Beauty Packaging’s December 2016 issue features a story on Innovative Packaging, with numerous examples of some of this year’s most creative solutions. As background for this article, we asked several key executives at suppliers and brands to tell us about the actual process—where and how do they find inspiration and how do these ideas translate into development? Following are some of their responses:

Laura K. Price, Senior Package Development Engineer, Research & Development, Kao USA

Q1: How much emphasis is given to Innovative Packaging at Kao USA?

LP: Kao USA and our parent company, Kao Corporation, put considerable importance on developing innovative packaging daily and strive to be the creators of continuous innovation.

The KAO Vision is to be a global group of companies that is closest to the consumer/customer in each market, earning the respect and trust of all stakeholders and contributing to the sustainable development of society. The KAO Vision incorporates the term “Yoki-Monozukuri”. We define "Yoki-Monozukuri" as a strong commitment by all members to provide products and brands of excellent value for consumer satisfaction.

Q2: What do you try to achieve as far as attracting consumers in this way? Anything unique to Kao?

LP: We strive to develop innovative products and brands to maximize consumer satisfaction by determining the needs of consumers and fusing them with the seeds of R&D. (In research and development, technologies are often referred to as the “seeds "that give birth to products and new business.)

With the concept of “Consumer First” (in order to create innovation for the consumer), we always incorporate consumer research when we develop new packaging and work to find their known and unknown needs.We:

1. Identify the consumer problem and create a countermeasure against it.

2. Pay attention to the unknown and create a new value that the consumer would never expect. In the end, improve the lifestyle of the consumer. Making sure we meet consumer needs and bringing unexpected delight to daily beauty routine is where we strive to be for all packaging.

Q3: What processes do you use to try and come up with something unique? What is involved when developing a new product?

LP: 1. “Genba-ism”: Kao’s long line of innovation is based on the consumer driven principle, Genba-ism, where we listen carefully to our consumers and ensure the safety and reliability of our products through world-class quality management. “Genba” literally means “actual spot”. At Kao, “Genba-ism” defines the importance of observing things “on-site”, in the actual location and environment, both internally and externally, in order to maximize our understanding of the business and optimize our performance.

We ascertain the needs of consumers, and create products using innovative technologies in response to those needs. This helps our development in bringing Innovative Packaging to life.

2. “Bottom-up “approach & Matrix Management: Kao incorporates a system to develop from the bottom-up. Matrix management supports this system (unique to Kao). Kao has many functions within R&D that create innovation; Material Sciences, Process Engineering, Kansei, where each researcher can create new value for consumer through various technologies.

3. Kansei & “Consumer’s Silent-Voice”: Kansei R&D aims to develop packaging and products that tie into the consumer’s psychological feelings or intuition. The consumers’ needs that we must grasp are often hidden in their behaviors and consciousness. In order to discover the true needs of the consumers, we have to listen closely to the voices hidden in their daily lives, their “silent voice”, or non-verbal cues.

Q4: Please describe a product that Kao Corporation deems Innovative? (See Beauty Packaging’s December 2016 Cover and corresponding coverage of this package.)

LP: Kanebo Cosmetics: Evita Beauty Whip Soap. When you think of the beauty ritual, there are some elements that just feel more “routine”. The opportunity is to improve this unknown need and surprise and delight her daily so she actually enjoys her beauty ritual instead of simply performing it.

The packaging for the Kanebo Cosmetics: Evita Beauty Whip Soap delivers the need for rich, velvety facial cleansing foam and brings extra delight to the consumer through the aerosol packaging and unique dispensing head, creating a beautiful rose shape with one easy pump. It’s more than your normal face wash or foam cleanser, it brings the element of “Wow” through packaging innovation.

Denis Maurin, vice president of sales and industrial innovation, HCT Group

“Innovative trends geared to things like social sharing and portability come from a collaborative effort between the supplier and the brands. We come up with new innovations in formulation and packaging, and the brands bring their products to life with personality and marketing.”

Philip Tarrant
Leader, Packaging Concept Development, Coty

At Coty, we have a global cross-functional team within each category or division that searches for new trends and unmet consumer needs. Ideas are gathered from team members, from our supplier network, or from other industries. Within this
forum, each idea is evaluated to see that it meets the strategic needs of our company. In addition, brands are evaluated and exploratory projects are kicked off.

Curt Altmann, Vice President of Global Development, Yonwoo/PKG

Our process for innovation has traditionally come from within, with a large group of industrial designers that constantly research new means and gestures for dispensing and applying skincare products. This was our answer for survival in a fast moving, constantly renewing Korean market. Now the process has evolved into one that is much more collaborative with customers who want to take our dispensing and application innovations and marry them to their product development in a brand-customized way.
 
Brooke Dearth, Creative Director, Compax

For us, collaboration is critical. The brands we work with each have a unique voice, a clear understanding of their audience, and their own set of nuanced expression in which they alone are the experts. At Compax, honoring and building from their expertise is paramount!  Each project is different – sometimes the idea is vague and needs design exploration from us, other times the concept is fleshed out but needs our creative engineering to bring it to life.  

Walter Shiels, COO, Arkay Packaging

For developing an innovative package, the process starts with 2D flat artwork, which is reviewed with the customer in order to clarify a specific vision for the brand.  We then convert the 2D artwork into finished 3D folding cartons. Arkay's creative team reviews the artwork and develops a plan that includes a full color press proof utilizing various base boards, printing techniques, coatings, and laminations, etc. (POP).  When completed, there can be 20-25 different iterations of the original 2D artwork, which is now in 3D carton form. Our sales team then presents the final proofs to the customer, at which time the direction can be quickly determined.