The nature of Tony Saracino’s start in personal care packaging speaks volumes about how he works for MJS Packaging customers. His detail-oriented consultation will make sure your product is compatible with the packaging, functions optimally via quality packaging components, and considers what will attract consumers when your product hits the market.
Tony’s Background
Working for a closure liner manufacturer, Tony got his start with packaging in 1995. It was there where he was quickly immersed in the world of personal care packaging. Quite literally, it was an experience that was top-to-bottom, regularly involving deliberation going beyond the closure and closure liner to get the best match for each product.
“Because many personal care products contain ingredients like high alcohol content or sea salts,” Tony said, “it was very important to make sure there was optimal compatibility with the product. If you don’t consider the contents of the container, the liner will not work properly. This isn’t just a risk to your product or packaging, it is a big risk for your brand.”
Tony really took the time to get to know each customer and it showed in the packaging solutions he put forth.
Embracing the Changing Landscape
After five years had passed, Tony went on to spend thirteen years between Owens-Illinois and Alpha Packaging, where he worked with many large companies on personal care product packaging. In those years and leading into today, he has seen some important innovations.
“Graphics and enhanced aesthetics have really come a long way,” Tony said. “Color palettes, stamping, screening, container shaping, and metallizing have all seen exciting advancements.”
With each of these areas, Tony relies on an impressive depth of knowledge. He can tell you even more, but here are several ways he can provide valuable consultation on utilizing innovation:
- Color Gradation in Bottles. Color gradation has been a huge aesthetic innovation, and can be done with both PET and HDPE bottles/jars.
- Improved Hot Stamping. The hot stamping equipment of today is better than ever and it can provide better detailed designs (as detailed as a rose) for your packaging.
- Increased Precision with Silk Screening. Classic examples of silk screening pale in comparison with the more detailed designs that you can achieve now. With the right partner and quality controls, silk screening can be a cost-effective and excellent option.
- Advanced Metallizing. Metallizing and gold plating has also come a long way. These adhere much better now and are applied with a much more even coat. They can give your product a real shine and a high quality look.
- Custom Bottle Shaping. There are even more custom shapes available with PET bottles, especially with sharper angles. Though they may have needed rounding in the past, this isn’t the case anymore.
Trends in Personal Care Packaging
In some instances, personal care packaging is leading the way with new techniques and best practices. In other ways, it is adapting to follow those techniques and practices that are working in other products. Tony is using both of these approaches to give customers new advantages.
“Of the many trends we are monitoring, there are several important ones I would highlight to anyone investing in personal care packaging,” Tony added.
Tony went on to explain how the following trends have been particularly useful to MJS Packaging customers he has helped.
- Lightweighting. Many manufacturers are lightweighting their bottles to reduce costs.
- Using PCR. Due to consumer demand and pressure from the EPA, more companies are using PCR in bottles to increase sustainability.
- Adopting Single Dose / Unit Dose Packaging. There are more single dose/unit does products out there due to travel demands and an increased need for convenient products. Many of these are in packette form.
- Revisiting Tube Packaging. In the past, products in tubes suffered from spoilage, a decrease in potency and a change in color. Multi-layered tubes became more popular about 13 years ago. These contain a layer of EVOH which provides a better barrier to protect the contents. This increases the shelf life of the product. Also with tubes, there are many more sizes available today, providing more options for manufacturers.
“From cost savings to functionality and quality assurance, these trends can help you get a competitive edge and it can mean a great deal of opportunity to your business.”
Avoid Packaging Pitfalls
True to his start in personal care packaging, Tony has continued to be mindful of how his consultation helps customers avoid incompatibilities and costly mistakes.
“I routinely see mechanical issues interfering with the success of a packaging project when companies go it alone. If you don’t specialize in packaging and packaging components, there can be a serious gap in the information and experience necessary to ensure success. This commonly results manufacturers matching up a bottle with the incorrect closure or pump.”
In other instances, Tony recalls manufacturers who stopped short of taking the time to obtain enough consumer feedback. This also causes their return on investment to suffer.
Some of these issues can be mere annoyances, while others can lead to a serious breach of quality.
“The ones that can be hardest to foresee, are the setbacks that occur when the product changes color (or deteriorates in other ways) due to light infiltration. You could potentially lose a consumer forever if this happens.”
Lastly, you may be relieved to learn how Tony can help you with accurate forecasting. Setting realistic expectations and planning properly is crucial, so Tony advises setting the proper pace and timeline.
“I sometimes see manufacturers who struggle with accurate forecasting. Due to the poor planning, everything is needed quickly and ends up being rushed. I find there are far more mistakes that happen in a rushed production setting than in a test setting,” Tony cautioned.
Taking Pride in Your Packaging Project
Everything about Tony’s record and our experience with him at MJS Packaging, reassures us about how he will take pride in your project. We know he has knowledge and experience he can leverage toward your product’s success and we know Tony is excited about new personal care product packaging projects coming up.
“I love sharing my 20 years of knowledge with a manufacturer to help them create the best product and maximize their return,” Tony exclaimed. “It’s a pleasure to see their finished product on the shelf, knowing that I played a role in helping it get there.
For Tony, he truly believes in the reward of serving as a problem solver and seeing the positive end-result. Every manufacturer should have such a consultant on their team, helping them reach their goals.
