It’s easy to notice the beauty industry is very competitive, and today, with the growth of DTC purchases, competition is at an all-time high. It’s all about differentiating your brand from others. For example, think about how many different beauty companies brand lipstick (Chanel, Revlon, Maybelline, to name a few). It’s no secret: content marketing strategies are what separates one brand from the other.
One strategy often overlooked is user-generated content (UGC) and reviews. Some brands employ UGC organically and others use influencers. It’s known driving engagement with interactive content can create a large community of brand owners building loyalty. One channel where you can employ your content marketing strategy is your packaging.
Do consumers consider company values when making a purchasing decision? Absolutely! What about doing the same with your eCommerce packaging? Eco-conscious consumers care about sustainable packaging because they are concerned about the environment, and they're willing to support companies that share this concern. In the US, 61% of consumers want to support companies that protect the environment, and 74% are willing to pay extra for sustainable packaging. Let’s dive into this growing topic.
Beauty packaging has changed substantially over the years, from primary packaging like your eye shadow or eyeliner to e-commerce packaging (air pillows, paper padding). What used to be on the shelf is now online. Times are changing, and so are consumers’ voices when it comes to companies choosing packaging materials. The prevalence of social media and online reviews is driving customer awareness to packaging-related issues, and companies are listening to these voices as they demand more sustainable options. For example, consumers or influencers are known to promote your products and packaging on TikTok; note how for this consumer on Tiktok, “end of life packaging” is an important part of their TikTok post.
State legislators are demanding sustainable packaging as well. In the next 2-5 years, laws will be implemented around the country requiring Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), such as SB-5022 in Washington state, requiring recycled content in all primary and e-commerce packaging. This is a positive change that should be embraced by all. The beauty industry is being tasked, just like packaging companies, to adapt to these new mandates requiring minimum recycled content in their primary and e-commerce packaging. We will see some packaging materials banned and others requiring minimum recycled content, scaled to increase year over year.
Many companies are concerned with laws that vary by state, and most companies are unclear regarding what packaging options are best suited for their e-commerce deliveries. Does this packaging meet the minimum state requirements? Will this type of packaging be banned in the future? Does this packaging represent my brand and customer profile? What are my customers saying, and am I listening? These are key questions brands should consider in their packaging.
A good example of a beauty company aligning their packaging with company values is Anisa Beauty. They have been a client of FunPak’s “purple star” plant-based packing peanuts for two years, and Brand Manager Anisa Telwar Kaicker says, “Sustainability is at the forefront of our brand values at Anisa Beauty and we love including fun, eco-friendly elements in our customer packages. The FunPak purple packaging stars are the perfect addition to keep our products protected and secure while also being uniquely branded.”
Today, personal care purchases are expected to reach close to $800 billion by 2025, with a steady growth of near 5% YoY in online shopping. With this explosive growth and online shopping demand comes the question, “What kind of packaging aligns with my brand?” The packaging you choose reflects and represents your brand. This includes all e-commerce packaging. And it is important to identify your target, as different cohorts have different purchasing behaviors.Millennials, in particular, make significantly different purchasing decisions than other age groups. Millennials more than doubled their Baby Boomer counterparts in regard to preference for organic or eco-friendliness. Even more striking, 29% of them make purchasing decisions based on media or online reviews—3x greater than that of Gen X’ers and a whopping 6x more than Baby Boomers. E-commerce packaging is the first thing your customer experiences before seeing your product, and represents the last interaction the customer has in the sales cycle. What does your packaging say about you and your company’s values? What are your customers saying on social media about your company and product values? Important questions to consider.
The circular economy is vital in keeping our planet clean, and the packaging of the future will all be made from recycled content or plants. What is plants? Over the last 40 years, Storopack, a leading protective packaging manufacturer, has been discovering different ways to convert plants into packaging material. These materials have already hit the market in Europe and are headed for North America soon. The great news is that our FunPak packaging has already found wide acceptance in North America, boosting brands’ image and sustainable packaging goals. So let’s get educated about this new e-commerce packaging that is made from plants, completely biodegradable, water soluble, and safe for your product, pets, people, and our planet.
When using sustainable packaging materials, the unboxing experience should be a main consideration. Three simple considerations beauty companies should keep top of mind when they consider packaging materials:
Sustainable packaging facilitates recycling or composting to decrease environmental damage. You can stop your sustainable packaging search—FunPak delivers all the above. FunPak is biodegradable, certified compostable, and safely protects your products from damage, making a very strong environmental impression with your customers—a win-win. Your team can be confident in the knowledge that they have secured the best packaging option for your organization.
FunPak checks all the boxes of your organization’s sustainable values. First of all, it’s made from plants! Secondly, it dissolves in water. Finally, it’s safe for soil, waterways, and our planet. You will never find FunPak washed up on a beach or clinging to a tree branch. FunPak is Mother Nature’s packaging.
When asked how we communicate disposal of FunPak, we like to say “Just Add Water.” It is one of the only protective packaging products on the market that easily dissolves in water. FunPak helps you create positive engagement and interaction with your customer by helping to educate them on how to responsibly dispose of packaging through insert cards or QR codes printed on the carton, building customer brand loyalty in the process.
FunPak is proven to protect better than other types of packaging. The shapes aren’t just fun, they're also functional, interlocking to form tight, secure packaging to ensure products don’t shift during transit. The memory of FunPak’s cushioning characteristics exceeds testing standards.
FunPak helps brands create surprise-and-delight unboxing moments without backlash from consumers. From completely custom options to our library of standard shapes like hearts, stars, alphabet letters, clouds, tear drops, leaves, and dog bones to holiday-themed shapes, we make your packaging memorable. Social media influencers love FunPak and often include product disposal in the content they create, further reinforcing your brand’s commitment to sustainability.
Now, bring back the Fun to your Packaging and improve your customers’ unboxing experience with unique and elegant sustainable packaging.
