“In terms of materials plastics will see the strongest growth in the next decade, thanks to the cost-effectiveness, good performance, reliable protection, color versatility, flexibility and easy transportation and storage plastics offer,” according to visiongain analysis. (Read about the latest advances in metallic decoration for plastic packaging.)
Regionally, China will outpace the US in this market and India will see the most drastic growth, claims the business intelligence firm.
No more stay-at-home consumers
Mobile, portable, convenient—more than just trending buzz words, these concepts summarize the expectations of today’s global consumer.
Accordingly, “many brands already package products for use on-the-go,” observes Cosmetics Design. “There is no longer a single category of personal care exclusive to at-home use, thanks to portable products like beauty wipes and packaging solutions like MWV’s airless pump-on-pouch.”
Visiongain’s report concurs: today, “busy lifestyles are requiring more convenient packaging for cosmetics, making packaging an increasing value-add to cosmetics products.”
Thinking ahead
“Consumers continue to want more from packaging, especially when it comes to function and safety. Brands, and their packaging partners, have a critical opportunity to build on this positive momentum with continued innovations that will make a real impact on satisfaction and behavior,” said Pete Durette, senior vice president at MWV, reflecting on that company’s recent Packaging Matters survey (which looks at consumer perceptions and satisfaction with packaging).
Innovation will likely look different across to applications and materials. The full visiongain report explores the hair care, facial skin care, skin care, color cosmetics, fragrance, and nail care packaging markets individually. It also breaks the data on packaging materials into these categories: paper and board, rigid plastic, flexible plastic, metal, glass and other.
What’s hindering progress?
In a recent article about innovations in packaging, Cosmetics Design noted, “It has become common practice for fashion labels at every tier of the market to license makeup and fragrance lines that build loyalty and connect with new aspirational consumers.”
And while luxury brands eagerly adopt the newest, classiest packaging looks, the materials and processes that go into those deluxe packages commonly run counter to the aims of sustainability.
These divergent objectives are a barrier to growth in the cosmetics packaging market: “Increasing emphasis on sustainability of packaging can be hard for some cosmetics products, especially luxury brands,” explains the visiongain report.
The business intelligence firm points to other challenges the market is facing. Visiongain submits that the overall speed of the cosmetics business and weak economies across the globe are limiting growth as well.