Lisa Samalonis08.23.11
Global Hair Care Packaging Trends
Dr. Benjamin Punchard, head of packaging research at Euromonitor International, explains why the outlook for HDPE bottles in hair care is strong.
By Dr. Benjamin Punchard
Global spend on hair care reached US$66 billion in 2010. The largest category was standard shampoo at US$22 billion, followed by conditioners at US$14 billion. With hair care dominated by these commodity products it’s not surprising to see HDPE bottles reaching over 8.1 billion units in the same year.
Adapting Standard Bottles
HDPE bottles offer such a practical pack type for shampoo, conditioner and 2-in-1 products that in many cases there is little drive to switch pack types. So brand owners in this category have become masters at using shape, color and texture to stand out. For example, in Taiwan Procter & Gamble renovated its packaging design for the Vidal Sassoon brand in early 2010. The new bottle has a round bottom and gradually evolves into a square bottle at the top. Compared to other standard shampoo and conditioner products in this country, the new bottle makes it more look like a professional hair care brand, enabling the product to retail at a higher price.
In China there has been a move to curvier shapes. LAF Daily Products Corporation Limited launched its new damaged hair recovery products with curves in the middle of the bottle, making it easier for customers to hold; this also gave the bottle a prettier, slimmer, more modern look. It also changed the packaging of its leading brand Reclen, with a more curvaceous shape around the top of the bottle. Bawang’s standard shampoo product Zhuifeng also uses similar curvy shapes.
Bulk-sized Pack Growth
Whilst innovative pack shapes can form part of a strategy to grow value sales, in a world still recovering from a recession some brand owners have been concentrating on maintaining and growing volume share. As such bottle sizes have been growing in many countries to offer value and family packs. In Thailand where 400-500ml is the standard shampoo size, 2010 saw the introduction of a number of 750ml and even 1,000ml bottles. For these larger sizes lotion pump closures are popular as these are easier to use than the standard plastic dispensing closure on such large bottles.
Also in Thailand, Unilever Thai Holdings Ltd. launched a new range of hair treatments in five variants under its Sunsilk brand last year. This range included bundled products containing shampoo, conditioner and hair care treatments together as another method of increasing volume sales at a price attractive to consumers.
Conditioners Decline
Conditioners are not seen as the essential product that shampoo is and the segment has suffered declines in some markets. For example 2010 volume consumption of conditioners saw declines in Canada, the USA, the UK and Brazil as cash poor consumers make products stretch further. The decline in conditioners also can be attributed in part to the increase in demand for, and increasing popularity of, combination shampoo and conditioning products.
Recognizing this stagnation, brand owners are fighting back with innovative product and packaging combinations. In Spain, brand manufacturers are attempting to differentiate their on-shelf presence in terms of design and perception of quality. One recent example was the launch by L’Oréal España SA of Fructis Hidra-Riso Mascarilla Fortificante Alisadora and Fructis Oleo Repair, using 300ml and 200ml PET jars to differentiate between targeted product formulations and helping consumers to easily identify complementary products. Moreover, the introduction of this pack type is linked to the increasing demand for more professional products and the association of jars with products used by hairdressers.
Environmental Concerns
Efficacy may be the key attribute that consumers look for in hair care products, but increasingly they also want environmental concerns addressed as well. Sustainable packaging is expected to become increasingly important boosting the performance of environmentally friendly materials, recycled materials, as well as pack types whose overall supply chain has a low negative impact on the environment.
In July 2010, Shiseido, a major player in beauty and personal care declared the company’s intention to use less material in its packaging. As part of this strategy, products are increasingly being offered in a refill pouch format. Shiseido’s Uno Fog Bar, a men’s hair styling wax, is available in a refill pouch that requires 90% less material than the standard HDPE bottle format.
This trend isn’t restricted to developed markets. In Argentina Procter & Gamble Interamericas Inc. announced in September 2010 that it will use 100% recyclable rigid plastic for its Pantene brand, present in categories such as shampoo, conditioners and 2-in-1 products. This new renewable packaging will be based a new material, which is produced by an innovative process that converts sugar cane into high density polyethylene (HDPE). Procter & Gamble packaging is supplied by Braskem SA, based in Brazil.
Sachets Under Pressure
In the Philippines, to make their products more affordable, hair care manufacturers offer single use 10ml sachets of shampoo and conditioners. While this has a positive appeal as far as affordability is concerned, environmentalists have begun to question the sustainability of this strategy. Though this is unlikely to deter low income consumers, brand owners may review their strategy for sachets to avoid any adverse publicity.
In India the competition to sachets comes from the growth in new distribution channel trends across urban areas such as the rapid proliferation of large malls and supermarkets. In response, beauty and personal care product manufacturers have launched packs that are more suitable for these channels. This has benefited the larger HDPE bottle. In 2010 there were just over 3,800 supermarkets and hypermarkets in India. Euromonitor predict that this will rise to 6,600 by 2015 further driving the move away from low-cost sachets.
Buoyed by strong global volume growth and the move away from single use sachets in emerging markets, Euromonitor International predicts a positive future for HDPE bottles in hair care, expecting global unit volume of this pack type to increase by nearly 14% over 2010-2015 to reach 8.7 billion units.