On an everyday basis, we don’t really give much thought towards the packaging of our beauty products. What we do pay attention to are the results they help us achieve, such as smooth skin, shiny hair or long eyelashes. We also give quite a lot of thought to the price of the products and whether or not they were recommended to us by friends, family, social media influencers, or frugal fitness bloggers.
However, some of us consciously, some unconsciously, we do choose certain products over others based on how the packaging looks like or what is its functionality. Recently, Euromonitor International released a new report about the packaging design trends in the beauty industry that should last until the year 2022. Do you recognize yourself as contributing to any of the below when it comes to product packages?
Everything Smaller!
Generally speaking, we all travel more. But that does not necessarily mean abroad for tropical holidays. In comparison to the previous generations, we travel and move around more in our everyday life between work, home, school, etc. Our lifestyles become busier which is one of the reasons why we invest so much into beauty products – to look less tired, more attractive and so on.
Many of us need cosmetics in small sizes for easier portability, less weight to carry around and sometimes for a legal reason such as the 100ml airport restriction. But that’s not all! The Euromonitor International report additionally mentions that, nowadays, people prefer to try a variety of different cosmetics than commit to one for a longer period of time. Naturally, smaller products encourage it as they finish quickly and so we can try a new one soon enough.
Functionality Is Key
As mentioned, our lifestyles become busier and busier. Even little things like inconvenient packaging closure is a frustrating element that slows us down. Hence, when we shop for new cosmetics, we tend to search for beauty products that will allow fast application. Even as little as two to five minutes saved each morning makes a difference, doesn’t it?
Moreover, we like buying things online more and more every day. Shipping individual items differs from shipping them in bulk to retail stores so that’s another aspect producers need to consider when designing. The flatter and smaller the mail, the cheaper it is. The cheaper the shipping, the more likely is it for the customer to buy it. In other words, everything is interconnected, and you need to consider all variables if you want to make profit now in business!
All Green Everything
Have you heard about the packaging-free shampoo bar made by Lush? The company seriously takes into account how it can reduce any negative impact on the environment. As a consequence, it tries its best in creating products that don’t require any packaging whatsoever. Other beauty and fashion companies perhaps don’t do as well as Lush but they also try to introduce sustainability to its customers or meet the needs of those who are already very conscious of the environment and value companies’ efforts to save it. Many brands replace their previously plastic packaging with recyclable materials or simply reduce the amount of packaging per product.
