This is an episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. More from the series →
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This week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast introduces a three-week series dedicated to beauty packaging. Despite daily interacting with beauty products — including face wash, body wash, lipstick or shampoo — consumers rarely spend time thinking about the countless decisions that go into a brand’s packaging. From sustainability (Are refills offered? Is the plastic PCR?) to color (think: the pull of millennial pink) to font, every packaging element is carefully considered. As our first guest in the series, FIT Professor Sebba Alqetrani, said, “The first thing the consumer sees, touches and interacts with is the package. [It] is your first opportunity to have a first impression.”
Over the next two weeks, we will explore just why packaging is so important and what factors can make it impactful, whether it has to do with a product’s efficacy, branding or deeper emotional resonance.
But first, a look at some of this week’s headlines including the launch of Ulta Beauty’s UB Marketplace, a curated third-party marketplace that will allow the mega beauty retailer to integrate many new brands into its existing e-commerce site; Sephora’s growth, bolstered in part by Rhode’s buzzy launch, according to LVMH’s recent earnings; and The Body Shop’s return to U.S. sales , launching online through a direct-to-consumer site and Amazon.
Below are highlights from the episode, which have been lightly edited for clarity.
Teaching students the design process
“Before we even begin designing a package, before we even start selecting our materials, there is a research, immersion, observation and discovery phase, and that’s prominent in every design process. Before we put pen to paper, we think about who we are designing for. What is their psychology? My students build persona profiles. They do retail audits. They do competitive overviews. At FIT, we have access to so many databases, like Fashion Snoops, WGSN and Mintel, and we’re pulling consumer insights, trend reporting, and analysis to really understand the pulse of the industry and where it’s going. We understand what the lay of the land is and what the overall vibe is, when it comes to purchasing products. And, whether it’s e-commerce, whether it’s brick and mortar, [they understand what’s going on]. We do things like color theory. We do things like eye tracking research to understand where somebody’s eye is focusing on when they’re looking at a panel on a package. Are they looking at the logo? Are they looking more at the descriptors, or are they looking at the back panels? [Once we] understand where the consumer is paying [the most] attention, we then pay special attention to those facets.”
Packaging in a saturated market
“We live in an information age. Consumers are more educated than they’ve ever been. They’re doing their research on brands. They’re making sure their purchasing behavior aligns with their values. So what we’re noticing is successful packaging design is intuitive. Successful packaging design is intentional. … [It’s about] understanding how people are feeling right now. We’re in a very interesting time and age, when it comes to product development. We have really high tariffs coming in on a lot of our products, and that’s impacting our cost of goods, which is impacting the cost of products. And so, now, consumers are very hesitant to overspend or over-consume. And now, over-consumption is not trending, right? It’s more about intention, down to the products you align yourself with. We’re in a very saturated market. So, how do [brands] distinguish [themselves], and how [can they] connect with the consumer? It’s all about that deep understanding. When it comes to intuitive design, what sounds are they hearing? Is there a click? Is there a clasp? How is that engaging them further, and what kind of emotions are they feeling when they see certain colors or when they feel certain textures? Things like a soft-touch finish, a matte finish, an embossment or a debossment — these things resonate with consumers very subtly, but they make an impact. So, we incorporate that in our design based on what [the] consumer values and what they’re looking for.”
How brands are attempting sustainability
“When it comes to sustainability, it’s [about a] multi-pronged approach. There isn’t anyone that’s doing it perfectly. But, God bless the brands that are actually attempting [it]. Doing something is better than doing nothing. [When it comes to] sustainability, we’re seeing in our research, consumers are dying for sustainable solutions. They’re frustrated by the lack of information. They don’t know if they need to separate their components and put them in different bins. They don’t know if they need to clean their packaging before. They don’t even know if some of the packaging they’re using is recyclable or not. Is it made out of PCR? The reason for that is brands are scared to make these claims, [whether it’s because of] logistics or legality. However, some brands are doing a great job. Dieux, for example, is doing a great job with their aluminum tube. When it comes to aluminum, it is a metal that is infinitely reusable and recyclable, so there is a recycling stream for it. Designing with sustainability in mind is something that is being implemented in our industry throughout the design process, and it’s better to do that and implement it early on than to react and try to implement it toward the end of your design process.”
