eco-chic packaging material to beauty brands.
Musa Dias, Global Chief Marketing Officer at WWP Beauty Group describes need2nature as “polysensorial packaging,” explaining that the sugarcane-based biopolymer has a “soft satin feel and a sophisticated weight.” Up to 10% of the pack can be comprised of botanical fibers such as bamboo, coffee, wheat, coconut, or rice husk. In addition, essential oils can be incorporated into the packaging to add fragrance.
The material is said to degrade ten times faster than PP, but does not create microplastics in the process, according to the company. The nature2need line was shown in a lip balm tube, single-wall round compact, and a jar at Cosmoprof. While the material promises to be a viable replacement of ABS and polycarbonate packaging, is not yet suitable for direct water contact.
WWP Beauty Group also showed new primary packaging for cosmetics and personal care products made from Ocean Plastic, IPET, Eastman Cristal One Renew, and Eastman Cristal Renew – all of which are recycled.
Custom primary packaging supplier NF Beauty Group has seen a significant rise in requests for sustainable packaging, according to Elise Kim, Director of Business Development, with “refillable and recyclable packaging” the most popular. Materials such as bioresins and aluminum are in demand as well, says the supplier, as is glass packaging fitted with an airless dispensing system.
At Evergreen Resources, bills a global sourcing and packaging solutions partner for health and beauty brands, Vice President of Business Development Geoff Wilson affirms that demand today is for “all things sustainable”. In addition to helping brands source the right materials, the company also build redundancy into its packaging supply chain in order to sidestep any capacity limitations and missed shipments as the pandemic wears on. Wilson also notes that beauty makers now are having “more educated conversations about sustainability and working to lower the carbon footprint of their packaging, getting out of mixed materials and making material reductions with machine controls.”
