By Michel Decodts, Global Development Program Manager for DuPont Cosmetic Solutions
Q. What are brand owners and designers looking for in cosmetic packaging?
DuPont's principal area of involvement is in the development of primary packaging, be it a perfume bottle or a jar for a beauty cream. Hence of absolute concern for our customers is the 100% compatibility of our packaging materials with the cosmetic formulation. Secondly, sales of cosmetic products are driven by their appeal - whether in terms of their shape, color or touch. Such attributes are often determined by the overall image of the brand, and assist differentiation in an increasingly competitive market. In such cases, packaging can act as the "silent salesman" and be used to actively encourage purchasing behavior. Finally, the other key driver in cosmetic packaging design is functionality - providing convenience for consumers. This may be in the guise of squeezable containers to aid extraction of the contents, or the design of nomadic products for today's on-the-go lifestyle.
Q.: What technologies does DuPont offer, or is DuPont developing, to fulfill these needs?
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| A visual and sensorial appeal - the brilliant, massive closure of Versace's new Bright Crystal perfume, made of DuPont™ Surlyn®, is shaped like a giant, multi-faceted diamond. |
Today's sophisticated skincare products and fragrances often contain essential oils or active ingredients, which presents a significant challenge in terms of compatibility. An innovative "overmolding" technology whereby glass is encased in DuPont™ Surlyn® allows to combine the chemical inertness of glass with the total design freedom and practical benefits of the polymer. The multitude of design options made possible by this development is very exciting - intricate shapes and decorative effects, such as sophisticated colors, metallic and fantasy coatings, frosted and unusual tactile properties - most of which would be impossible or extremely difficult to achieve in glass only.
In terms of visual and sensorial appeal, the current trend is towards volume and weight, particularly for luxury products. Some caps and closures for fragrances are even larger than the bottles themselves!. Take the brilliant, massive closure of Versace's new Bright Crystal perfume, for example: made of DuPont™ Surlyn®, it is shaped like a giant, multi-faceted diamond. It is a prime example of how molders, with DuPont's technical support, can produce thick to very thick parts of complex shape, and a glossy-smooth, perfectly flat surface, without defects. Other striking decorative effects for luxury packaging, that are impossible to achieve with glass, include DuPont's new Thick Wall Bottle (TWB) technology. It enables manufacturers of extrusion and co-extrusion blow-molded containers, such as jars and bottles, to combine an inner-layer compatible with the contents with an outer-layer that optimizes appearance and performance benefits, such as impact and scratch resistance.
Cubes and cubic design seem to be the prominent shape for many cream jars and perfume containers - requiring not only thick walls but extremely flat surfaces, without sink marks. While Surlyn(r) outperforms much of the competition in obtaining such results, customers are pushing the limits of standard processing techniques. New processes such as two-step molding - whereby 90% of the material is molded in one tool, then a smooth and flat "outer-skin" is overmolded in a second step - are being considered by DuPont.
Q.: How can packaging technology and/or materials contribute to create the desired look and feel of the product/brand?
The aforementioned Thick Wall Bottle technology, based on the transparency, durability and resilience of Surlyn®, can offer designers new creative potential in terms of the visual and tactile effects that can be achieved in a single molding operation: transparency, translucency, opacity and intriguing layering of two or more colors.
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| Sublimation printing for cosmetic packaging involves the integration of a protective outer-shell into the packaging design, which can be decorated with sublimated dyes for greater aesthetic appeal and brand differentiation. |
A second source of differentiation in packaging is offered by a technique called sublimation printing. It involves an outer shell made of DuPont™ Crastin® PBT polyester resin or DuPont™ Delrin® acetal resin, decorated with different patterns by means of dye sublimation. The process was developed by DuPont together with an outside partner and uses a patented dye-carrier which adheres smoothly onto curved parts and complex geometries without wrinkling, producing high-precision patterns. Sublimated dyes, or fibers for a fabric effect, can penetrate into the material to a depth of between 0.2 and 0.3 mm, making the decoration highly resistant to wear, scratches and abrasion. The ability to incorporate sophisticated multi-color images, photographs or patterns allows the creation of unique packaging concepts and strong brand differentiation.
Selective plating, another technique recently developed by DuPont, involves a bi-injection molding of platable and non-platable resins at the same time. It offers converters the possibility to define exactly which area of the surface of an injection-molded part is plated and which is not. As an example, a perfume closure which has both transparent and chrome-plated segments would normally require two separate molding operations followed by assembly of the two parts. Using selective plating, one can create the same aesthetic effect while at the same time achieving significant production and cost efficiencies. "This one-step selective plating technique gives more freedom in design concepts by providing different look and feel effects", adds Alexandra Fabbro, responsible for Decorative Solutions.
Q.: How does DuPont work with the cosmetic/luxury packaging industry to develop and deliver new technologies?
DuPont works at different stages of the value chain - with brand owners and designers, but also with the molders or converters - after all they are the ones capable to realize the full potential of our materials! We see our role as understanding the needs of the end-user and consumer and identifying functional and aesthetic trends in cosmetic packaging. With our customers we have formal or informal partnership agreements as we seek to find new ways of working with our materials in order to meet these needs and reflect current and future trends. Prosper Zufferey, processing expert, affirms : "The most efficient developments are the result of a close partnership from the initial stage of the development project onwards, with all members of the supply chain involved. Hence with innovations such as our TWB technology or the overmolding of glass there has always been a close-knit development group of end-customer, molder and ourselves."
Q.: Can you give an example of a commercial product or active development that illustrates this approach?
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| The glass-like transparency of DuPont™ Surlyn®, combined with the material's soft squeezability, toughness and chemical resistance, made it the clear choice for the packaging of Laneige Shining Lip Gloss. |
A development for Laneige Shining Lip Gloss from leading Asian brand AmorePacific perhaps best illustrates most of the above. Amore Pacific, the leading Korean cosmetic company, was looking for a transparent material that could express the colors and pearlized effect of its lip gloss, yet wanted to add more functionality and consumer appeal. DuPont recommended a grade of Surlyn® that offered not only high transparency but also squeezability, a pleasant touch, and - last but not least - a reduced level of manufacturing defects. Our involvement didn't stop there: the Korean molder, Cheung Kyung, though very experienced in injection molding Surlyn®, had less experience with the extrusion of Surlyn® (required for the lip gloss tubes). Colleagues from DuPont in Asia-Pacific were able to provide support in fine-tuning the extrusion process and parameters.
About the author
Michel Decodts is Global Development Program Manager for DuPont Cosmetic Solutions. Based in Paris, Michel has had global responsibility for DuPont Packaging's development programs for the cosmetic solutions and personal care sector since 2000. A qualified Chemical Engineer from Besancon, France, he joined DuPont in 1977 and has held numerous positions within the DuPont Performance Materials platform, including roles as a sales and marketing manager and as European Development Program Manager for the automotive and construction markets.
Also contributing to this article are DuPont experts Alexandra Fabbro, responsible for decorative solutions and Prosper Zufferey, processing expert.
