Women On-The-Go

In an article in Food Packaging by Lisa McTigue Pierce, Gil Horsky, global innovation head of Mondelēz Intl., argues that “Time is an increasingly precious resource and our multitasking lifestyles are propelling a need for short-cut solutions, as consumers expect products to simplify their lives. The hectic pace of modern life has fuelled the evolution of snacking and other on-the-go products. In fact, according to Mintel, the number of global food and drink launches with on-the-go claims increased by 54% in the past year”.
This is quite right, but today I don’t want to discuss snacks for on-the-go as there is an abundance (healthy or unhealthy) of these.
There is however a segment much more important and neglected by most companies.

On-the-go lifestyles demand new retail and vending formats that make the often frustrating and tiresome travelling handicaps (traffic jams, delays in airports, airport security, terrible weather conditions) more acceptable and sometimes even fun. The contemporary travelling conditions are wearing out the body and soul and it’s obviously that the women on-the-go needs some items to revitalise her appearance to be able to face head-on her counterparts in the business meeting after having had a tiresome voyage.

Obviously women can’t appear knackered and wearied in a business meeting to be taken seriously. Man can do that and don’t face a decrease of their authority, but women can’t. They have to look fresh and ready for the fight.

So, let’s have a look at practically and conveniently packaged products for the travelling female professional.

Redken Heatcure At-Home Self-Heating Mask sachet
It’s clear that after an intensive voyage hair needs to be brought back in its original glory. According to the manufacturer Redken with its Heatcure Self-Heating Mask restore the hair’s healthy look and feel. The treatment is designed to be used as a stand-alone mask.

Note: I have no meaning about the quality of the product itself. I’m just looking at the practicability of the product and the relevant packaging in relation to women on-the-go.

Redken Heatcure represents a completely new packaging category, offering the ability to safely and conveniently heat products away from conventional heating appliances. This novel packaging incorporates an air-activated heater affixed to a hair mask sachet to provide safe, convenient heating of the product at time of use.

Before showering the consumer peels open the front to expose to air and start the self-heating. Air enters the package and automatically activates the self-heating feature inside. Then she has to wait 3-4 minutes to allow the contents to warm. While heating, do not place under water.
After shampooing, she opens the pouch by tearing the perforation and squeezes the pouch to dispense the formula into her hand. Then distributes the formula through her hair and leaves it on 5-10 minutes before rinsing.

The packaging is developed by Printpack using its Reseal-it technology, which provides a consistent, easy to use means of activating the heater, and Printpack’s high barrier metalized lamination providing superior protection for long heater shelf life.

The patented Exothermix technology with its thin package and heater activation label creates opportunities to provide precisely-tuned heat to a wide variety of products for use at home and on-the-go.

The Reseal-it technology from Printpack used for the removable label, along with the company’s high-barrier metallized lamination for long shelf life of the internal heater technology, earned a FPA Silver Award for Technical Innovation.

We stay with the cleaning-up process.

Gum soap
“Gum Soap” is a new kind of soap that is especially designed for business travellers. The designers Yen-Tin Chen and Yi-Sin Yang, students at the National Taipei University of Technology in New Taipei City, Taiwan, argue that, apart from travel security restrictions, during transportation, traditional shampoo and shower gels tend to roll around and leak. They are also difficult to carry in a handbag for a short flight without store-away luggage.
Furthermore after use, ordinary soap is wet, difficult to pack in a handbag and can breed bacteria.

“Gum Soap”, on the other hand, is packaged like chewing gum to solve all these problems. Wrapping each piece of soap in aluminium foil reduces the chances of the soap becoming wet and prevents the breeding of bacteria.

Gum Soap was awarded an iF-student design award in 2016.

Cowboy Bath-In-A-Bag
There are travels which are so frustrating and make feeling a person so dirty that simple Gum Soap isn’t enough to restore a business-like appearance. In that case we have the Cowboy Bath-In-A-Bag. I know it’s an all-macho brand-name, but that doesn’t mean that the product and its packaging isn’t very useful for a woman after a distressing journey.

The company claims it to be “A quick, efficient way to clean up after an adventure”. As if you can call a frustrating and tiresome travel an adventure (to be honest the company has outdoor activities apparently only for bold guys in mind and not a business trip of a female species).
And continues with “Our Bath-In-A-Bag is flat out huge. Measuring in at a full 2-feet by 2-feet. From behind the ears to between the toes this wash cloth is purpose built for whatever activity you throw at yourself”.

Cowboy Bath Original Bath-In-A-Bag uses an effective, cleaning formula applied to a super thick cloth that’s designed to be extra good to the skin and body with ingredients that are natural and trail tested – like Aloe, Cucumber and Oat Kernel Extract.

So that’s the product and please note again that I have no meaning about the quality of the product itself. I’m just looking at the practicability of the product and the relevant packaging in relation to women on-the-go.

The Cowboy Cloth is packaged in a single layer of metalized PET flow-wrap packaging, supplied by Berry Plastics, resulting in several environmental and sustainability benefits. The printing was converted to high-definition (HD) flexographic surface printing, which represents significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to rotogravure print due to the process itself. The HD surface printing led to a reduction in the overall gauge of the film by eliminating a PET layer.

The packaging comfortably fits into any travel case or pocket. It stows away virtually anywhere and it’s light-weight. With 7-ounces the Bath-In-A-Bag is perfect for travellers that are pack-weight aware.
And of course Cowboy Bath is biodegradable. But why toss it out? Just wash it and recharge it for the next journey with Cowboy Bath-In-A-Bag Recharge bottle.

There is more to come for the women on-the-go. Next issue will see the Proteo, a handy reclosable pouch for personal care products, A make-up case that perfectly fits in a small purse, the Snap perfume dispenser and Le-Whif euchoc.