PURPOSE OF COSMETIC PACKAGING
The Cosmetic Industry in India has grown at a tremendous rate. Today, India is one of the world's largest cosmetics producers. It is also one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide.
The Indian government has made a concerted effort to promote the development of this sector. They have implemented a series of policies and measures to increase its growth.
According to the Indian Society of Cosmetic Chemists (ISCC), the cosmetics market in India has grown steadily over the past few years. In fact, the ISCC predicts that it will continue to grow at an average rate of 11% per year through 2020. In 2017 alone, the market grew by 13%, which represents a 5% increase from 2016's growth numbers.
The industry is expected to create more than 1 million jobs by 2025 and generate more than $2 billion in revenue annually by 2025.
Further, growth in literacy and education has also made people more hygienic-conscious. Changing habits of the masses, particularly opting for newer items, has made the industry to produce products scientifically. Products thus produced have better properties, get-up, and stability. Yet another important reason for the growth of this industry is the adoption of modern marketing techniques and the extensive role played by advertising agencies.
Recently, the use of beauty products has increased. This is because of mass communication through social media apps like Facebook Instagram, videos and posters, radio ads, and advertisements in newspapers, and magazines. This resulted in awareness about beauty preparations resulting in their increased use.
greater sales and production. With the production of comparable products being taken up by more and more companies, packaging has assumed a new dimension since packaging may become the USP of the product. In the vast field of cosmetics, there always exists a search for the attractiveness of presentation; it also being a field where competition is intensely fierce, one has to ensure that designs are technically effective both from the production as well as marketing points of view.
Hence cosmetic packaging is an important part of the beauty industry. It is used to keep products safe and secure, while allowing customers to pay for their purchases. The main function of cosmetic packaging is to protect the product from damage.
Cosmetic packaging also helps with branding and marketing. By keeping packaging materials in consistent colors, shapes and sizes, it helps create brand recognition among consumers who may have already seen the product being sold in another market. It can also help to sell more products because consumers will be attracted to it if they recognize it as being associated with a certain brand.
There are four major function an ideal cosmetic Packaging should perform.
1. To protect the product from damage during shipping
2. To provide an attractive product presentation
3. To prevent leakage or spillage of the product
4. To allow for storage and display of the product
Cosmetics Classification
With the above points in mind, one can now look into the science of packaging of cosmetics. A cosmetic may be defined as an external application that helps to beautify or improve complexion, skin, or hair. While a number of cosmetic products are available for the sake of studying packaging needs, it would be handy to group the most important ones below some headings
These Can be:
In order to arrive at the most suitable packaging material you should have knowledge of the product characteristics, available packaging materials and their compatibility with the product, and above all, distribution and marketing methods.
Let's examine a few available packaging media for the above-mentioned groups of cosmetics.
Packaging for Face Creams and Lotions
The main constituents of face creams include bee wax, mineral oil, and water. Functional requirements of the packaging material for this purpose may be listed as preservation of water content and perfume, protection against light, and maximum sales appeal value.
The conventional material is obviously opaque glass. Polystyrene with its outstanding characteristics, wide color range, ease of processing, and low price has proved to be an ideal medium for packaging of cosmetics. Recently this material, is preferred more because of its rigidity, possibility of multi-colour printing, gold foil stamping and metallizing. The use of double-walled polystyrene containers is well known.
Face lotions are basically emulsions with water as dispersing medium. The main factor one has to consider in packaging of lotions is filling temperature. The best suited materials are glass and polystyrene.
Packaging for Talcs (Face powder)
Face powder is available either in loose or compact form and the main ingredient is talc which is chemically magnesium silicate. The other constituents are calcium carbonate, zinc oxide, perfume and colouring matter. The material chosen should be able to help the product retain its odour, perfume, fineness and apparent density and should be able to prevent contamination due to oil, grease or rubber. For compact powders, one more factor to be considered is rigidity of the container for otherwise it would deform during the compressing operation. While tin containers and composite containers are used for loose powder packing. polystyrene containers are best suited for compact packing of powders.
Packaging for Lipsticks
The main ingredients in lipstick are oils, waxes and pigments. Since there is a likelihood of these, getting mixed-up with eatables when applied to lips, it should be ensured that absolute protection against contamination is provided while packing. It should be stored in tightly closed containers made of inert material and in a dark room at low temperatures. The containers chosen should be rigid enough and most commonly used ones are of aluminium and polystyrene. Containers for lipstick are made of two components. One is the threaded or unthreaded cap to which the product is moulded to snug fit and the other a cover to contain the first part.
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Packaging for Dentifrices (powder and paste form)
Dentifrices are available in both powder and paste form. They normally contain calcium carbonate or phosphate, surface active agent, flavouring oil, sweeteners, humictant, binder, preservative and water. The main factors that go in deciding the packaging medium particularly for pastes are prevention of ingress and egress of moisture and compatibility. Tin containers suitably lacquered inside and composite containers with inner aluminium foil liner are commonly used for tooth powders. The decoration and size of the containers will obviously depend upon prevailing marketing conditions.
As far as packaging of tooth paste is concerned it is well known that collapsible tubes (ABL Lami- Tubes) are the best suited. An inside lacquering is essential to prevent corrosion. The closures of these tubes could be effected with plastic caps of polyethylene, polystyrene or phenolics in any desired colour.
Packaging for Shaving Creams and Soaps
Shaving creams and soaps contain stearic acid, coconut oil, caustic potash, caustic soda, glycerol, preservatives, perfumes and water. The material chosen to pack these items should help in the retention of moisture of the product. The sticks are wrapped first with aluminium foil and then contained in tin containers, plastic containers, co-extruded tubes or duplex board cartons.
Packaging for Depilatories (cream and lotion forms)
Depilatories, available both in cream and lotion forms, are mainly constituted of thioglycolic acid and calcium thioglycolate, which lose their potency on exposure to light. Further carbondioxide in atmosphere reduces the alkalinity. Oxidation of thiols retards depletion and promotes colour formation in the cream. It is, therefore, important that the product be protected from atmospheric degradation. The lotions are normally packed in glass bottles and the creams in lacquered collapsible tubes. The air space in both the cases should be reduced to the practical minimum. The closures are normally of plastic materials since the highly chemical reagents in these products demand absolutely inert materials.
Packaging for Hair Oils
Hair oils contain constituents which are susceptible to rancidity. As at the stage of manufacturing anti-oxidants are added, the packaging medium selected should be a good barrier to gas-permeability besides being able to retain the perfumes and preservatives. Glass bottles have been found to be the best choice for this purpose.
Packaging for Nail Lacquers
A good nail lacquer should have certain qualities such as ease of application, quick drying, fast hardening, resistance to chipping and abrasion and good adhesion to nails. The ingredients that go into the making of nail polish include polyvinyl acetate or tributyl phosphate (a resin), nitrocellulose (film former), ethers or ketones (solvent-quick drying), and pigments like titanium dioxide, iron oxide, ultramarine blue and chrome oxide green. These ingredients offer the qualities expected in a nail polish. As the solvents used are highly volatile, the best choice of packaging medium is glass; in addition, glass also offers the necessary see through properties. This is equally important because different groups of people prefer different colours. The closures are normally of plastic, mostly polystyrene with dip and apply brush attached to it. The introduction of this system renders convenience and reduces loss of product during use.
Packaging for Aerosols (Deodorant-Spray)
The advent of aerosols has revolutionised the cosmetic industry. Increasing public appreciation of the convenience aspect of aerosols is the main factor that has contributed to its rapid growth. An aerosol essentially consists of the container either metallic or glass, the propellent and the valve. Shaving creams, hair sprays and other personal products including deodorants are increasingly being sold in aerosol packs. Technical developments in valve design, propellents or containers have created new product possibilities, and this industry shows an upward trend due to, increasing sophistication, awareness of fashion and better living along with improving economic conditions.
Bulk Packaging
The foregoing has mainly dealt with unit packaging of cosmetic products. Irrespective of any product that is produced, it is always necessary to despatch them to various centres for sale. This necessitates the use of bulk containers.
Bulk cosmetics packaging is a packaging solution that can be used to protect your bulk cosmetic products. It is designed to preserve the product integrity and protect it from external environmental conditions. This packaging solution also offers protection against corrosion, which allows you to keep your product in good condition for longer periods of time. Bulk cosmetics packaging comes in different forms and sizes, depending on the type of product you are trying to protect. For example, there are cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, corrugated boxes and so on. The size of your package can also vary depending on how much product you want to store at one time.
There are several things that you should consider before deciding on which type of bulk cosmetics packaging solution would work best for your needs:
Conclusion
Cosmetics industry, is probably the first to realise the importance of package design and the graphic arts. As the contents are needed to beautify the user, a suitable design of the container and the unit carton, if any, is equally needed to improve its marketing functions. It is true that majority of the buyers go by the brand name. However every buyer one day or the other, buys a product for the first time and it is at this instant that the container and its design should attract him/her and sell itself and incidentally the contents.
Further, there always exists a continuous need for distinguished and distinctive packs. This is more so as moods and trends of buyers change every now and then. Thus the situation demands a regular review from the standpoints of new packs and marketing requirements. Probably advertising agencies are in a better position today to advice on packaging decisions. Knowing the full details and implications of marketing decisions taken regularly and being in contact with specialist designers and manufacturers, the advertising agency can, with its client, apply objectively in the final selection of the various forms of packaging to be used.
Among the complexities of production, protection, transportation, distribution, advertising, merchandising and selling, packaging has an important part to play in the cosmetic industry.