The packaging of liquid formulas can often benefit from an applicator, but there are many different types. Quadpack helps you choose the right one.

Quadpack’s Marketing team shares a distillation of the key trends in the beauty market in the year ahead.

It’s not enough for beauty brands to deliver a great product. Today’s consumers want more. Quadpack’s Market Insights team explains how beauty packaging solutions can convey feelings and experiences that help brands tell their story.

Since the pandemic, well-being has become the main priority for consumers – and the market has answered their needs by launching uplifting makeup and skincare products. Fun packs and applicators that allow self-expression and use colours to enhance optimism and happiness are on the rise and will continue in 2023.

It’s time to drop the word ‘trend’ and realise that genderless beauty has become the norm in cosmetics. Celebrities, influencers and the general public are adopting gender-fluid aesthetics that use clothes, hairstyles, makeup and other visual elements to celebrate self-expression and inclusivity.

From the metaverse to healthification, beauty brands are looking at all the trends that will affect the future of cosmetics

While beauty brands were facing the challenge of digital transformation, a new generation was taking over as prime consumers. 2022 starts with a focus on Generation Z, which grew up ‘digital’ and is socially and environmentally concerned.

The ‘skin minimalism’ concept is not new, but simplified and sustainable beauty routines are the key drivers behind the hybridisation trend dominating make-up launches in 2021.

There is something promising in the kingdom of beauty. The end of 2020 and the start of 2021 have shown some mergers and acquisitions activity that gives a hint of how the cosmetics market will look in the next few years. Although cautious, investors are looking to position themselves for a post-COVID future, focusing on mid-tier brands with a strong sustainable approach.

2020 has been a challenging year, where businesses have had to test their resilience, innovation and agility. A forced change in routine due to COVID-19 has left its mark on behaviours and expectations, and 2021 starts on an uncertain note for many cosmetics businesses, although some trends can already be seen out there.

Activism and transparency are at the core of Breaking moulds, one of the #qppackfuture themes based on Quadpack Design Team’s perspective of how people will live and connect in the next few years. Quadpack’s Design Team has developed prototypes that represent the Breaking Moulds theme.

At some point so far this year, half of the world’s population has been asked or ordered to stay home. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most of our habits and the purchasing experience is one of the most affected. Quadpack interviewed some of its global clients to better understand what’s behind the e-commerce ‘new normal’.

Over the past few months, as part of the new Trend Roadmap, we have introduced you to Quadpack’s new tribe of virtual personalities. Each one of them expresses a driving tendency in the here, now and future of the beauty and fragrance sector. They are there to help you keep you ahead of the curve in a consumer landscape that is increasingly nuanced. This month, representing the Oracle trend, we are introducing Rosa.

The success of any product depends heavily on the message it carries. Luxury, youth, sustainability, minimalism are more than mere categories: they communicate with consumers’ feelings and expectations. And how better to convey your message than with the perfect packaging? Some of Quadpack’s best specialists will guide you through the enchanted world of jars, tubes and packs.

Sticking a plastic straw in a mojito these days is about as PC as ivory cufflinks. Single-use plastic is the new moral outrage. It has been banned at Wetherspoons and Pret a Manger, and now McDonald’s is testing paper alternatives.

Beauty brands need packaging that protect and enable the formula, fit the brand and bring differentiation. Considering this triple requirement as early as possible is the focus of the new department of Design & Advanced Technologies at Quadpack Industries. Dedicated to proactive research into new trends, product ideas, techniques and materials, it aims to work alongside brands and contract manufacturers during the creation of their new formulations.

Women of mixed ethnicity constitute a target group that is set to growth exponentially. Yet their colour cosmetics needs are far from being met. As brands seek ways to cater to the many skin tones within this group, packaging will emerge as a key factor in 'serving the underserved'.

Quadpack’s designers have developed three key trends based on architectural, fashion, art and demographic influences. Three trends which can be applied to beauty packaging to create surprising new designs ahead of the curve for forward-looking brands.

Mixing facial treatments is an age-old tradition. Preparing your ingredients before applying them to your face turns skincare into a ritual. One that brings a feeling of wellbeing, of spending some precious 'me-time'. Whether blending your favourite colours or combining different products, this active involvement in the practice of skincare is trending – and packaging is here to help.

The make-up game has changed. The dynamic of 'fast fashion', where customers expect to see something new from their favourite brands on an almost weekly basis, has impacted the colour cosmetics industry. Even for large companies, the lead time from product development to launch has gone from two years to less than three months.

Quadpack's Make-Up Division is launching a new range of palettes. First on the market is a 10-Tray Palette for eye shadow and lip gloss, with an applicator recess, ABS components and a mirrored top. Add a mixing tray, custom-shaped pans or simply a great decoration. Quadpack's experts will help you make your palette pop.

It's a fact that make-up and skin care are growing ever closer, and it's the packaging that makes it possible. With formulas combining all kinds of benefits, ranging from anti-ageing treatment, through SPF, to colour, new designs allow favourite cosmetics to be delivered through multi-function packs. The same pack that's good for cream is now often also good for make-up. Sonia Cerato, Quadpack Make-Up Category Manager explains.

The pressure is on for today's busy woman. Increased self-consciousness, pushed by the pressure of social media, compounds her accelerated life rhythm, nurturing the demand for smart beauty products. These must allow beauty routines to be applied anytime, anywhere. Packaging providers are responding with ever more innovative solutions, riding the wave of this rising trend: Beauty on the go.

Being a consumer these days takes some know-how. There are a lot of products available, and for many, it can be pretty frustrating to purchase a costly, high-quality cosmetic product, perhaps for special occasions, only to have it dry out after having used it a couple of times. Quadpack has effectively solved this dilemma by providing consumers with a better choice of compact that ensures that thick cream or hard powder remains as fresh and usable as the day it was purchased.

Yonwoo's 2-in-1 Dual Concealer packs integrate separate containers into one easy-to-use and convenient package. Available as airless jars or tubes, the new Concealer line features closures (push-top for the jar, screw top for the tube) that open to reveal a container for a second product, normally some sort of balm or pressed powder that complements the product in the larger reservoir.

Gone are the days when organic cosmetics meant low-cost, do-it-yourself recipes of dubious results. The concept of natural beauty now encompasses the whole spectrum of cosmetics, with high-end luxury brands offering first-class organic treatments, free from artificial ingredients. The beauty sector now goes even beyond organic formulas, to encompass environmentally-friendly packaging, under the new umbrella of 'eco-chic'.