How much do you think customers are ready to spend for a hand cream? $15, $20, or perhaps $50? Interestingly, some beauty brands have cracked the code on enticing customers to choose a moisturizer solely based on its packaging design.

Premium handcare sales hit $724 million in 2022, up 23.5% from 2019. Projections suggest $813 million by 2025. Every brand is dreaming to launch a product that will be an iconic, easily identifiable item that withstands the test of time and essentially becomes synonymous with the brand itself. Hero products of this sort are important for not only their marketing power, but also their ability to drive sales. 

Let’s explore hand creams that are already positioning themselves as iconic.

USE PACKAGING TO CREATE ALLURE

The very first time I saw Tamburins, I started dreaming about it. Unfortunately, you can only purchase it in South Korea due to the brand's scarcity strategy. Chain Hand is an icon for imitation. The brilliance of the idea lies in its simplicity: a white aluminum tube combined with a classic gold chain and a thin serif font, making it luxurious. Tamburins introduces a new category of beauty—you can wear it instead of a handbag and moisturize your hands with the perfumery scent of Sandalwood or Patchouli. Brand crafts the experience — first with shape, second with fragrance.

The Brand plays in the category of affordable luxury. They wanted to win with products that were likable, beyond their monetary value. It decided to establish a philosophy of delivering genuine contentment to customers—rather than focusing on the effectiveness of ingredients—enabling them to promptly grasp the essence of the Tamburins brand.

Another Tamburin invention for hands is stylish hand perfume The Shell. It's like a contemporary sculpture, changing its texture and color due to the fragrance. This hand perfume pretends to be a piece of art, with an antiqua roman serif font face in capital letters that gives you this ancient mood.

By the way, it’s owned by optical brand Gentle Monster, which invests in brand awareness and focuses on innovative marketing strategies. These encompass scarcity marketing and experiential retailing, aiming to build its brand presence and create a sense of exclusivity—similar to the strategies observed in Tamburins.

MAKE IT TIMELESS, FIT TO ANY STYLE

Chanel is a luxury brand with history, that’s why is crucial to make something longevity like Chanel No. 5 that make sales for decades. And the launch of the Chanel La Crème Main in the shape of an egg appears to be hero product. It's so simple, black & white can fit to any style and look. And this is the most frequent hand cream in my feed. I foresee that this product will be like Maison Margiela tabi boots — timeless.

Despite its highly attractive packaging, the hand cream scored a 7 out of 10 in lab tests. While this result is commendable, it falls short of the high expectations customers have for this iconic product. Investing in the formula is crucial; after all, reviews can make or break the product's reputation.

PLAY WITH TEXTURES AND COLOR

Glossier’s hand cream, once a supercharged palm-sized sensation (closer look). Unfortunately, Glossier discontinued its sale without providing an official reason. Nonetheless, it serves as a prime example of a hand cream that garnered immense online popularity, leading to a swift sell-out. The embossing on the matte texture added a fantastic touch, gaining widespread obsession during Glossier's launch.

THE POWER OF WORD OF MOUTH WORKS

Rare Beauty, a brand founded by Selena Gomez (I have high standards for celebrity brands) launched the Find Comfort Hydrating Hand Cream, that become viral on TikTok. Its stone-shaped design serves a dual purpose as a moisturizer and a hand massager (as noticed by one of the TikTokers). The brand's dedication to a sophisticated color palette across its entire product line sets it apart, elevating the plastic packaging (check out the unboxing video). Achieving a premium appearance for plastic packaging is a common challenge, but the matte finish emerges as a successful solution.

BE A TRENDSETTER, NOT A FOLLOWER

In the quest for higher sales, Dior seems to be forsaking its identity, opting to blanket all parts with the logotype. And have you ever noticed how closely this egg shape resembles Chanel's?

In the realm of Hard Luxury, namedropping is a tool that elevates the price tag. The haute couture fashion brand, Dior, employs this strategy for Le Baume — a revitalizing balm for hands, lips, and body. That's why the hand cream packaging prominently features the bold letters of the name 'Christian Dior' along with a pattern in the serif version of 'Dior.' However, the branding approach diverts attention from the pebble-shaped pod, resulting in a lack of elegance. In today's landscape, upper-tier brands are leaning towards Quiet Luxury, a recent trend in fashion that discourages overt displays of status through logos. It remains to be seen whether this trend will migrate into the beauty industry. We’ll see.

Next month, we're gearing up for an exciting visit to the grand Cosmoproof packaging exhibition that will held in Bologna, Italy. We'll share all the insights with you. Cheers, Orchidea team 🤍