The expert points out that the packaging must protect the formula, but also reflect the natural characteristics of the product.
Product aesthetics, especially in the case of fragrances and cosmetics, continue to be a key factor in the purchasing decision. Currently, however, other aspects such as respect for the environment and the latest social trends and consumer habits are beginning to take on greater importance, which in turn are being configured as some of the strategic factors for perfumery and cosmetics.
Also for packaging companies that focus their services on an industry that, in order to meet its needs, focuses its efforts on developing new solutions that manage to differentiate a perfume or a cosmetic product by following the consumer’s demands and thus making him decide on one in particular.
In line with the current trends of the selective industry, increasingly concerned about environmental care and witnessing the boom of natural cosmetics, the packaging sector reflects this type of initiative and, as Aleix Fortuny, packaging engineer from the Barcelona Institute of Packaging (member of the Packaging Cluster) explains, it must be in line with this trend because “it will help us get the message across to the end user.” Hence the increasing awareness in the selective industry about the importance of sustainable packaging, as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Keys to developing sustainable packaging
This green trend has forced the packaging sector to catch up and update its techniques and materials to “offer something more than just a container,” says Jeremy Garrard, director of business development at Quadpack. So Garrard explains that, taking into account the proliferation of natural and organic products, the packaging must on the one hand protect the formula, and on the other hand reflect the natural properties of the product and use ingredients from nature (such as, for example, sustainable wood).
For his part, from Pujolasos (Beauty Cluster Barcelona’s partner company), its general manager, Ángel Pujolasos, indicates that ecology as a growing value also implies more “simpler” designs in that “the packaging aspect returns to packaging with minimalist lines, which exude luxury without too much ostentatiousness.”
Source: BEAUTYPROF no. 90.
