Cosmetic Business 2024: Aluminum packaging pioneer Tubex touts two skin care solutions

13 Jun 2024 --- Tubex launches two new versions of its 100% aluminum tubes. The solution is available in post-industrial and post-consumer recycled materials, which the company claims saves 95% of production energy and 70% of CO2.

“We have the monotube, which we invented for sampling sizes, travel sizes and small tubes — it’s enough for about five applications. It gives the consumer a chance to try your product before they buy the big size,” Susanne Holzinger, group sales director with Consumer Goods at Tubex, tells Personal Care Insights at the show. 

“It’s not just more convenient for the consumer, it’s also good because then it’s the try before you buy principle so you don’t waste anything because you bought the big one and then you don’t like it and you just throw it away, and that’s really what we want to avoid.”

Generational shift
Holzinger notes that the cosmetic packaging industry highlights sustainability more prominently to align with younger generations’ values.

“Everybody’s always talking about the switch from millennials to Gen Z, then slowly going to Gen Alpha. We can really see sustainability gaining traction. And, of course, we in the packaging industry have to react not just for marketing sales but also for the sake of the planet,” she explains.

Watch our interview with Susanne Holzinger, group sales director with Consumer Goods at Tubex.As a reflection of this, heritage brand E45 modernized its packaging to cater its skin care to younger audiences after reportedly losing relevance. It now includes more enticing colors and typefaces to attract younger skin care lovers.

Additionally, Cosmetify’s annual report on the industry’s “hottest beauty brands” based on their social following, engagement and the number of Google searches in 2023 named Bubble Skincare as “on the rise” in 2024, with a 2,872% increase in searches, rising from 131,700 to 3.9 million.

Bubble Skincare has been popular on TikTok in the last year, with over 16 million likes. The US-based brand is aimed at Gen Z customers and has been dubbed a “Drunk Elephant dupe.”

Sustainable beauty trends
All of Tubex’s tubes are made out of recycled aluminum. “We’re actually the first ones to launch a 100% recycled aluminum tube. We invented it five years ago,” says Holzinger. 

Innova Market Insights data indicates a steep increase in the use of environmentally sustainable claims for personal care, featuring a +9% year-over-year growth from October 2021 to September 2023. Skin Care was the leading category for these launches, and 74% of eco-friendly launches also had a sustainable packaging claim.

The market researcher also reports that the prevalence of sustainability claims in cosmetic releases is rising worldwide, showing year-over-year growth of +3% from October 2021 to September 2023. Face/Body Cosmetics were the leading category for these sustainable launches.

By Sabine Waldeck with live reporting from Anita Sharma at Cosmetic Business