We all have heard about the launch of new blood lust eyeshadow palette by Jeffree star cosmetics. Do we all need it? Probably not, are we still going to buy it, ah…yes..duh! The palette comes in a luxurious purple Velvety hexagon box with 18 shades. The shades feel a bit underwhelming as compared to previous two palettes from the blood series. This Eye shadow palette retails for $58 and is not living at par with the success of previous palettes from the brand. It almost feels like Jeffree was more focused on the packaging this time as compared to the theme of shades. The expensive, over the top, extravagant packaging overshadows the actual product and consumer feels like they are paying for the packaging rather than for the product itself. The packaging deviates from the original identity of the brand (a little extraterrestrial and alien).
This is an example of one extreme (overdoing) of packaging in cosmetic industry. Another example of other extreme (underdoing) is Cheetos colab Forever 21 makeup line. Cheetos did not give the colab right exclusively to anyone and sold the contract to three makeup companies. Forever 21 was too eager to launch the line before the other two companies that they ended up slapping the labels on stock packaging. the makeup line was a massive miss as packaging felt cheap and did not vibe with the consumers at all.
Many cosmetic brands/products fail as either they focus too much on packaging and quality of product is affected or they do not focus on packaging at all resulting in a cheap looking product. Both extremes are dangerous when it comes to cosmetic packaging “moderation” is the key.
The Lipstick Index:
Economic recession followed by 2001 terrorist attacks brought national economy to knees but for makeup industry, it was the opposite. Leonard Lauder, Chairman of estee lauder cosmetics explained this as “The lipstick index”. An economic indicator that explains why people turn to less expensive indulgences when there is an economic recession. Makeup was that less expensive indulgence for most people and if your packaging increases the price of the products to the point where consumer deem it as too expensive, your product is most likely to fail.
How to avoid the pitfall:
To avoid failing miserably in the industry, conduct thorough market research to understand your target audience. Their needs, wants and expectations from the brand as brands are created in the minds of the consumers not in boardrooms. Innovation in marketing and branding strategies while sticking to your primary brand identity is important. Inconsistencies in brand identity can be the death of your business. Huda Beauty eyebrow pencil products are a great example of consistency in brand identity. The brand constantly Improvise and innovate while maintaining the essence of their original Eyebrow Pencil Boxes (vibrant eyes of the owner on the box). Kylie Lip Kits are another example of innovating while keeping the brand identity consistent.
Conclusion:
Packaging is important but overdoing it or underdoing it, both can cause harm to stability of your product in the market and must be designed after studying the target consumer.
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