Demand for aesthetically pleasing, yet sustainable, packaging is growing at an incremental rate, and millennials increasingly exert pressure on players within the beauty market to meet these requirements with novel solutions. Headquartered in China, Creative Packaging Labs maintains that, in such a competitive environment, innovation is key, demonstrating an acute awareness of not only aesthetic, but also sustainable, trends. Lucy Ouyang provides a fascinating insight into how CPL keeps up with the times, adopting a forward-thinking business approach and focus upon product development, which means that the company can look forward to an exciting future ahead.  

CPL’s innovative spirit is to be commended. Where do you find inspiration for your novel designs?

CPL follows catwalk trends with an eagle eye, and our interest in fashion is mirrored by our beautifully glossy luxurious product lines. Throughout the 2-month development journey, we enjoy the rewarding sensation of watching our ideas blossom from creative concepts to physical products, and this inspires us to envisage packaging solutions that are forever better and more brilliant than the ones that come before.

Creativity is clearly a crucial focus for CPL. What is it that makes your design team stand apart from competitors?

At CPL, innovation is constantly at the forefront of our minds, and the creative skillset of our engineering team is matched by our modern production facilities, engendering the ideal environment for achieving novelty in design. Our plethora of decoration options is undoubtedly CPL’s discerning feature, and by offering brands the chance to distinguish themselves aesthetically from competitors in the market, we ensure complete customer satisfaction, guaranteeing our impressively high rate of repeat business. Techniques range from effective gradient colouring to iridescent pearlescence, and each results in a flawless end product, thus contributing towards CPL’s reputation for excellence in delivery.

How does CPL ensure that it remains tailored towards its target market?

Quality remains the overriding focus for CPL, and in order to guarantee perfection, establishing ourselves as key players within the middle to high-end market has been a crucial business decision. We believe that tailoring our company towards the luxurious sector is what lends CPL its merit, and future investment in product development will inevitably further underscore our pre-eminence in the field. The experience enjoyed by our customers is treated with the utmost importance, and CPL’s careful market research, forward-thinking attitude, and expertise in design innovation all contribute towards creating an impressive end-product which reflects the luxurious lifestyle of our target consumers and captures their essence of style.

CPL’s focus on the luxurious is exemplified best by your Diamond collection. What was the idea behind this range of products?

Here at CPL, we know that diamonds really are forever, and we strive to make the most of this trend that is set to stay. Having launched our Diamond collection in 2017, the indisputable popularity of this range proves that diamonds are most certainly a girl’s best friend, and our female market recognises the aesthetic value of our acrylic jars. With an inner diamond-shaped jar suspended within a crystal acrylic shell, our Diamond products stand as the epitome of cutting-edge design, boasting a flavour of the luxurious and meeting the desires of consumers from the high-end market. Clarity is exceptional, enticing consumers to the product held inside, and this sense of allure makes CPL’s distinctive Diamond jars perfect for showcasing brands’ creams, balms, and gels on the shelf.

CPL’s Diamond collection demonstrates the considerable attention you lend to aesthetics. Does CPL view sustainability as equally important?

Our company name, Creative Packaging Labs, epitomises what we stand for, and our focus on bringing together artistry, design, and scientific practice means that we approach the need to meet sustainability requirements with methodical rigour. As the media launches sustainability into the spotlight, CPL understands that treatment of the environment is a key issue, and our coloured glass bottle series reflects our efforts to protect the world around us. CPL goes above and beyond expectations, as our bottles are not only easily recyclable, but the direct addition of the coloured pigment to the glass eradicates the need for spraying, meaning that we can be proud that our production process is progressively sustainable.  

What ‘green’ products are currently available to CPL’s customers?

Stress placed on sustainability has led to a booming interest in bamboo products, and CPL have been quick to jump on this trend, responding to the consumer’s demand for natural and environmentally kind packaging with our bamboo and wooden line. Warm to the touch and smart on the shelf, bamboo satisfies not only the aesthetic expectations of the modern-day buyer, but also the desire for eco-friendly materials, as, once cut down, the plant regrows at the rate of knots.  

Nevertheless, CPL is acutely aware of the costs currently associated with bamboo products, and whilst CPL works incessantly to develop solutions that are more easily affordable for customers, we endeavour, in the meantime, to offer brands attractive alternatives. Decoration by hydrographics is just one prime example. Water transfer printing enables the adhesion of a patterned film to CPL’s packaging, and customers can thus achieve a bamboo-like appearance for their products with minimised expenditure. Brands consequently enjoy the benefits reaped from natural connotations, alongside the added advantage of being able to customise their packaging design.