A Note from Wayne LaBonte, VP of Sales & Marketing at Twincraft Skincare
Sustainable packaging is one of the biggest concerns for today's conscious shoppers, but what if a product didn't need packaging at all? Bar soap is uniquely positioned to answer that question.
I've spent nearly 28 years in and around the bar soap industry, first in printing and now at Twincraft Skincare, and the evolution of how we package soap tells a bigger story about where consumer values are heading.
When I joined Twincraft in 2006, crease wrap (a stretchable cello film) was king. Today, those machines sit idle. Paper wrap has taken over, and for good reason: it's largely derived from post-consumer recycled content, it carries an artisanal feel on shelf, and it offers real branding real estate. It's been the dominant trend for a decade, and it's not going anywhere.
Cartons remain our highest-volume packaging type, and they're also the most recyclable option in common use, available in everything from FSC-certified to stone to cornstarch substrates.
Multi-packs are an interesting chapter. During the Great Recession, demand spiked, but more bars meant more packaging, more cost, and almost always a plastic overwrap that ended up in a landfill. I called it the "paradox of the multi-pack." Today, multi-packs are back, but with a different motivation: sustainability. Two bars sharing one carton, minimal overwrap, and a beautifully merchandisable footprint. That's a trend we fully endorse.
The next frontier? Naked soap. Bulk, unpackaged bars are already thriving at specialty retailers, and it won't be long before mainstream retailers follow, especially given their own corporate sustainability commitments. A successful naked soap program just needs to solve for labeling, lot codes, UPCs, and shelf branding. The good news: all of that is achievable through underside labels, laser etching, and well-designed display-ready shippers.
Bar soap is having a genuine renaissance. The next fourteen years promise to be just as interesting as the last.