Beauty packaging: a sector under pressure! How can we regain the initiative?

The beauty packaging market is currently navigating conflicting demands: customers want to reduce costs while calling for investment in production that incorporates environmental objectives. Specifications can change without any additional time being granted. Materials are subject to media pressure and highly impactful regulations. Production constraints are multiplying. Faced with this complexity and variability, a central question emerges: how can we define a sustainable strategy that builds on our real strengths? Isabelle Lallemant (1), founding director of Stratésens, proposes five steps and three strategic levers: Cultivate your differentiating expertise rather than chasing every trend; develop a solution-oriented vision that transcends current components; Build innovation partnerships where technical expertise meets brand creativity.

So, the first step is to clarify your positioning, and you propose a five-step method!

Isabelle Lallemant: Absolutely! So, the first step is to go back to the fundamentals of the offering.
Packaging must fulfill four essential functions: contain the product, preserve it, facilitate its distribution, and appeal to the consumer. Identifying areas of excellence and shortcomings helps clarify positioning.
Next, you need to identify your differentiating expertise. In other words, what unique skills do you have that your competitors don’t? Examples include expertise in high-gloss varnishes, mastery of complex assemblies, and the ability to work with difficult shapes.
The third step is to analyze real market changes! Focus on trends that really impact the business: changes in product formats, new environmental regulations, changes in distribution channels, etc.
The fourth step is to diagnose current weaknesses. This means honestly identifying recurring problems with the offering (insufficient range, excessive costs, lack of flexibility, lack of service, etc.).
Finally, the fifth step is to map your knowledge, i.e., distinguish between what you have mastered and what requires further investigation.

You warn against the pitfalls of what you call “silo thinking,” but also against component-based organization, which you say is the main obstacle to innovation in the sector.

Isabelle Lallemant: Teams think “tube,” “pump,” ‘cap’ when customers think “beauty solution.” This fragmentation prevents them from anticipating constraints, understanding end needs, and proposing disruptive innovations.
It’s about moving from being a component seller to a designer of complete solutions.
I would emphasize that the winning combination is innovation AND expertise!
Some current formats are doomed: absurd content/container ratios, oversized assemblies for simple functions, use of materials that are completely out of step with environmental expectations.
But be careful! We must not throw away historical know-how. It is what sets us apart. The challenge is to develop it, not abandon it.
A concrete example... Expertise in premium finishes can be adapted to new recyclable substrates. Mastery of complex assemblies can be applied to new portable and rechargeable formats...

It seems surprising that, in your opinion, the industry is evolving in a world of excellence but underestimates its own skills!

Isabelle Lallemant: Hidden assets are a strategic gold mine. The expertise forged by the specific requirements of luxury beauty is unique:
• Dimensional precision
• Mastery of surface finishes
• Management of formula/container compatibility
• Expertise in high-quality assemblies
These skills are a strategic lifeline. They build customer confidence, team pride, and future innovation capacity.

For you, complexity is a source of opportunity!

Isabelle Lallemant: Is the sector complex? So much the better! This complexity is a natural barrier to entry and a great asset. A wide variety of materials, multi-stage decoration, sophisticated assemblies, product/container interactions... Behind every challenge lies valuable expertise.
But the challenges are obviously to protect these skills, develop them, combine them with strategic partners, and pass them on to create meaning within the company.

In conclusion, we need to change our stance and move from being a supplier to a strategic partner.

Isabelle Lallemant: From a “today” where we have to deal with requests, respond to specifications, negotiate prices... To a “tomorrow” where we have to anticipate needs, propose solutions, and co-create innovation with customers.
This transformation obviously requires the affirmation of strategy and the promotion of unique expertise.

Isabelle Lallemant
A chemical engineer and HEC Marketing graduate, Isabelle Lallemant has spent more than 20 years developing unique expertise at the intersection of strategic marketing, innovation, and CSR in the world of beauty and luxury packaging.
Her industrial background has given her a comprehensive understanding of materials (glass, plastic, metal, cardboard) and dispensing technologies. From site director at Draeger to international marketing director at Aptar Group, she has worked with the world’s leading beauty and luxury brands.
At Smartbox, she repositioned the group’s brands with the concept “Le Cadeau à Vivre” (The Gift of Life), regaining leadership in the French market. For the Pochet group, she created the Marketing & Innovation & CSR department, developed the strategic plan, and developed a multi-material strategy that resulted in REFILL, a multi-patent platform.
Her CSR actions have been recognized with three Platinium Ecovadis medals. She also played a key role in creating the first circular economy loop for high-end glass with a major perfume house. At the forefront of recognized market anticipations, her innovations have won numerous awards (Luxepack in Green, FIFI Awards).
Certified in sustainable transition management (Mines Paris), she has been managing Stratésens since 2023, a strategic consulting firm that supports start-ups, SMEs, and mid-cap companies in developing their offerings and innovations. Among her clients is Green Deeptech, a start-up named “Pépite de l’innovation de rupture” (Breakthrough Innovation Gem) by EIC and winner of the “Première usine 2025” (First Factory 2025) award.
Her goal is to use her expertise to transform societal and environmental challenges into strategies that create sustainable value.
Contact: isabellelallemant@stratesens.com