Currently claiming to be the number one player in the field of specialty glass packaging, Germany-based Gerresheimer says that it will be stressing high quality packaging concepts that have come from its subsidiaries, including Nouvelles Verrieries of Belgium as well as Tettanuer Glashüttenwerke, Spessart Glas and Wisthoff from Germany.
Glass can be used to turn a variety of personal care products, including deodorants, nail varnish, fragrances, creams and nail varnish can help to raise the profile of the product, as well as optimizes both its protection and quality, Gerresheimer claims.
"In general a further increase in the importance of marketing through the packaging is evident," said Burkhard Lingenberg, spokesperson for the Gerresheimer Group.
This has been market by an increase in the variety of packaging concepts available for personal care products, with many becoming increasingly sophisticated and innovative in their design as they try to combine both functionality with eye-catching aesthetics.
This is equally true in the glass sector, where the increasing use of polymer resins has increased the stakes, bringing greater flexibility to designs that are often compared to the quality and looks of glass.
To compete with this rapidly growing competition glass beauty packaging providers such as Gerresheimer are having to come up with increasingly extravagant designs that are constantly pushing the technical limitations involved in glass design to new extremes.
Recent new designs added to the Gerresheimer portfolio have included the glass packaging for Midnight by Daniel Hechter, Symbiocea by Daniel Jouvance and Olbad by Nivea, which have all highlighted what the company refers to as 'life-enhancing character'.
What has made a big difference to glass design flexibility has been the incorporation of the sublimation process which has particularly made a difference in the select market process. This process is used to transfer illustrations or photographs to any glass area.
One example of this is its recent design for the flacon duo for Christian Lacoroix's Tumulte fragrance, which alludes to folklore imagery. Likewise the design of the Cher fragrance flacon from Michael Klein has taken glass design to new heights with a technically difficult to achieve cube design.
As well as featuring a number of the leading names in beauty packaging, the PCD event, which takes place today and tomorrow, will provide a window into the latest technologies available to packaging suppliers, as well as bringing together individuals responsible for the development and branding of cosmetics.
It will include an international lecture and presentation programme that will highlight a number of new packaging innovations for the sector. The organisers say they are expecting 1,000 visitors and 50 exhibitors at the event.
As well as focusing on packaging design, the bi-annual event will also highlight research and development, product development, marketing, packaging purchases and packaging development.