The HBA Global Expo, held at the Jacob K. Javits convention center in New York City, June 14th-16th, was co-located with six other expos, including EastPack. Together, HBA and EastPack hosted more than 200 top suppliers and welcomed 2,000 professionals, including executives from The Estee Lauder Companies, Avon, L’Oreal, and Chanel.

See the slideshow above.

Photos: 1. Beauty Packaging’s publisher Jay Gorga poses at Parkway Plastics’ booth; 2. Gorga with the team from the Estee Lauder Companies; 3. Express Tubes’ booth; 4. HLP Klearfold’s carton for Revlon, and HLP’s Pat McGee with Gorga; 5. a dropper tube at YonWoo/PKG and colorful boxes at Accurate Box Company; 6. Parkway Plastic showing a rounded-bottom jar vs. a flat-bottom style, and a few of its many colorant options. 7. “Bella the Bride,” made form recycled Tyvek. 

Highlights from the Show

The beauty packaging section at HBA featured a few aisles filled with all types of options, including jars, tubes, cartons and thermoforms, labels and shipping boxes.

Overall, manufacturing was a huge focus at the event. The show’s organizer, UBM Americas, says it is the largest advanced manufacturing event on the East Coast – designed to cover the full advanced manufacturing cycle, from conception to distribution. The many packaging and filling machinery suppliers had robotics on display, which kept visitors engaged.

Three different keynote speakers from various industries were chosen to “inspire,” according to Stephen Corrick, senior vice president and portfolio director of UBM Americas’ Advanced Manufacturing group. “All attending manufacturing professionals had the chance to start each day of the conference with inspiration from keynote speakers, highly relevant across all industry verticals. “We were honored to present top leaders, sharing their own transformational business experiences and success stories to help attendees realize their potential,” Corrick said.

The keynote speakers were Dr. Leroy Chiao, Astronaut/Pioneer in Commercial Spaceflight; Martin McCourt, former CEO of Dyson, on day 2; and Kevin Mitnick, the “world’s most famous hacker,” who discussed cyber security.

Supplier Highlights

A few of the highlights from packaging suppliers included Transparent Container’s hybrid cartons, which combine paperboard folding cartons with die-cut windows to allow consumers to see the product inside. Since the company’s expertise lies in plastic thermoforms, a designer can come up with a unique shape for the cartons’ plastic insert so that it could hold an unusually shaped product in place, perfectly.

Parkway Plastics was a hit with its Instagram display, and visitors – including our publisher, Jay Gorga – cheerfully stood behind the giant frame for this fun photo on Parkway Plastic’s IG. “So many people got their picture taken with our Instagram frame! There is something special and rewarding about meeting our customers in person,” said Linda Thell, PR & Communications, Parkway Plastics. 

The team at Parkway Plastics spoke to visitors about its injection molding capabilities, including its new ability to customize molds with a brand’s logo.

The supplier had some of the 150 colorant options it offers for its BPA-free jars and cap on display at its booth. Parkway Plastics offers a large inventory of stock jars, ranging from 1/4 oz. to 40 ounces in capacity, and supplies matching caps. The company’s jars can be molded in clear styrene, clarified polypropylene, white PP and black PP.

A recent addition to Parkway’s stock thick wall jar line is a collection of rounded bottom jars, in addition to its current flat-bottom styles. “The rounded bottom has a cosmetic appeal, which is often desired in beauty packaging and looks great when combined with our domed cap,” says Thell.

Visitors looking for tubes may have noticed the many options on display at Express Tubes’ stand. The supplier promoted its low minimums and decorating capabilities, along with a new tube size, a 10 ml diameter with a 1 ml fill. “It is a long nozzle tube, so it is great for medical or one-time use products. It also works for samples,” said Jackie Bajuk, sales representative, Express Tubes.

The team at YonWoo/PKG promoted dropper tubes, which are ideal for skin care that requires a targeted application.

Secondary packaging options were also represented. Rohrer Corp. featured various stylish options that included luxe coatings for paperboard. One of its gloss coatings is done as an in-line decorating process that dries to a textured finish for an embossed look.

HLP Klearfold spoke to visitors about the benefits of a plastic carton. Pat McGee, the company’s vice president of marketing, showed us a stylish plastic box created for Revlon’s Love Is On fragrance, which is shown above. This carton is also featured in Beauty Packaging’s Cartons, Papers & Boxes Designed to ‘Wow’ Consumers.

Accurate Box Company featured its range of shipping box solutions with colorful graphics – ideal for branding an ecommerce company.

Informative Conferences

Among the many conference sessions that were offered, the panel, “Packaging Design for Aesthetic and Functional Appeal” took place on Wednesday, June 15th. It featured Jill Aloia, Stila Cosmetics; Jeannie J. Joshi, Joshi Design LLC; Maithy Ngo, Aikandy Design, and was moderated by Dean Crutchfield of The Dean Crutchfield Company. The panelists discussed the types of packages that are most successful at retail, as well as design trends.

One of the recurring messages during the discussion was that a designer needs to make a package a part of the consumer’s lifestyle – and that’s crucial in building brand loyalty. Crutchfield offered this tip, “Packaging helps us to think, feel and act. It needs to exploit the key trends happening out there.”

Crutchfield asked the panelists about some of the most relevant trends, for beauty brands and consumers. Sustainability topped the list, along with organic products. “Brands such as Juice Beauty is one example,” said Crutchfield. 

Joshi mentioned four trends during the conference – and expands on each in this Online Exclusive, Setting Forth New Aesthetics – Highly Poetic Beauty Packaging Solutions.

Later that day, Terri Goldstein of The Goldstein Group focused on the topic, “What Women Want To See, Feel and Understand About Your Package.” In a session that wasn’t strictly beauty-related, but still relevant, Bruce Willardson of The Clorox Company presented the case study, “Achieving Natural-Looking Packaging for a Truly Natural Brand.

A Tyvek ‘Bride’ To Inspire More Recycling Discussions

Sustainability was a common theme throughout the event, and trade show visitors were greeted at the entrance to the MD&M East show (which was adjacent to HBA) by “Bella the Bride,” standing in the atrium. 

The bridal gown was made from recycled Tyvek. It was designed by artist and environmental advocate Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway and took 200 hours to produce. The project was sponsored by Beacon Converters, a company that makes medical device packaging including sterile Tyvek pouches.

One of Judd’s goals was to get the industry thinking more creatively about ways to recycle and reuse packaging materials. Tyvek is made from 100% high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and can be recycled up to five times before its physical properties are affected.

Sustainability continues to be a hugely popular issue for the beauty and packaging industries. Beauty Packaging’s editor, Jamie Matusow, recently attended a roundtable discussion on the topic with executives from Chanel, Guerlain, and L’Oreal – and it is covered here in the Online Exclusive: How Global Beauty Brands Are Moving Toward Sustainable Packaging.

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