For a new beginner or a small business type, choosing a suitable or a right skincare packaging is very important, because it can significantly enhance product competitiveness and brand identity.
Section 1: The first step for choosing your right skincare packaging, we must ask some questions:
1# What is the type of your cosmetic product?
If your cosmetic product is serum, cream, lotion, toner, oil, cleanser, foam style, sunscreen, foundation, makeup etc.
2# What is your cosmetic product’s market point?
Formulation:
If all-natural or organic products are marketed as such, they often contain sensitive ingredients that are susceptible to degradation by external environmental factors. Therefore, containers must have good sealing and shading to prevent oxidation.
For formulations containing antioxidants, such as those with oxidizable ingredients like vitamin C or retinol, not only do they need light-shielding, airtight containers, but they also need to be vacuum-sealed to prevent too much contact with air.
For moisturizer formulations, packaging options are relatively diverse, with more emphasis on visual element design and pump and cap types.
3# Which dispenser system is most suitable for your skincare packaging?
Dispensing solution designed to deliver medium- to high-viscosity cosmetic formulas, normally used for skincare and body care products.
Airless Pump: Normally for premium skincare and beauty products to preserve the integrity of the formula.
Dropper: Glass dropper and plastic dropper, child-resistant dropper for essential oils, cosmetic serums, and small amounts of liquid products.
Spray: Typically used in cosmetic packaging, body sprays, and haircare spray bottles.
Jar: Cosmetic jars widely used skincare packaging type for thick cream, semi-solid, or solid formulations.
Roll-on: Deodorant or fragrance bottles, and essential oil
Stick: Twist-up stick and push-up stick for lip, eyes, and solid perfume stick
4# What is the target market and brand position?
The design style of skincare packaging must be consistent with the brand’s market positioning.
Most high-end luxury brands choose glass packaging materials, emphasizing simple yet sophisticated design details, while ensuring that the logo is designed in harmony with the overall product and market positioning.
Popular brands mainly use plastic or eco-friendly containers with bold designs and vibrant color palettes to convey the latest fashion messages.
Niche brands typically incorporate artistic elements into the bottle shape and color scheme to create a unique style that appeals to individual consumers.
For skincare brands with natural ingredients, biodegradable or recyclable materials are the best choice, and sustainable themes convey a sense of security and trust.
5# Who is your audience?
Market research is an important way to ensure that your skincare packaging truly meets the needs of your users, such as the age and gender of your core consumers. Only then will your products gain traction in the consumer market. For example, young people usually choose cosmetic containers with trendy colors, bold designs, and visual appeal.
Mature male consumers, on the other hand, will prioritize simple and sophisticated designs, using subdued colors such as black or gray, emphasizing functionality and convenience, and avoiding overly complex designs.
Mature female consumers will consider the efficacy of the product formulation and opt for luxurious and sophisticated designs, often using glass containers or refillable bottles. The color palette should be simple and bold.
Different approaches are needed for different consumer groups. The characteristics, needs and price points of each group of consumers are key determinants of repeat purchase.
6# What materials are suitable for your cosmetic product?
Glass Material：
Glass is the material of choice for most high-end skincare products: enhancing the feeling of luxury. Glass has excellent chemical stability and does not react with skincare ingredients, which is good for protecting easily oxidized formulas and light-sensitive ingredients. However, glass is heavier, more expensive to transport, fragile and relatively expensive to produce.
Plastic Material：
Skincare packaging plastic material is lightweight, impact resistant, easy to transport and special shapes. It is more economical to produce and can effectively control the overall cost of the product. Plastic materials include PET, PP, PE, HDPE and others.
PET has a high degree of transparency and hardness, making it suitable for lotions and toiletries.PP has excellent heat resistance and chemical stability, making it ideal for storing creams, lotions, and cleaners.HDPE has a high degree of flexibility, and is often used to make tubes or bottle caps.
Aluminum：
Aluminum bottles have become a popular choice for high-end skincare products, hair care and essential oils because of their excellent light resistance and good tightness.
Biodegradable Materials：
Biodegradable materials are increasingly becoming the new trend in skin care packaging. These materials are processed from plant-based raw materials that can be broken down by microorganisms in the natural environment without causing pollution.
Eco-friendly Plastic：
Eco-plastics are upgraded alternatives to traditional plastics, mainly including recyclable plastics, with the advantages of reducing plastic waste, reducing environmental pollution, lowering production costs and being suitable for most skin care products.
7# What capacity and size are
required?
For example, serum products are usually packaged in small sizes such as 15–30 ml, or 50-100ml, because they are highly concentrated.
Creams and moisturizer toners, cleaners are normally bottled in 30, 50, 75, 100ml jars or 100-120ml bottles.
Body care products require 150–500 ml or larger due to daily or family-size products may exceed 500 ml.
8# If sustainable materials are a priority?
If you have sustainable design ideas for your skincare packaging, eco-friendly materials are a priority:
It’s also good to combine traditional and sustainable materials, such as glass serum bottles with PCR plastic pumps, which are luxurious, well-protected formulas, and sustainable – here are the main sustainable materials:
- Glass Material
- Aluminum Material
- PCR Plastics (Recycled PET/PP)
- Mono-Material designs
- Refillable Systems
- Biodegradable Plastics
9# What regulations must be considered?
Complying with standards such as FDA, EC No. 1223/2009, and other local market rules.
For factory their products must with ISO9001, REACH & RoHS.
Section 2: Cost differences between various skin care packaging materials and types
Cost is very important when you choosing your skincare packaging. According to your brand position, design purpose, and your final consumer to choose suitable material.
Normally, cost comparisons are as follows Biodegradable materials > Aluminum > Glass > Eco-friendly plastics > Traditional plastics
Section 3: Finding a right supplier
Choosing the right supplier is important for product quality, delivery and cost control. A good supplier can provide high quality products and comprehensive services to the brand:
- Customization
With a professional design team and custom manufacturing capability for your skincare packaging shape, capacity, color, label, surface treatment, dispenser, lid and cap components.
- Quality Control
Quality inspection reports ensure compliance with requirements for material safety, sealing integrity, and pressure resistance. Additionally, adherence to the ISO 9001 quality system is maintained through rigorous monitoring from raw materials to production, with strict inspection protocols applied to both semi-finished and finished products.
- Delivery Time
Confirm whether the supplier’s production timeline can meet requirements to avoid delays in product launch caused by packaging delivery issues.
- After-Sales Service
Pay attention to the supplier’s after-sales service, including whether they provide samples, support factory inspections, and offer solutions for quality issues.
Even if you have any problem during your producing or bottling process, the factory must have a quick review on the issue, and make a solution, to avoid the same problem in future manufacturing.
Section 4: Small-Batch Testing
Before ordering your skincare packaging in large quantities, it is necessary to test in a small batch. This process avoids potential risks and ensures that the skincare packaging is fully compatible with the product.
⇒ In-house and small-scale market tests will be conducted to see how the bottles perform in real-world use, including ease of dispensing, seal integrity and durability, and adjustments will be made accordingly.
⇒Invite target consumers to participate in an experience test and collect their feedback on the shape, color, ease of use and texture of the bottles to understand the real needs and preferences of consumers, optimize the bottles based on this feedback, and improve the market acceptance of the product.
Section 5: Final Decision
After completing all of the above steps, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted by integrating information from various sources and test results to make a final selection.
Skincare is not only a container, but it can convey your brand and design stories, it will help consumers understand your brand, and build a good brand trust in the market.
When you choose your skincare packaging, you must balance between material and design, to ensure your product core formulation is stable during consumer use in daily life. Create a positive consumer experience with skincare packaging while maintaining a reasonable cost range, ultimately increasing repeat purchase rates.
We hope this guide provides you with clear insights to help you precisely select the right skincare packaging for your products.
If you have any questions, you also can contact us for more information.
What Size or Capacity You Have?
We have a wide range of size and capacity, different shapes with different capacity from 5ml to 2000ml, Jar from 5g to 250g.
Do You Provide Custom Design or OEM?
Sure, we provide custom design for different brand, we according to your need to make all drawings, or open the new toolings. Please send us more detail to get a drawing or a sample.
What Kind of Surface Finishing You Produce?
We can do all decorations such as matte or glossy spray coating, UV coating, electroplating / metallization, gradient spray, hot stamping, silk screen printing, 3D printing, soft-touch surface.
Do You Use the Sustainable Material?
Sure, we have all eco-friendly material including PP, PCR, glass, MONO-PP, this according to your need, your formulation. Here you have all options.
What is MOQ？
More flexible on MOQ for new customer, or for small business at the beginning. But different products we have different MOQ plan, please contact us and send more information, you will get a reply in 2 hours.
