Convenience is a name given to customer satisfaction today. And, beauty and personal care products are no different. For instance, a soap bar is often trashed after it is reduced to a thin cake. Not just that, a large quantum of soap is also wasted while straining the water from the bar. This is not the case when the same soap is used in the form of a liquid. While the product in itself is an intelligent move, packing it in a reusable plastic dispenser makes it smart.
Many such innovations in the cosmetic industry have, in the last few years, improved convenience for the user. As a result, the line between humans and technology is gradually getting blurred. Several beauty brands are incorporating new technologies to fulfill their consumer requirements and to provide something new to keep them connected to their products. Tooth-paste and face wash in easy-squeeze tubes, moisturizers and other creams in pump bottles, hair oil bottles with a comb attached, and so on are just the handfuls of examples of attempts towards user comfort.
This shift in innovation has marked its tremendous influence on the cosmetic and personal care sector as well. A report by TMR suggests that the active and smart packaging market in cosmetics and personal care sector was valued at US$ 145.4 million globally last year. Asia Pacific is likely to emerge as one of the most lucrative markets for active packaging in the cosmetic and personal care sector. This is attributed to increasing demand in luxury cosmetics, and the penetration of IoT and augmented reality in the manufacturing of these products. China is seen as the major contributor, trailed closely by India and Japan.
A glimpse of intelligent packaging in our makeup section
Smart and intelligent packaging in cosmetic products has entered our daily lives more than we could have ever imagined. The advent of internet of things, artificial intelligence, LED, near-field-communication (NFC), and radio frequency identification (RFID) are some of the latest technologies used by the packaging industry.
Did you know that NFC sensors are used to access tutorials, blogger’s opinions, and other videos apart from advice related to product safety? The information can be accessed by scanning the tag on the product. One such recent innovation is by ThinFilm that developed NFC sensors – OpenSense which shows or reveals if the packaging has been tampered.
Besides this, Nu Skin and Dior have developed products integrated with the IoT that analyze the consumer’s skin type through scanning, and then recommend a personalized solution. Dior’s Skincare Analyzer has a phone-like device, which has a camera to take a picture of the skin.
Authentication of cosmetic and personal care products
At present, multi-function sensors that trace and track the product and its distribution are the most remunerative components. Companies are manufacturing these due to the rise in duplicate products being sold globally, a TMR report on the personal care packaging market states.
Not just this, companies are also coming up with highly innovative ideas to stop counterfeit products and prevent them from illegal distribution. HiddenTag, a proprietary technology of CK&B, has launched its unique user-friendly authentication technique. It allows easy traceability for the company owners to keep a check on unlawful distribution.
Consumer engagement is the key
In today’s scenario, brands swear by consumer engagement, the effectiveness of the product, attractive index, and convenience with all these factors inter-related. With the rising inclination towards organic and natural products in cosmetics, active packaging is preferred over others. It helps provide all-natural and paraben-free preservatives in products that preserve their freshness and improves their shelf life. The main aim of active packaging in cosmetics is to maintain the preservative percentage below a threshold level.
As a result, consumers are ready to invest more in buying a quality product that gives good results and lasts longer than the ones that are cheap and with no guarantee. With this degree of acceptance from the people across the world, the cosmetics and personal care industry is sure to witness remarkable growth in active smart and intelligent packaging in the future.
