Cosmetics have always been a means to an end, be that end achieving a certain look or adding that little extra something that gives your confidence a boost. The truth is cosmetics change the way you carry yourself, but do you realize that same principle applies to its packaging? The proof behind this principle is in what attracts you to a certain product in the first place.
Bottling Beauty: The Importance of Cosmetic Packaging in Sales
Cosmetics is a multi-billion dollar industry, thanks in no small part to the way the products are packaged. At its most basic level, cosmetic packaging boils down to three elements:
1. Design appeal
2. Brand identity
3. User affinity
The sum of all of these parts is what takes a highly visible product from shelf to sale.
Manufacturers study marketing trends and collect consumer input when considering packaging design. Their first task: help you choose or find a particular fragrance or cosmetic in the competitive and tumultuous sea that has become the local cosmetic aisle. How do they do that? Two words: design appeal.
Whether you are attracted to a company’s eco-friendly commitment, ease-of use right out of the packaging, dazzling holograms or shifting substrates; you are fundamentally influenced to purchase a specific product based on the custom packaging of that product. Cosmetics are no exception.
Everything correlates to what a company is selling, making the cosmetic packaging just as important as the fragrance inside. The initial appeal may hook you or get you to try something new, the brand identity that backs that appeal up is what keeps you coming back.
One in a Million; The Identity that Builds a Brand
If you’re running errands, but also running short on time, how do you narrow down the item you want to purchase more quickly? You look for familiar packaging. We all do it, even if we aren’t fully aware of it at the time.
This is an example of effective “branding.” We are so familiar with a particular product or company that we can identify it on-sight, by the packaging. What we see automatically connects to our estimation of quality. The more good experiences we have with a product, the more frequently we buy it.
Frequent buyers usually transition into loyal customers. This brings us to a manufacturer’s second task: creating brand identity. Brand identity separates the consumer wheat from the chaff. It visually communicates all that a company stands for in a single image, logo, or textual flourish. In a market saturated with options, branding is the distinguishing mark that can make or break a product line. Yes, you will find these marks on cosmetic packaging across the board.
Branding is also the reason behind test markets. Companies want to be sure customers respond positively to their product design or re-design before they release it on the open market; a wise idea, especially if a successful brand is updating their look.
Speaking of looks; task number three is all about ensuring customer satisfaction. Cosmetic packaging also has to include a high-volume of directions and instructions to keep products user-friendly. After all, product lines come in all kinds of packages:
- airless bottles and pumps
- dispensing caps
- foil pouches
- droppers
- cream and lotion tubes
- lotion pumps
- canisters
- cosmetic jars
- perfume bottles
- foamer pumps and bottles
- cosmetic containers
- atomizers
- deodorant stick containers
- pumps for bottles
- lip balm containers
- cosmetic closures
- triggers
- sprayers
- bottles
- liquid dispensers
- aerosol cans
The form and function of each must be clearly labeled and easily explained, so customers keep coming back. This three-fold approach to cosmetic packaging is both essential and effective.
At SoOPak, we know the cosmetic packaging through and through, and are always ready to tackle the next cosmetic packaging challenge.
