Cosmetic packaging trends according to consumer insights

According to the latest market analysis of the cosmetic packaging industry, consumers care more about health, ethics and sustainable aspects of the product and the brand. Customers are also choosing and prioritizing those brands that support natural cosmetics with probiotics. These new challenges are forcing the packaging industry to be innovative and constantly evolving.

The aim of brands is to identify future opportunities in the cosmetic market based on the actual necessities of consumers such as: natural and sustainable cosmetics, customised solutions, probiotics and corean cosmetics.

Natural and sustainable cosmetic

Natural cosmetic products are those that contain ingredients obtained from natural sources, are free of chemicals or pesticides and are perceived as healthier, better tolerated by the skin, produced under a greater ethical and ecological awareness and include more sustainable and economical raw materials.

The reasons for these preferences are primarily aligned with the current values and concerns of an increasingly conscientious consumer. However, their price is a handicap when adding them to the shopping cart. This trend has also been extended to the demand for hair hygiene products. Shampoos or masks without parabens, silicones are in demand, and fruit aromas are valued. As a consequence, natural and even vegan solutions have emerged, developed through sustainable processes.

The trend for sustainability is as important as the trend for natural products. Organic, chemical-free ingredients and sustainable formulations are the foundation on which cosmetic innovation currently rests. Consumers demand tests that certify that under the claims of efficacy, sustainability and organic there are safe products that are committed to these values, beyond the “green” label.

The key to responding to both trends, natural and sustainable, is in technological innovation. Clean technology is required that allows very high levels of purity. These capabilities are possible to achieve by applying supercritical CO2 extraction technology, also called supercritical fluid extraction.

This technology allows obtaining natural active substances free of traces and contaminants, suitable for the cosmetic industry through sustainable, eco-efficient and safe processes. In addition, it is harmless, environmentally friendly and cost effective.

With it, natural active substances and principles for cosmetic application such as oils from nuts and other vegetables, essential oils and botanical extracts are achieved, among others.

In this sense, plant extracts are a renewable and sustainable resource of great importance for the sector. This is because it is now essential to promote the sustainable use of biological resources, the conservation of biodiversity and the supply of ingredients and raw materials that are sustainable and respectful of the environment. An example of these extracts is Green Coffee Oil (GCO). If you want to know more about the potential of this extract in cosmetics, we invite you to read the article “Green coffee extract as a natural ingredient for cosmetics”.

Probiotics cosmetics

Probiotic products, in addition to being natural, offer a high tolerance and are conceived as healthy, they are understood as the vanguard in cosmetic innovation and are very well known for their high effectiveness in protecting the skin and their moisturizing capabilities.

Its use has increased due to its proven positive effects in health and general well-being. According to Alimarket, “in the US approximately four out of ten young millennials consume probiotics, and a similar percentage of them are willing to try probiotic facial care products.”

As a consequence, it will allow the cosmetic industry to develop products with more effective, safe and healthy advanced properties and functionalities, as well as to lower costs of industrial processes.

H2 K-BEAUTY cosmetics

Korean cosmetics has become one of the main trends in the cosmetics sector and has promoted easy-to-use products. It is positioned as a solution that offers a healthy skin appearance through light and refreshing textures. However, its ignorance by consumers makes its market penetration even lower.

According to a Mintel report, “South Korean brands are designing and marketing products that combine elements of the cultural well-being of Western consumers with new suggestive and innovative elements, capable of stimulating the senses. They appeal to young people’s desire to experiment, and they make skin care stop being a routine process and become an interesting and pleasant experience.

Customised cosmetics

We could say that the most significant trend of the moment is personalized cosmetics. It is the link between all the trends presented. The consumer demands natural cosmetics, but also personalized and very adjusted to their own needs. When clients talk about personalisation, they are talking about highly effective, quality and technologically innovative cosmetics, as well as novel and unique.

An example of this is found in “anti-aging” products. According to several reports consulted, half of the young people between 16 and 24 years of age in the main EU countries prefer to maintain simple facial care guidelines so as not to mistreat their skin. In addition, they consider anti-aging solutions unnecessary. However, they opt for a healthy discourse.

Microencapsulation is a key technology for product customization and functional enhancement. It has been a revolution in recent years, since it has allowed the development of much more effective products in facial or body care (creams enriched with vitamins or minerals, long-acting deodorants, probiotics in facial creams, etc.). If you want to go deeper, we invite you to read the article “Personalized and natural cosmetics thanks to advanced microencapsulation”.

Are you looking for customized packaging?

From Molpack our aim is to keep on offering an excellent service to our clients and help them be as successful as possible with their customers. That is why we have invested in optimizing our prototyping processes by integrating a 3D catalogue so that our clients can directly customize our packages online whenever they need it. This new process will accelerate the validation of projects and also improve the experience for our clients.

“You can now see our catalogue in 3D from our website, customize the package you need with your team in less than 2 minutes and send it to us. We will be able to provide an even faster service than before” Sales director

By transforming our catalogue into a 3D tool, not only are we going to be able to accelerate the prototyping processes and improve our clients’ experience, but also to create a more sustainable process. Thanks to 3D visualisation we are able to reduce a big amount of physical prototypes and this means avoiding unnecessary pollution that comes from transportation.

How does it work?

Visit our website and enter our 3D catalogue

Choose the package that best suits your products’ needs.

Customize it online in 3D: change the color, try different finishes, add your artwork… You can even send the link to your team so they can visualize and validate it.

Finish the customisation and send it to us through our website with your contact details. We will receive your customisation in 3D with the dielines and graphics attached to it and your contact info.