Packaging demand is often influenced by trends in product formulations, and this is especially true of airless packages. The two are as connected as mascara is to its applicator. For example, some airless bottles have dispensing tips to apply the product, which are ideal for eye creams. Or, a facial serum can be housed in an airless package that combines a bottle with a metered dose pump dispenser.

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A greater variety of products have been going into airless packages, but skin care is still its primary category—especially anti-aging products. As more advanced formulations are developed for other types of products, including hair care and sun care, this may change.

“I am starting to see categories of products other than skin care and cosmetics using airless packages more— such as hair care and body care,” says Vonda Simon, founder and president of SeaCliff Beauty Packaging & Laboratories.

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One new sun care product that is launching this month is Selfie Tan’n Go Bronzer. The gel product contains bronzing beads that “burst” into a bronze glow on the surface of the skin as you rub in the gel. Like makeup, it is designed to last all day and then wash off. It is formulated with vitamins A and E, green tea and kola extract.

“We chose the airless package based on the uniqueness of the gel formula and inclusion of the beads from both a visual perspective, as well as its ease of use,” explains Stacy Kaufman, president, Selfie. The bottle is decorated with a silk-screened wrap-around label.
 

Suppliers say they have been receiving requests for airless packages more often during the past few years, and this demand will no doubt continue to grow steadily, fueled by the continued development of more advanced formulations for all types of products, especially in skin care. There is also a trend toward phasing out the use of controversial ingredients, in favor of more natural formulations.  

“As new formulation technologies are being developed, with a reduction in the number of preservatives being used, airless packages are becoming more important than ever because they can help protect while also preserve a product,” says Curt Altmann, marketing director, Yonwoo/PKG.

Market research firm Freedonia confirms that there is a trend toward formulations made with more natural ingredients, but at the same time, consumers still expect products to be effective—especially in skin care. According to Freedonia, consumers have higher expectations for skin care, even for mass market brands.

Freedonia reports, “Introductions will continue to emphasize natural active ingredients, particularly those that possess anti-aging properties…In addition, manufacturers will turn to high-technology ingredients (including those based on nanotechnology) that offer superior performance and facilitate the development of new ‘advanced’ products.”

Since anti-aging products with natural actives are ideal for airless packages, we shouldn’t expect to see the demand slowing anytime soon.

Protecting a Sensitive Formulation

An airless package has to help preserve sensitive ingredients, which is especially important for natural formulations, and its dispensing system has to work with a product’s viscosity.

“The demand for airless packaging has definitely continued to grow as more intensive anti-aging skin care formulas are developed,” says Alexander Kwapis, creative director, Fusion. “These cutting-edge formulas demand more advanced packaging solutions, because the ingredients used often require protection from mechanical, microbiological and environmental hazards,” he explains.
The need for more protective packaging is even greater for natural formulations.

“More natural formulations are emerging at all price points,” says Amber Ellis, vice president, marketing, MWV Beauty & Personal Care. “Sensitive formulations require better protection to prolong shelf life. Airless packaging provides this, while also maintaining a product’s efficacy,” she says.

MyChelle Dermaceuticals touts itself as a science-based natural beauty brand, and uses a natural preservative system in its formulations that it calls “Plantservative,” which is made by combining “nature’s most effective ingredients.”

The brand just launched the anti-wrinkle product, Remarkable Retinal Serum, in an airless package. The product contains Retinaldehyde, the strongest cosmeceutical form of Vitamin A available without a prescription, the brand says, as well as ceramide 3 and plant stem cells. With continued use, the product claims to effectively reduce fine lines by 42% and redness by 70%.

“Our patented Remarkable Retinal Serum is packaged in a specially designed airtight container to maximize product performance and increase the longevity of the product,” says Kimberly Heathman, chief marketing officer, MyChelle Dermaceuticals. “Our bottle guarantees the product stays fresh, because it has no exposure to air or light, and it is not contaminated by water,” Heathman explains.

The round bottle has a sleek, white actuator, which is ergonomically shaped. It has a curve on top with a flat surface that your finger can rest on comfortably while pressing to dispense the product.

Dispensing Every Last Drop

In addition to protecting a sensitive formulation, brands are choosing an airless package based on the functional benefits of its dispensing system. “The fact that an airless package can evacuate nearly 100% of product—especially when it is a skin care product that’s sold at a high price point—is an important reason why brands will continue to choose airless packaging,” says SeaCliff’s Simon.  

This feature was appealing to MyChelle. “Allowing the user to get every last bit of product out is important, and our airless package achieves this,” says Mychelle’s Heathman.

Michael Salemi, COO, The Packaging Company, also notes the importance of this feature. “When an airless package is able to dispense nearly 99% of the product, the user is more satisfied, which gives the brand a higher perceived value,” he explains.

Fusion’s Kwapis agrees, saying, “Being able to get all of the product out of a package shapes the relationship the consumer develops with a brand, so it is an essential feature, and we provide it to our customers.” Fusion’s non-pressurized dispensing systems result in near 100% product evacuation, according to Kwapis.

MWV’s Ellis also comments on this need. “We continue to see this trend— the need to get the ‘last drop out.’ Consumers expect a package and dispensing system to completely evacuate all of the product out of its container,” Ellis explains. “Through our annual ‘Packaging Matters’ research, we have found that 78 percent of U.S. consumers report that getting all of the product out of a package is either ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’ to their overall product satisfaction.”

MWV’s airless solutions are designed to address this issue. “We are able to offer our customers dispensing solutions that get the last drop out every time,” says Ellis.

Complex Formulations Drive Design

Sometimes a formulation requires an unusual airless package in a new shape, or an innovative type of dispensing system. “Our R&D and sales teams are fully aware of the challenges related to preserving a formulation, which are becoming increasingly delicate as more volatile ingredients are being used,” says Charlotte Clabaux, marketing manager, Cosmogen. “Airless packaging provides the best solutions for these issues—and multi-pack containers have been very popular,” she continues.

Cosmogen has developed airless dispensing solutions for products with different viscosities and application requirements. One example of a product that posed a challenge and required an unusual package is Double Serum de Clarins. Cosmogen produced the packaging for this product, which is a bottle with an airless dispensing system that is made with two integrated pumps. The bottle contains two different serums, housed in different compartments of the same bottle. Each can be dispensed separately, in an accurate dosage, by twisting the cap.

Airopack is also responding to the demands of its customers, which it says have been developing products that pose dispensing challenges. Commenting on the trend, Jolanda den Rooijen, marketing manager, Airopack, explains, “We are seeing a trend toward the development of more complex formulations, such as products that combine multiple benefits and features. These products place a higher demand on the packaging performance, specifically in terms of compatibility and formulation interaction.”

Rooijen gives a few examples of products that combine multiple benefits and features, pointing out the popularity of “moisturizers with UV protection; day and night creams that offer various types of ‘restore’ and ‘protect’ benefits; and specialized ‘problem-solving’ products that foam after dispensing to enhance the consumer’s experience using the product.”

Airopack has supplied its packaging for several recent launches, for brands marketed by Elizabeth Arden, Method and P&G.

The Packaging Company offers a round dual chamber airless bottle, which is ideal for products that require mixing two formulations, dual serums, or any type of 2-in-1 product.

“Most of the dual chamber airless bottles on the market are oval shapes, and the style options are limited. We are developing a round dual chamber bottle with a high end look,” says The Packaging Company’s Salemi. He compares the new design with the prestige look of Clarins’ Double Serum. “This will be the only round dual chamber airless bottle on the market,” he says.

SeaCliff recently produced a dual chamber package for the brand, Beauty Bioscience, for its RetinoSyn-45. The product is a two-step regimen. One chamber is filled with a treatment cream, the other contains a serum.

“These dual airless pumps give a brand the ability to keep two different products separate, even if they are two different viscosities,” says Simon. “We offer innovative shapes for this type of package,” she adds. The injection-molded bottle is decorated using a silk screening technique.

Pump-On-Tube Design

Sometimes a formulation requires an airless package, but a tube is preferred over a bottle or jar. MWV launched Amplify in October 2014, a new airless pump-on-tube solution that is ideal for skin care products.

“Through the use of our ‘Rolling Bellow’ technology, this pump provides users with a comfortable delivery and consistent and controlled dispensing, as well as the ability to fully evacuate a product,” says MWV’s Ellis.

Ellis adds that women consumers might prefer a tube. “Women want packaging that is secure and portable, and will always keeps the product fresh, while eliminating messes and product build-up. MWV’s Skincare Research and Insights study confirms this. Amplify addresses these consumer “pain” points and delivers the positive experience they want each time they interact with the product. This experience can foster deep emotional connections and brand loyalty, leading to repeat purchases,” Ellis explains.

In focus group testing, MWV also found that consumers use a number of personal care, skin care and cosmetics products throughout the day. “It’s not unusual to find 

skin and face creams in desk drawers, purses, backpacks and in the car. A slim, compact tube is ideal for this,” Ellis adds, saying, “Most importantly, Amplify won’t leak, which gives consumers confidence and ensures that each time they interact with the product, it will be a clean, convenient experience.”  

A Variety of Applicator Tips

Suppliers are offering all types of airless packages that are designed to be more functional, including bottles with applicator tips in innovative shapes.

Cosmogen designed an ergonomically shaped applicator for Talika’s Eye Detox Care & Color, when the product launched last year. The applicator, attached to an airless bottle, is an intuitive design, according to Cosmogen’s Clabaux. The user presses the tip to one side, and the product is dispensed. The flat side of the tip is designed to massage the product into the skin.

Talika’s bottle is clear, to show off the product’s blue micro beads. The brand describes the product as a 2-in-1 “skin care and makeup gel,” which “detoxifies” the eye contour area and instantly hides dark circles.

“Direct applicators have become increasingly popular in skin care, because they are convenient, provide precise application, and often add to the consumer’s overall product experience,” says Fusion’s Kwapis.

Fusion launched its first Direct Effect collection of tube-based direct applicators last year. “To extend our Direct Effect product offerings, we recently developed a new line of bottle-based, piston-driven direct applicators in three new styles,” he says.

Fusion’s new line includes the Curved Tip Airless Applicator, which is the “first of its kind,” according to the brand. It is designed to precisely contour the delicate areas of the face. “The tip is made from TPE, which adds a luxurious touch that will not tug on delicate skin around the eyes that can lead to micro-tearing,” says Kwapis.

Fusion also developed the Stainless Steel Airless Rollerball and Dual Airless Rollerball applicators, which provide cooling and massaging benefits to enhance the absorption of skin care products.
“The user can feel the difference a quality applicator can make—our Direct Effect Airless Applicators were designed with sensory effects in mind,” Kwapis adds.

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The Packaging Company also offers airless packages with applicator tips.  The supplier has an airless bottle with a metal applicator tip, which is ideal for applying skin care products to a specific part of the face.

Cosmogen offers several new applicator tips as well, including an Airless Ball, which consists of an airless tube and applicator with a metal ball on the end, which massages as product is applied.

The supplier’s other options are: Airless 3D, an airless tube combined with a “3D” oval-shaped applicator, designed to fit perfectly around every curve of the face; and an airless tube combined with a spray applicator, which has the ability to ventilate and foam a product before it is applied.

‘Green’ Is in Demand, while ‘Masstige’ Gets Fancy

“Green” doesn’t necessarily come to mind when you’re looking at a plastic bottle with an airless pump.

Finding a protective airless package that looks luxe—and is also eco-conscious and cost-effective enough to be accessible to mass market or masstige brands—might seem like a challenge, but VPI Packaging is addressing these types of requests, and offering solutions.  

The supplier offers airless packaging options that have been developed to meet functionality requirements, while also keeping in mind environmental benefits. “We have been able to reduce the number of parts, which in turn reduces a package’s weight,” explains Paul Donahie, West Coast sales manager, VPI Packaging. “We are also staying with single wall designs,” he adds.

Donahie says that the cost savings associated with packages that are made with fewer parts, and bottles that feature single wall designs, are ideal for mass or masstige brands that have products sold at lower price points and need to cut costs. “We’re seeing skin care products with more advanced formulations being sold in the mass market, and airless packaging is no longer out of reach for these brands,” Donahie adds.

VPI’s numerous eco-friendly airless packaging options include bottles made from polypropylene, which is lightweight when compared to acrylic. Instead of an overcap, bottles have a twist-lock mechanism, which further reduces a bottle’s weight—and its carbon footprint.

Donahie says that many of his customers that are requesting green airless options aren’t the brands you might expect, since they’re not promoting a ‘natural’ or eco-friendly mission. “Being based in California, it’s all about organic everything here, including makeup and skin care. ‘Green’ is just a typical, everyday expectation on the West Coast, no matter what type of brand it is, or how small a budget,” he says.  

Although it’s not touted as green, Boots is a masstige brand with packaging that looks luxe—and they have also been raising the bar when it comes to formulations.

“This has been the most rigorous and complex product development phase that we have ever undertaken,” said Dr. Mike Bell, Boots’ skin care scientific advisor, about the process of reformulating its No 7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serums last November, just before the line launched in the U.S. at Target and Walgreens.

Boots’ newly reformulated anti-aging collection includes serums that are packaged in double-wall bottles with airless dispensing pumps. The brand has reported it was selling a serum once every 8 seconds in the UK.

Sometimes a formulation requires an airless dispensing system that ensures the product won’t come in contact with any metal parts. Other times, a metal-free pathway is appealing to brands for its eco-friendly benefits, because a pump is recyclable if it’s made from only plastic.

The Packaging Company offers new designs for its springless airless bottles, which don’t contain any metal—and this is another option if you’re looking for green. “The airless bottle and pump are made from polypropylene; a plastic diaphragm acts as the spring mechanism,” says Salemi.

Airopack has a new innovative dispenser, which the supplier says is a “new packaging platform in dispensing technology.” The new airless packaging option includes Airopack’s patented dispensing technology, combined with a fully transparent, all plastic pressurized dispenser. “It is both effective and environmentally friendly,” says Airopack’s Rooijen. This can replace traditional aerosol sprays.
Rooijen explains further, “Unlike other pressurized dispensers that use propellants, Airopack uses just normal compressed air, which dispenses the formulation at a constant pressure from start to finish. There is a reduction in hydrocarbon emissions, and there are no inhalation risks or unnecessary waste. Airopack therefore represents a clean and safe new dispensing platform.”

An Innovative Airless Jar Made from Only 4 Parts

As brands continue to develop more advanced formulations, while reducing preservatives, there will be an increased need for affordable airless packages in all shapes and sizes. Yonwoo/PKG has been anticipating this trend, and has developed an innovative option—a new type of airless jar, which is also very green.

The jar is made from only four parts, which brings its cost down. It launched last November. “We brought the design down to just four parts, from the typical nine to fifteen,” explains Altmann of Yonwoo/PKG.  

The new streamlined design is not only budget-friendly, it’s more green as well. In addition to the parts reduction, the jar can be made entirely in polyolefin, including the check valves, which makes it completely recyclable.

“It is a major engineering accomplishment,” says Altmann. “Airless packages were becoming cost-prohibitive for some brands, including the major players—so we wanted to develop a solution to fulfill this need,” he explains. “This new design costs about a third less than a traditional airless package,” he adds.

A brand owned by Lotte was the first to use this package, for a product marketed in Korea, but now Altmann says many major U.S. brands are interested. We also might soon see airless bottles with pumps using the same technology, and reduction of parts, in the near future.

How did the supplier come up with the new dispensing technology?

Charles Kim, head of R&D in Yonwoo/PKG’s offices in Korea, showed Altmann the first prototype, which his team had been working on for some time. Jeong Shin-Bok, one of Yonwoo/PKG’s industrial designers, came up with the idea.

One challenge during the development process was making sure the dosing remained accurate as the jar emptied, without being reduced. Kim demonstrated to Altmann how it worked. “He pressed on one end of the jar, and the product was dispensed from the other end.”

Both Altmann and Kim knew it would be revolutionary. “We knew right away that it would be a major innovation. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before,” says Altmann.  

Kim spent the next 8 months perfecting its design and functionality. “Since the first prototype was handmade, we had to make sure all the correct parameters were in place for it to be reliable. It took about 8 months to optimize its precision,” he explained.

The pump is a systolic style. “This means that rather than driving a piston down to open and close a check valve, the actuator’s membrane draws product up through one check valve, and then out the other,” explains Altmann.

Yon Woo/PKG currently offers this airless package in a jar, but Altmann says other designs are in the works. “We probably have about 15 projects on the boards right now, for customers that want to do their own version of this design,” he says.    

Future Outlook for Airless

What’s in store for airless packaging in the future? A rising demand, suppliers say.

“We know that the need for airless packaging to protect product formulations is much needed and will continue to grow. Euromonitor predicts that anti-aging formulations could make up 45% of facial skin care growth from 2013 to 2017,” says MWV’s Ellis. 
 

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