Sustainability remains a huge influence, but we are seeing increasing sophistication as consumer attitudes toward more sustainable consumption mature as well. Instead of just being sustainable, beauty and personal care brands now have to decide what kind of sustainable brands they are going to be.
Some brands are choosing to clarify the use of sustainable materials by making them a focus of packaging design. This has immediate appeal to consumers wanting to make better choices. For example, the Silver Award-winning ColorVue lipstick champions 100% mono-materials in its design, which reduces emissions and uses less plastic. Meanwhile, the packaging for Sekkis Clear Wellness Skincare, which won a bronze award, makes biomass plastic a focal point, the form and texture of the material as well as actively promoting its recycling and reuse in a positive way. . Brands clearly focusing on reuse/refill is another big trend we’ve seen.
Even for brands that aren’t moving forward with sustainability, it’s still somehow finding a way into design, like the packaging for the gold award-winning R&C fragrance duo: Two Connected. A pair of scents stored within magnetic glass bottles, a one-of-a-kind sculptural art piece consumers will want to keep, reuse or re-purpose.
Other brands, such as the packaging for Luxe fragrances by Wolfgang Jupp, are choosing to blend sustainable credentials with another trend this year: customizing packaging for e-commerce by creating highly Instagrammable designs. The packaging design for Seven7Ein’s mascara and eyeshadow and SK-II Pietera Skincare, both gold award winners, feature bold, impressive designs that will shine on both digital and physical shelves. Resembling urban graffiti, the designs for SK-II Pietra also join another trend we saw this year: protests and promotions, where young consumers are choosing brands that promote self-expression rather than restrictive beauty ideals. give.
Diversity, inclusion and supporting mental health were other big influences that we saw across categories and will undoubtedly continue to shape the beauty sector. For this reason, perhaps the packaging for Fenty Skin, which won a gold award, is worth a look because it combines many of the insights discussed here: a color palette of sustainable materials, refillable/reusable design, inclusion , and designs that feel optimized for social media.
Download Pentawards 2021 Trend Report here.
