Why Creative Cartons and Paper Tubes Are Rising in Popularity

First impressions are everything—especially for beauty packaging. And the beauty consumer’s initial touchpoint with a product is often its carton.

“Luxe brands need to be cognizant of how their products appear on shelf—and elevate the user’s unboxing experience to ensure it matches the quality of the product,” says Doug Dorah, vice president of sales and marketing, Oliver Inc.

Whether it’s a luxury fragrance, skincare serum, or just a bar of soap—the carton or paper tube surrounding it sends a message to the consumer about the brand. And secondary packaging becomes even more important for brands sold online.

“Opening a visually appealing package enhances the customer’s perception of a product before they even use it—and a nicely designed paper folding carton plays a big role in altering this perception,” says Todd Greenwood, vice president of division operations and paperboard sales, Case Paper.

The use of paperboard is on the rise. The global paper and paperboard packaging market size was estimated at $199.8 billion in 2021, according to Statista, and is forecasted to increase to more than $250 billion by 2026. Much of this growth is expected to come from the growing demand for corrugated boxes from the e-commerce industry.

Suppliers in the beauty industry see a rising demand. “More beauty brands are increasingly looking for paperboard packaging—and we source sustainable raw materials whenever possible in an ongoing effort to address eco-conscious concerns,” says Mitchell Kaneff, CEO of Arkay.

A greater awareness of recyclability is influencing design decisions. “Beauty brands are moving away from using glitter and lots of stamping on cartons—and this is inspiring us to find other more innovative ways to attract attention,” says Benjamin Cohen, creative and innovation director of Knoll Printing & Packaging.  

There are multiple reasons for paperboard’s popularity, according to Franco Diaz, business development manager of JPatton. “Sustainable forests provide a constant source of raw materials. Also, consider the price of petroleum and its impact on plastic,” he says. JPatton has provided custom paper-based holographic labels, hangtags, and seals to the beauty industry for over 20 years. “We bring together aesthetics and security,” he says.

Dennis Bacchetta, director of marketing, Diamond Packaging, shares why he feels that a paperboard carton is an ideal medium for a beauty or fragrance brand’s message. “A folding carton has the billboard space, protective properties, and sustainability attributes—plus numerous decorative options,” he says. “The ongoing trend toward more sustainable packaging with higher recycling rates has increased demand for paperboard over the last several years,” he says.

Cartons and tubes made with paperboard often intend to convey an “eco-conscious” message, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t colorful. Packaging suppliers are helping brand marketers develop cartons and paper tubes with eye-catching designs that glisten—and they’re also recyclable. “We strive to balance creativity, innovation, and sustainability,” says Ceara Connolly, marketing manager of Balance Inc. “We offer brands a wide array of sustainable decorative options for luxury packaging that will deliver a beautiful and tactile experience,” she says.

Here is a more in-depth look at paper packaging—and more about the packaging suppliers working with beauty brands to produce folding cartons, paper tubes, palettes and more.

Versine’s Paper Tubes Look Luxe

Beauty brands are not only using paper for folding cartons and boxes—paper tubes are another option for a secondary package. They protect a product on shelf or during transit with an unexpected eye-catching look. Versine Skincare uses beautifully decorated paper tubes to protect its skincare serums, “Illuminate & Refine” and “Calm & Hydrate,” which are in glass bottles. The paper tubes are made using a 1.5mm paperboard covered with 157gsm Kraft paper.

Why choose a paper tube instead of a traditional folding carton?

“I wanted it to stand out and attract attention,” says Jennie Gao, the brand’s co-founder. Gao worked with Sarah Rose Andrew at Gyst Design to develop the packaging.

Versine’s luxe paper tube features a pretty floral pattern with shiny gold accents. The decoration is achieved using CMYK printing with hot foil-stamped gold and black details. “It was very important to us to ensure the tube could be recycled, so it’s not laminated,” says Gao. “It is decorated with an incredibly thin foil, which doesn’t affect its recyclability,” she explains.

Attitude’s Paper Tubes House Many Types of Products

Paperboard isn’t only for secondary packaging—it’s increasingly popular for palettes and paper tubes, which can serve as a primary package for a variety of different types of products.

Attitude, a bath and body brand known for its clean ingredients and sensitive-skin-friendly formulas, markets bar soap in colorful folding cartons. The brand also uses paper tubes as primary packaging—for its lip balm, body oil, body lotion, deodorant, and sunscreen, which are all solid stick formats.

“We chose paper-based packaging because it is easily recyclable and biodegradable,” says Laurence Chalifour, brand & communications director of Attitude. “But we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t a challenge. We had to find compatible ingredients for all our cardboard packaging, while ensuring an excellent product texture for every formula,” she explains.

Plus—Attitude is an EWG-Verified brand, which means many traditional ingredients are off-limits. “And no matter how much testing we do in the lab, what happens during large-scale manufacturing is often very different—but overcoming all our challenges was rewarding in the end,” Chalifour says.

Attitude’s cartons are made using paperboard certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). “We use FSC Recycled board, which means it’s made with 100% recycled and recyclable fiber,” Chalifour says. The brand’s paper tubes carry the FSC Mixed label, which means they are made with virgin fiber and recycled materials. “They are also biodegradable—and we chose not to use decoration, such as hot-stamping, to avoid impacting its recyclability,” she explains.

A Stunning ‘Green Deco’ for the Eilish Fragrance

For fragrance brands, the best cartons complement the bottle—and Diamond Packaging often works with luxury fragrance brands to ensure a carton’s design represents what’s in the bottle. “The challenge is how to produce environmentally-friendly packaging that also beckons to the consumer from the shelf,” Bacchetta says. (More about how suppliers are doing this is described in a section that follows.)

Parlux recently partnered with Diamond to produce the stunning folding cartons for Billie Eilish’s debut fragrance, Eilish. “The cartons capture the essence of the musical artist—and do so sustainably,” says Bacchetta. “They deliver a multisensory product experience through unusual visual depth and haptic effects,” he says.

Jon Michael Design was responsible for the branding, package design, and content creation for the Eilish fragrance product launch. Diamond decorated the cartons in-line with its “DiamondTouch” soft-touch coating, UV matte coating, and UV gloss spot coating over its transfer-metallized Envirofoil. “Our Envirofoil is manufactured with less than 1% of the aluminum of traditional foil laminates, and it reuses the film carrier multiple times,” says Bacchetta. “It is as recyclable as paper,” he says.

The supplier’s “DiamondTouch” soft-touch coating adds an appealing tactile quality that promotes consumer interaction. “Also, the UV gloss spot coating on the rear panel provides a striking contrast to the overall matte finish surrounding it,”Bacchetta says. “Multi-level embossed accents add dimension, including the metallic bust on the front panel. Overall, the carton’s design complements the fragrance bottle,” he says.

Replacing Plastic Parts with Paper

Sometimes an extravagant box or carton is made with mixed materials, or a decoration inhibits recycling. Beauty brands are becoming more aware of this, and moving toward paperboard-only designs, suppliers say. “As an industry, we’re all searching for new ways to meet sustainability initiatives. We work with beauty brands to fulfill their needs, which includes providing recycled materials,” says Case Paper’s Greenwood.

But even when a carton is 100% paperboard—protective inserts are often required, especially for glass fragrance bottles. These are traditionally made from plastic. “As we evolve as an industry, the question has been how do we replace plastic components in boxes and cartons with paperboard while still maintaining a luxury feel?” asks Knoll’s Cohen. “Not only has the demand for all-paperboard designs grown, but innovation has grown as well, particularly in vacuum-formed inserts,” he says.

Knoll recently debuted an innovative solution—a vacuum-formed insert made with 100% FSC-certified paperboard. “It’s our patent-pending design,” says Cohen. “It’s completely wrapped with no exposed edges, and beauty brands can choose any type of paper. It delivers a luxury look without relying on mylar,” he says. The team at Estée Lauder Companies utilized this design for its Tom Ford Holiday Set, on-counter last holiday season.

Oliver Inc.’s Dorah agrees, and says, “We see many brands swap thermoformed plastic inserts for more sustainable paperboard versions. Brands are also removing film lamination and poly windows to cut down on their plastic consumption.”

Joseph Cicci, president of CO2 Packaging, also sees a move away from plastic vacuum-formed inserts—and a move toward paper inserts. “Vacuum forms are being designed out of paperboard, as the industry moves toward eliminating traditional plastic trays. But—heavier calibers, such as .024 boards, are being used for strength, to ensure a paper tray performs as well as a plastic one,” he explains.

Eco-Conscious Decorations

Even when sustainability is the goal, suppliers agree that beauty brands aren’t skimping on eye-catching decorations—and there’s no need to. Neenah works with brands to ensure packaging is in sync with its design aesthetic while also addressing sustainability goals. “We can create a custom, beater-dyed color or custom finish for our boards. We can also use a specified level of post-consumer fiber,” says Michele Pistone, marketing manager, Neenah. “This ensures a brand’s outer packaging is an integral part of the look and feel of the product—not an afterthought,” she says. Neenah offers hemp papers, which are eco-friendly and look luxe. They are ideal for CBD skincare products.

CO2’s Cicci says he sees more beauty brands moving away from using foils. “Inks and coatings are being used in more innovative ways. We developed ‘Lustre Look,’ a color concept over vibrant silver that is very sustainable, yet luxe,” he says. “And our truly environmental ‘Coating with Biolithe,’ mitigates the methane gas emitted when a paperboard package breaks down in a landfill. We apply this in-line in the printing operation,” he says.

New materials and innovative substrates offer decorative solutions that are also eco-conscious. “For brands switching from metallized polyester board, we now offer an FSC-certified 100% recyclable metallized paperboard that is plastic-free—and it’s a revolutionary packaging material,” says Oliver Inc.’s Dorah. “We also advise brands to consider tapping into specialty treatments like embossing and debossing to give cartons an elegant look without adding any unwanted plastics to the mix,” he suggests.

Diamond is the only U.S.-based folding carton supplier to earn Ecovadis’ Platinum rating.“We’re very proud of this recognition. It affirms our commitment to sustainability,” says Bacchetta. Diamond offers beauty and fragrance brands its trademarked “Green Chic” packaging, which includes decorating cartons using multiple printing technologies in-line. Options include Diamond’s “TruColor” ECG printing, specialty coatings, cold foiling, and special effects, including its “Liquid Metal” metallic UV coating.

“Our in-line decorative effects add texture and dimension to packaging and can reinforce a brand’s premium positioning while using fewer materials and energy compared to off-line processes,” Bacchetta explains. “We also use 100% clean, renewable wind energy to produce cartons in a zero-waste-to-landfill carbon-neutral facility.”

Using Neenah’s FSC-certified 100 PC White Vellum paperboard, Diamond Packaging recently developed new packaging designs. “We chose the board for its environmental attributes and its smooth, natural finish that provides a superior surface for inks, foils, and embossing embellishments,” says Bacchetta.  It’s manufactured with 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. It is also FSC-certified, Green-e certified, and processed chlorine-free (PCF),” he explains. “The subtle texture of the uncoated paperboard combined with foil, embossing, or debossing accents adds dimension and contributes to a unique visual and tactile presentation,” he adds.

Design Solutions for Paperboard

Before deciding on a decoration, choosing the right substrate is the first step—and it can be an overwhelming process. Beauty brands are faced with numerous options, plus sustainability targets to hit. “As substrate experts, we guide brands through the selection process to bring their creative vision to life,” says Neenah’s Pistone.

Beauty brands can also utilize Neenah’s in-house design team, and the supplier provides physical prototypes. “This makes it easier for creative teams to visualize their product on shelf,” Pistone says. Neenah’s team also assists with carrying a brand’s vision from a package through to additional consumer touchpoints. “These include recyclable in-store signage, paper gift cards, and industrial compostable packaging boards, for example,” Pistone says.

When a beauty or fragrance brand needs some inspiration and guidance, Arkay offers one-on-one design consultations in its Hauppauge, New York location. The facility functions as a design studio. “Our customers come to learn, dream, design, engineer, estimate, plan­—and take their best package to market,” says Ruth Rugoff, chief communications officer at Arkay.

“We offer cutting-edge technology, strategic enhancements, and our hallmark special effects—including our trademarked and registered ‘Paint on Press’ technique,” Rugoff says. “We welcome our customers to a place where their brand is paramount, and their objectives are achieved with creativity and innovation,” she adds.

Arkay worked with Smashbox’s team—including Jill Tomandl,  VP of product development & innovation—to create an embossed design for Smashbox x Vlada Petal Metal Highlighter, shown. It features (Smashbox collaborated with Vlada Haggerty, known for her iconic 'dripping lips,' on the collection.)

Beauty brands looking for security enhancements often utilize JPatton’s expertise in security printing. “We recently launched our JP Forensics app and proprietary smartphone authentication technology,” Diaz says.

“We apply smart images, which are invisible to the naked eye, into the customer’s artwork. Post-printing, using our app, the consumer can authenticate the product with their smartphone,” he explains. “We support brand marketers by offering a product mix that includes physical, digital, and intellectual solutions to support brand protection efforts,” he adds.

Utilizing holography for a luxe look on paper hangtags is one of JPatton’s specialties—and it’s a fully eco-friendly process, according to Diaz. “We apply holography, both decorative and security-related, to recycled substrates. We also design and create custom solutions on virgin paperboard, and they are 100% recyclable,” he says.

The team at Balance Inc. often works with beauty brands, providing various types of decorations. On cartons, the supplier often combines texture embossing, sculptural embossing, plus cold- and hot-foil stamping. “We also offer plastic-free mylar and plastic-free holograms,” Connolly says. “We suggest using any of these alternatives to mylars, plastics, and laminations. They are all beautiful decorative effects without compromising sustainability,” she says.

Sometimes ‘Less is More’

Traditionally, extravagant boxes “wowed” consumers, often using glistening metallic colors to lure shoppers. Now, even some luxury brands say flashy packaging is not necessary, since it may send the wrong message to consumers about a brand’s stance on earth-friendly packaging.

“The trend, ‘less is more,’ resonates with consumers,” says Neenah’s Pistone. “More beauty brands are designing cartons that are simple and elegant—and letting the substrate be part of the aesthetic. This approach is particularly effective for brands that have a sustainability story,” she says.

“Beauty consumers are paying more attention to deco—and wondering if it will have an environmental impact,” says Knoll’s Cohen. “To prevent the deco from confusing the customer, we came up with another way to give the user a unique opening and closing experience—and deliver that big ‘wow’ factor,” he explains, talking about a box Knoll created for Dr. Rossi Derm MD’s skincare set.

“It’s designed with two slipcase covers that pull apart, revealing our molded pulp Ecoform platform inside. (Molded pulp is an alternative to paperboard, and we provide more details about it, below.)

Paper Palettes & Lipstick Tubes

In addition to cartons, beauty brands are also choosing paper for primary packaging—for makeup palettes, lipstick tubes, and more. Balance Inc. is one supplier offering these options. “Our Swivel Palettes are specially decorated and incorporate pan wells to hold a lip balm or eye powder,” Connolly says.

Balance Inc.’s Friction-Fit Palettes incorporate a removable paper tray—and consumers can extract the pans so that the base can be reused or recycled. “All our paper components are made using FSC-certified materials and contain 40% post-consumer waste,” she says.

Balance Inc.’s paper lipstick tubes, shown, incorporate a removable mechanism so that the base and lid can be recycled in the paper stream. “We can offer a magnet closure or build a neck into the base to create a friction-fit closure,” Connolly says.  

Smaller Size Cartons Reduce a Brand’s Carbon Footprint

When a brand has a goal to reduce its carbon footprint, a packaging audit reveals aspects to improve—and some of the most common, easy-to-make changes often involve cartons. “One of the first things to consider during a packaging audit is the carton. Ensuring it is the right size for the product is impactful—and can greatly reduce a brand’s carbon footprint,” Oliver Inc.’s Dorah says.

Adjusting a carton’s structure, even slightly, will ensure it runs more efficiently on production lines. “Smaller cartons use less time and energy, and more will fit onto a pallet. This reduces freight weight,” Dorah explains.

Sourcing FSC-Certified Board

Suppliers advise beauty brands to use FSC-certified paperboard for all types of paper packaging and work with an FSC-certified supplier. “As an FSC-certified supplier, we provide a full chain of custody for the materials,” explains Knoll’s Cohen.

Why is chain-of-custody important for FSC-certified board? “The chain of custody certification ensures the material used in the carton production are coming from sustainably well-managed forests,” says Oliver Inc.’s Dorah. The supplier offers a variety of sustainable treatments ranging from FSC-certified substrates, plus innovative tree-free boards and low VOC vegetable-based inks.

Chalifour says ensuring this certification is important for the Attitude bath & body brand. “This certification ensures the consumer that the fiber comes from responsibly managed forests, which provide environmental, social and economic benefits. We also have a reforestation program in place to offset our activities,” she explains.

Arkay often sources FSC-certified materials for beauty brands. “We frequently use Monadnock Astrolite 17.5 pt. FBB, which is FSC-certified paper. It is designed and fashioned to successfully meet the luxury marketplace’s need for environmentally friendly folding boxes,” says Walter Shiels, COO, Arkay. “We are committed to helping our customers improve their packaging’s eco-profile,” he says.

Molded Pulp is Another Option

Molded pulp is an eco-conscious material that can be an alternative to paperboard. “It’s a mixture of bamboo, sugarcane, and wood fibers—the ‘recipe’ changes depending on the size and how rigid the package needs to be,” says Knoll Packaging’s Cohen. Knoll Packaging offers its certified recyclable Ecoform molded pulp.

“With molded pulp, we are able to achieve shapes and dimensions that aren’t possible with paperboard,” says Cohen. “We can create a multidimensional 3D effect with our embossing tool, he explains. Knoll created the Love Joe Malone Star Ornament package last holiday season in molded pulp.

What can we expect next? “Later this year, we’ll see cartons made with a mixture of FSC-certified board and molded pulp hitting the market,” says Cohen.

More Tips to Keep in Mind

Partnering with the right packaging supplier for a project is crucial for beauty brands. The team at Case Paper says the company takes pride in being responsive, reliable, and resourceful. “We take these three ‘Rs’ seriously. The best results come from building relationships, and we partner with beauty brands and mill suppliers,” says Greenwood.

No matter which type of paper package a brand chooses, “remember that creative, competitive, and reliable packaging solutions that drive sales is always the goal,” advises Oliver Inc.’s Dorah.

Balance Inc.’s Connolly offers a final tip to keep in mind: “No matter how a paper package looks, anything with a sustainable story is that much more luxurious—and highly desired by consumers.” 

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