Some may equate the word “luxury” with “expensive,” while others define it by its focus on quality and careful attention to detail from concept to creation of the luxurious item or experience.
When launching a line of luxury products, brands may envision a customer who has achieved a notable level of success and celebrates by enjoying the finer things in life. One company recently that caught our attention is Oribe, a luxury hair product brand founded by celebrity hairstylist Oribe, along with Daniel Kaner and Tev Finger, both noted veterans of the beauty industry. Featured in a recent article on Salon Today, the company leaders stressed the importance of packaging in creating an overall luxurious experience for their ideal customers.
Oribe’s founders explain their packaging design has been an integral part of allowing the brand to revolutionize the beauty and hair care industry since 2008. The award-winning design concept was created to make the experience of selecting and using the products as exciting and detail-oriented as the scientifically developed formulas themselves. The company selected boxes sourced from “well-managed forests” with logos and graphics printed with inks made from vegetables. The company understood today’s high-end shopper seeks out brands that are not only sophisticated, but also committed to using natural, fair trade, and organic ingredients, as well as sustainable packaging and ethical practices.
When Oribe launched, is No. 1 focus was on the performance of its product line. It needed packaging that would retail the high quality of the product and function just as well. This is where the brand ran into an interesting (and all-too-common) dilemma – by selecting aluminum cans for some of its essential items, the company had to face a year-long lead time to get the product packaged. Instead of keeping their packaging needs in the U.S., they were forced to venture to the Czech Republic to get their product line into their preferred containers.
We applaud the luxury hair care brand for recognizing that packaging is critical to the overall effort of launching their revolutionary products, but working with a co-packer who views their working relationship as a partnership could have helped the team prevent delays and take care of issues way ahead of schedule.
The company’s founders mentioned that when they initially developed their luxury product line, they were eager to hit the road to share their story with customers. They wanted to show off their new signature scent and explain how they were going to revamp their segment of the market with high-end hair care solutions that don’t overlook the important functional details consumers pay attention to. However, when the team did begin reaching out to potential customers and investors, they did not have any packaging completed. Attempting to communicate how different and amazing your product is without actually having a sample to show off isn’t going to convince anyone – no matter how creative and persuasive your sales pitch might be.
A trusted packaging supplier can offer digital printed prototypes so no CPG company has to approach customers, retailers, or investors empty handed. Oribe’s celebrity ties may have helped get their feet in the door, but actually allowing people to see, touch, and use the product gives the brand infinitely more credibility. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but if you can wow people with function, beauty, and custom printed packaging design, you’ll set yourself on a realistic and efficient path toward success.
Oribe’s founders know how important marketing, packaging, and fragrance are for drawing people in and creating a memorable sensory experience, but placing a meticulous level of attention to detail on the performance of the product is absolutely essential. Good contract packaging specialists will work with brands to keep the old-world customization and craftsmanship of the product while packaging it in a sleek, modern container that is sustainable, functional, resistant to outside contamination, and made with vibrant inks that allow new companies to stand out from the crowd and entice luxury shoppers.
While this particular company may have chosen traditional bottles, cans, and boxes for their products, contract packaging specialists that have a focus on flexible packaging know options like a pouch with spout are truly the future of the CPG market and allow brands to stand out among the typical, standard, rigid containers.
Flexible spouted pouches can be custom printed, allowing brands to distinguish themselves while catching the target customer’s eye because they are unexpected, they look different from other packaged products, and they function just as well (if not better) than rigid containers without the extra bulk or heft. They are also eco-friendly, as each pouch with spout can be broken down into recyclable regrind or easily collapsed so they don’t clog up landfills.
We admire Oribe’s passion for packaging as critical to their overall mission to have customers see them differently than other hair-care brands. However, partnering with a co-packer that has the resources to get their expertly designed packaging produced and filled quickly should have been a crucial part of their overall focus on the fine details of their product line.
The team understood that a lot of packaging looks the same because any brands use the same stock components that don’t really reflect a unique message. They rethought and retooled some of their containers to include custom-made caps on their cans, featuring their signature Oribe goddess symbol. Truly revolutionary American brands are taking hints from luxury companies overseas and are embracing flexible packaging that can be fully customized with spouts, pour handles, tear notches, hang holes, and other features that set them apart from the competition. Finding a contract packager that specializes in flexible packaging, while committing to utilizing the most modern, future-forward technologies and materials, will set luxury brands up for sustained growth and success.
(Image Sources: Studiaestetik, Exporters India)
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