Packaging provides a facelift to personal care

Insights from “Packaging Matters”, an annual study of consumer satisfaction with packaging across 10 global markets, conducted by MeadWestvaco, a global packaging company, show that the personal care category has one of the highest levels of consumer satisfaction with packaging, compared to segments such as food, beverages and medicine.

The 2014 study also shows that packaging plays almost three times a bigger role in influencing customer satisfaction and repeat purchases in developing markets such as India compared to the US and Japan. While 71 per cent consumers in India say packaging is important to their overall product satisfaction, 24 per cent consumers in the US feel the same way.

Impact on personal care products Packaging of personal care products rides on an emotional connect with consumers. It plays a very important role in consumer satisfaction owing to its dual ability to represent the functionality of a product while appealing to the aesthetics of the consumer. The ‘Packaging Matters’ study, now in its fourth year, reveals that in categories such as personal care, 66per cent of consumers in the US are ready to try a new product because the packaging captures their attention. Furthermore, up to 60 per cent of consumers purchased a particular product again due to its packaging functionality. Interestingly, even as the industry evolves, key consumer behaviour trends have remained the same over the years. With a burgeoning demand for personal care products in India, these key trends offer much scope for improvement and innovation in packaging.

Key growth drivers Growing twice as fast as that of the US and Europe, the total personal care market in India stands at $950 million today. With a vast product portfolio ranging from shampoos, body lotions, creams, oils to fragrances, personal care boasts the second largest share in the Indian FMCG sector at 22 per cent (after food products at 43 per cent), contributing to two-thirds of the market revenue, which could reach $135 billion by 2020. Among these, skin care and hair care are the fastest growing categories.

Did you know that young Indian men spend considerably more than women on grooming products? A report by Research and Markets predicts that the Indian male grooming market will grow at a CAGR of 22 per cent by 2020, largely contributed by the youth segment which makes up about half of the country’s population. Over the last ten years, youth spending on branded cosmetic consumption has gone up by 65 per cent. A Nielsen survey further reveals that the men’s skin care market is growing at a fast pace at around 41 per cent while the women’s market is rising at 27 per cent.

Preference for rigid plastics With the changing face of the Indian personal care products industry, companies are banking on the opportunity to experiment with design packaging as well. Major multinational personal care product companies today are turning in favour of plastics for their durability and versatility advantage over traditional glass packaging. Rigid plastics are often chosen over the traditional forms of packaging due to their light weight, comparatively lower cost, design flexibility and ease of recycling. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) are the mostly commonly used polymers in the manufacture of rigid plastic bottles.

Posting exponential growth over the last few decades, rigid plastics currently account for around 80 per cent of the overall packaging market with over 16 per cent demand coming from the personal care segment.

Besides the versatility and durability of rigid plastics, an added advantage is its ability to present designing and manufacturing flexibility, in comparison to glass. Himalaya’s Foam facewash introduced in a PET bottle with a glass-like finish became an instant hit among women consumers owing to its aesthetics and easy portability.

Multilevel marketing brands like Amway, Oriflame and Avon and leading brands like L’Oreal, Garnier, Dove, Nutrogena and Johnson & Johnson have embraced rigid plastics packaging, using innovative techniques to create product and brand differentiation in categories like lotions, shampoos, shower gels, handwash, hand sanitisers and face creams.

Marico’s extension from parachute hair oil to body lotion, pitted against established brands like Ponds, Lakme and Olay, was a success owing to the curvy shaped bottle of body lotion, identical to a female body.

Even home-grown companies like Boroline which have been around for decades have redesigned their product packaging to keep up with changing trends and re-energise their products in a highly competitive market.

Boroline moved away from the age-old metal pack for their creams and launched a stylish plastic container, attracting the modern consumer who is looking for convenience and aesthetics. This is a bold step for such players who have grown with a fiercely loyal pool of consumers and, today, have to compete with large MNCs.

Understanding and engaging consumers are key factors that drive packaging innovation in the personal care category.

Just like hair and skincare products aid consumers to create a good impression, their packaging too must impress.

(Vimal Kedia is Managing Director, Manjushree Technopack Ltd)

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