NEW YORK — From emerging ways to reach the beauty consumer to shimmering new packaging, attendees of this year’s Personal Care Ingredients and Technology Exposition Advanced Technical Conference were able to receive not only the latest information on new beauty ingredients but also the latest trends in packaging with the addition of the Innovative Packaging Symposium.
Barbara Wheat, director of educational programs for Health and Beauty America, the organizers of PCITX, noted that the packaging symposium was essential to tie in with the PCITX conference and will be added again next year.
“This was something that I felt very strongly about,” she said. “Individuals needed to have this opportunity to exchange ideas and learn.”
Both events were held April 18 and 19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and more than 300 people attended, including representatives from Estee Lauder, Coty Beauty and MeadWestvaco Healthcare Packaging.
Among some of the more noted topics of the PCITX Conference included a speech on innovative strategies to reach the consumer by keynote speaker Wendy Lewis, an international industry consultant and author of multiple beauty books.
“The prices of items now are almost irrelevant. People will spend the money if you can give the results,” Lewis said. “The challenge is to bring [the information] down to a level that [the consumer] can understand.”
Noting that most of the beauty product consumer market consisted of women, Lewis advised the audience that one of the best ways to reach them is to control their claims.
“The industry has a bad rep because of claims. Keep in mind that this is a sophisticated customer and she needs proof,” she said.
Other topics included the idea that women should swap their beauty products at least every three months in order to increase the efficacy of the product.
However, Dr. Elishalom Yechiel, president and director of research for Elsom Research, noted that there was no real scientific basis to prove that this theory worked and advised consumers to rely on their common sense instead.
“I think that it’s more of an intuitive thing to know that you need to change out your beauty products. Your loyal customers will be those that will come back to you after using other products,” he said. “You don’t want customers that will only buy just your products.”
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At the Innovative Packaging Symposium, several companies were on hand to display their goods. One of the newest waves in packaging to hit the market is the Aurora special effect film from Engelhard Corp. This holographic special effect can be found on packages everywhere from Caress body wash to Christian Dior Addict lip gloss.
“The whole point is to capture the consumer’s attention and this is something that does,” Edward Rulon-Miller, executive account manager for Engelhard Corp., said.
The main PCITX conference, a larger event in coalition with HBA and featuring a broader program, will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Sept. 12 to 14.