Olay Designs An Easy-Open Lid—& Shares the Inclusive Design

Olay North America is introducing the Easy Open Lid, a limited-edition prototype developed with and for people with disabilities.

The Easy Open Lid will be incorporated into the product design of OLAY’s most popular products: the Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, Vitamin C + Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer, Retinol 24 Face Moisturizer and Collagen Peptide 24 Face Moisturizer.

The lid is white, and paired with different color jars, in red, blue, yellow, and white, for the products mentioned.  

The Easy Open Lid is designed with:

• Easy open winged cap
• Extra grip raised lid
• High contrast product label
• Braille text “face cream"

Chris Heiert, senior vice president of Olay, says, “As a global brand, it’s our responsibility to ensure that all consumers have access to products that serve their needs and fit seamlessly into their daily lives."

Heiert adds, "But we can’t do it alone, which is why we’ve chosen not to patent this lid, and rather share the design widely with the beauty community. Our hope is that others will join us in our efforts in making products more accessible for everyone.”

Package design and develpment teams can download the lid's specs.  

A Collaborative Design Process

To create the design, Olay met with consumers with a wide range of conditions, from dexterity issues and limb differences, to chronic issues causing joint pain and vision impairments. The team also met with external experts and incorporated personal experiences from team members into the new product design. 

“Accessibility makes things better for everyone,” says journalist and model Madison Lawson who is living with muscular dystrophy. She is one of the key members with whom Olay worked closely with to bring this jar to life. “Everyone’s been there where you get product on your hands or you’re trying to open something and you can’t, so I think it’s cool that this is designed with us specifically in mind but it also makes everyone’s life better.”

The lids are available now exclusively on the brand's site, free of charge, with the purchase of one of the four Regenerist Moisturizers mentioned above.

Making the Beauty Industry More Inclusive

By 2025, P&G, including Olay, has pledged to make its packaging more accessible for people with disabilities.

Olay’s breakthrough Easy Open Lid is just one step toward inclusivity in skin care.

Olay is encouraging all companies to participate and make the beauty industry more inclusive and accessible to all.

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Trendalytics' Sarah Barnes writes about inclusive beauty packaging and Unilever's deodorant designed for people wth disabilities in the column 4 Post-Lockdown Trends