When Health and Beauty Merge

Written by Marie Redding, Associate Editor

Euromonitor International has been observing a trend: the increasing connection between health and beauty. The market research company’s July 2013 report, Beauty and Personal Care in the U.S., says that beauty product manufacturers can reach new consumer groups by focusing on health—because there is a greater demand for “healthy beauty” products. “To capitalize on the trend, one thing beauty companies can do is use more ingredients that are associated with food,” says Tim Barrett, U.S. analyst, Euromonitor International.

Evolution of Smooth’s shaving creams are housed in custom bottles, with ergonomically shaped indentations designed to help users grasp them in the shower.

This trend is being fueled by the demand for health and wellness food products, which has risen by 13% from 2007 through 2012—representing an increase in retail sales of $18.4 billion, according to the market researcher. 
Many bath and body brands are using natural and food-inspired ingredients, and many products are also delivering aromatherapy benefits. Some brands are choosing packaging that will protect the product’s ingredients from light, while others are creating unique bottle shapes. Being “green” is important as well, as suppliers are delivering many packaging options made with sustainable materials. 

Colorful Eco-Friendly Packaging

The health-conscious beauty trend is being fueled in part by eco-conscious consumers, according to Euromonitor’s report. So the same consumers who seek healthier products are also enticed by brands that use sustainable packaging. But “green” doesn’t mean plain brown packaging anymore.

Dessert Essence’s eco-friendly tube is decorated with a realistic photo of an apple, which Viva Healthcare produces using its in-mold labeling process.

Another suggestion for brands in Euromonitor’s report is: “To differentiate their products from the rest of the faces in the crowd, beauty and personal care companies will need to make their assertions clear and simple.” 

Dessert Essence and Balanced Guru are two brands doing this, and they’re also using eco-friendly packaging with a design that clearly conveys information about ingredients. Dessert Essence’s tubes that contain its Green Apple & Ginger Body Wash, Shampoo and Conditioner feature photos of bright, crisp apples. Balanced Guru’s packaging looks more traditionally “natural,” but bright pops of color and a concise label design help to clearly convey the benefits of the essential oils in its products. 

Dessert Essence’s tubes are produced and decorated in the same plant by Viva Healthcare— and they’re “green” in more ways than just the decoration. The tube is injection molded, with an in-mold label. The tube is polypropylene (PP) and the label is cast polypropylene (CPP). 

When tubes are made with multiple resins, which is typical, it presents a challenge for recycling—but Viva’s tubes are 100% PP. “Our efficient one-piece injection molding process reduces the number of steps and minimizes waste—and, the caps are manufactured in-house, which eliminates the need to transport them from another location. Our tubes save 25 to 35% emissions compared to other technologies, as per a Life Cycle Analysis performed by a third party company,” explains Bruno Lebeault, marketing director North America for Viva Healthcare Packaging.

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