Albéa Cosmetics and Fragrance partners with Drunk Elephant for skin care packaging

Albéa Cosmetics and Fragrance is collaborating with US-based skin care brand Drunk Elephant to supply packaging solutions for three skin care products. Albéa says the products will use recyclable materials and a new manufacturing location will improve supply chain efficiency.

Drunk Elephant’s serums, D-Bronzi, O-Bloos, and B-Goldi, feature a polypropylene cap, high-density polyethylene reducer, and medium-dense polyethylene tottle. The cap and reducer are produced in Matamoros, Mexico, on the US-Mexican border, which improves supply chain efficiency for an American cosmetics brand like Drunk Elephant, says Albéa.

The collaboration indicates each company’s ethos to “create beauty products that align with the values of eco-conscious consumers while setting a new standard for beauty and sustainability.”

Drunk Elephant’s three serum bottles are made through injection molding and extrusion blow molding, an area of industry that Albéa has recently increased capacity. 

Despite recyclability claims of plastic resins like polypropylene, this still relies on recycling infrastructure that may not exist. As a result, much of the packaging still goes to landfills as waste products.  

Albéa Group expansion

Albéa Group is a beauty packaging company that produces recyclable and eco-friendly solutions for the personal care industry. It has recently increased its manufacturing capabilities by acquiring the mold manufacturing company Conanec Industrie. 

Based in Brittany, France, the blow molding facility has supplied Albéa with molds for several years, serving customers in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, food, medical, and defense sectors. The plant employs 18 staff and will now become one of Albea’s 35 sites.

The acquisition is said to indicate an essential step in the company's strategy to enhance competitiveness while safeguarding French industrial expertise, says Albéa. 

Moreover, Albéa hopes to foster Sino-French industrial collaboration as Conanec Industrie complements Albéa’s Shanghai blow mold shop with premium finishing and maintenance services for tooling.

Bertrand de la Tour d’Artaise, deputy CEO for Albéa Group, says: “This acquisition enables us to develop a hybrid Sino-French model, which will make us more competitive in serving our customers. We welcome this local company and hope to contribute to preserving French industrial expertise.” 

Recyclable personal care packaging 

According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, the personal care packaging industry is one of the most wasteful packaging markets. In 2018, almost 7.9 billion units of rigid plastic were created for beauty and personal care products in the US, most of which are not recyclable. 

Personal care companies increasingly use packaging providers incorporating recyclable materials and environmentally responsible practices. 

For example, Spectra Packaging equipped beauty and home care company Dermosil with an updated packaging design for its Juicy Jams body wash range. The outer packaging featured a colorful geometric pattern, while the sleek body wash bottles, with a twist indent, came in translucent shades of pink, green, and purple.