designpackaging

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Women between the ages of 15 and 30living in urban areas of China aregravitating to colour cosmetics, partlyfuelled by international marketing exposingthem to Western and Japanese make-up.

“They will increasingly use a wardrobeof different make-up styles for differentoccasions, such as during the day and at thenight,” says a report by EuromonitorInternational published in June 2011.

The report names French cosmeticsgiant L’Oréal Groupe as the 2010 winnerin China with a national market share of37% for colour cosmetics, spread outamong the cosmetic group’s wide range ofcolour cosmetics brands, such asMaybelline New York and Lancôme, whichappeal to consumers with different incomelevels.

Statistics from the Beijing basedChamber of Beauty Culture and Cosmeticsshow that Chinese women spentCNY23.1bn ($3.6bn) on colour cosmeticsin 2010, up 25% from the CNY18.4bn($2.8bn) spent in 2009. The Chamberestimates that sales in 2011 would likelygrow an estimated 23% to CNY28.3bn($4.4bn).

INVESTMENT IN INNOVATIONWith demand for colour cosmeticsgrowing rapidly, as a part of the effort topush sales even higher cosmetics companiesare investing heavily in packaginginnovations to attract more attention totheir products. One recent example of thisis Yue-Sai, a mid-end brand founded by theAmerican-Chinese entrepreneur Yue-SaiKan two decades ago, which is now a partof the L’Oréal Groupe.

“We are going to change the packagingfor the new products this year, and

hopefully the new look would giveour consumers a refreshed image ofYue-Sai,” says a Shanghai basedspokesperson for the company. However,in a sign of increasing competition in thepackaging segment of this market, shestressed the company would keep newdesigns confidential to the last possibleminute to preserve its competitiveadvantage.

Since being purchased by L’Oréal in2004, Yue-Sai, which is sold exclusively inChina, has seen a decline in market share,especially in larger ‘first tier’ cities such asBeijing and Shanghai, where the brandused to be highly popular among localfemale office workers.

According to Taobao, China’s largestonline shopping site which also tracks salesof different brands on a weekly basis, noneof Yue-Sai’s products were on the site’s Top10 list for the most purchased colourcosmetics during 2011. The reasons behindthe decline may vary but one possibility isthe fact that Yue-Sai has long been usingthe same packaging style, which is‘outdated’ and ‘for women over 30’,according to the comments left at Chinesemake-up forums such as Kimiss. The brandtargets women between 25 and40.

QUIRKY DESIGNEvidence tosupport thishypothesis comesfrom the data centreof China’s leadingsearch engine serviceprovider Baidu, whichshows that the mostfrequently searched

colour cosmetics brands in the countryinclude Anna Sui, MAC and Benefit, all ofwhich are known for their bold and quirkypackaging designs.

Even empty containers of used Anna Suiand Benefit products sell well online. Forexample, an empty compact powderfoundation container of Hello Flawless

from Benefit with a pricetag of CNY58 ($9.20)attracted five buyers at

Taobao in December,while containers left over

from Anna Sui’s finishingpowder got six new owners,

paying CNY135 ($21.40) each.

Designson youth

Bold packaging designs such as Clinique’sChubby Stick and Benefit’s Hello Flawless! arepopular with Chinese cosmetics consumers

As interest in colour cosmetics grows among China’syounger consumers, many companies are developinginnovative and unique packaging to appeal to them.Wang Fangqing reports from Shanghai

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These empty containers are notnecessarily reused for holding powdereither. Comments left by buyers include:“It’s so pretty, I will use it as my jewellerybox,” and “It makes a perfect adornment inmy new apartment.”

Indeed, Chinese consumers are nolonger satisfied solely with brandreputation and quality, they are alsodemanding great packaging design when itcomes to colour cosmetics, according toAmanda Liu, creative director at Shanghaibased Labbrand Enterprise ManagementConsulting.

“We have seen more and more Chineseconsumers are attracted to uncanny andfunctional packaging in recent years,” Liusays.

For example, Liu’s last project has beenhelping a client to design a round shapedcontainer of BB cream, a combinationproduct of sunscreen and foundation widelyused in China and other Asian countries.

“The design is eye catching, because sofar most BB cream is in plastic soft tubes,”she says, adding that this new packagingdesign also makes the product easier to use.Functionality can never be sacrificed fordesign. “The creativity cannot cost the userexperience.”

US based cosmetics manufacturerClinique has the same sort of marketingidea for its new Chubby Stick moisturisinglip colour balm, launched in July 2011. Ithas a unique crayon look and combines alipbalm with lipstick. However, fancy ‘girlie’designs are not for everyone, Liu says. Moresophisticated, older Chinese women,especially career women, usually prefer amore elegant and simply designed packagefor their products, she explains, giving theexample of the design of US based BobbiBrown Cosmetics products.

“For example, they usually prefer thelow-key matte look over glossy andreflecting,” Liu says in reference to thecompany’s packaging material processingmethods. “They see the packaging as a wayto present themselves.”

THAT UNIQUE LOOKSimilarly, more mass market cosmetics arealso trying to establish a sense of personalityand uniqueness through the look of theirpackaging and overall company aesthetics.While Maybelline’s shiny, colourful displaysare aimed at college and university students,Hong Kong based personal care productsretailer Watsons believes its own brandcollagen colour cosmetics will attract youngwomen who want their skin to beprotected not only by skin care productsbut also by colour cosmetics.

Marketing director Joseph To explains:

“Our collagen skin care products havebeen popular for years, and this innovativecolour collection is a combination ofmake-up and skin care.”

Watsons launched a collagen cosmeticscollection in July 2011 and it claims thatits products – including lipgloss, BB creamand compact foundation – all containcollagen which is known as an anti-ageingtreatment for skin. Some of the productsare also mineral essence-based, accordingto the company. And unlike Maybelline’sflashier packaging, Watsons’ collection ispacked in containers with more low key,neutral colours such as ivory and black.

“The design is modern and in line withthe image of our collagen skin careproducts, so it can be well recognised bythe consumers,” says To, adding that thecompany has been closely monitoringcolour cosmetic market trends. “Thecolour segment is growing and there areplenty of opportunities to expand ourcurrent product line. To attract moreconsumers, we often conduct surveys tounderstand the preference of our target interms of products and packaging design.”

DOUBLE IDENTITYLabbrand’s Liu adds that more and moreChinese consumers are becominginterested in the idea that ‘make-up is alsoskincare’ and that this trend could lendsome new ideas to packaging design.

South Korea’s Seoul based cosmeticscompany Skin Food for example, whose

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designpackaging

Older career women in China prefer elegant andsimple designs like Bobbi Brown products

brand targets young urban Chinese women,claims that its skin care and colourcosmetics products contain nutrients fromfoods. With this, many Skin Food productsare packed in unique ways that indicate theingredients, such as eggplant mascara andchocolate eyebrow powder. Skin Foodcurrently operates 107 stores and oneonline store in China since entering themarket in 2009.

Meanwhile, although western stylepackaging is dominating the colourcosmetics market in China, some moretraditional Chinese domestic brands areapproaching the market in a more vintageway. One such company is China’s firstcosmetics brand, Yangzhou based Xie FuChun Cosmetics. Founded in 1830, itrecently launched a series of all newproducts after opening an official store atTaobao in 2008. Products include compactpowder, eyeshadow and lipgloss, all packedin a vintage style, for example paper orporcelain containers with hand paintedflowers or ancient Chinese beauty designs.The move towards more innovativepackaging and a revamped product line hassuccessfully saved the struggling brand.

Similar to the situation in westerncountries, ‘lean’ packaging has also beenwidely adopted in China as of late. Over atWatsons for example, To says the companyprimarily uses simple packaging tominimise waste and save resources.

“The UV coatings, adhesive and foilstamping on the packaging are also eco-friendly,” he adds.

Overall however, plastics are still the mostused material in China. “Environmentalconcerns are growing in China but they arestill not as strong as in the developedcountries,” says Liu, adding that whileChinese consumers are open to innovativepackaging design in general, new brandsentering into China still need to know thepreferences of its target audience.

“After the research, you can decide if it’snecessary to change or localise thepackaging,” she explains, adding that this iswhat multinational companies do beforebringing a new product into China.

Packaging alone however, is notguaranteed to increase cosmetics sales.“After all it’s a combination of many thingsincluding the brand, pricing, quality andservices,” Liu adds.

Watsons’ To agrees. The packaging of thecompany’s brand of collagen cosmetics, hesays, is not the most attractive in thecompany’s retail stores, which also sellMaybelline, L’Oréal Paris and RimmelLondon, but Watsons is still confident. “Ourpricing and free trial service can help uswin more consumers,” To says.

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