Our market is constantly changing, and we have to stay a step ahead to be perceived as attractive,” says Sandra Lackinger, Junior Product Manager for Manhattan Clearface at Dr Scheller Cosmetics AG. “Through constant market surveys we keep an eye on our target groups and update our products according to the market requirements.

A user-friendly concept

Manhattan Clearface has recently adopted a new colour code system and reshaped its packaging to simplify products’ use and enhance attractiveness to young people. The German brand has been addressing skin’s problems of young people for 25 years in Germany, central and Eastern Europe, but also in Asia.

Trend towards increased technological content

For the new launch, the image we present is more clearly cosmetics oriented, and the pack is enormously important,” says Michael Ludwig, head of packaging at Dr Scheller Cosmetics AG. “In general, there is a trend towards more efficient packaging with clever technical details. Our plastic tubes have valve openings that provide a correct, neat dose, and the SOS Pimple Stopper has a pinpoint opening that applies an exact dose with no waste.

So, every details matter and the choice of the cardboard used for the secondary packaging was important from both a marketing and financial point of view. “We chose Korsnäs White, which met our requirements both for printing results and cost efficiency,” Michael Ludwig explains. “The whiteness of the material does justice to the colours, and thanks to its stability, the automated packing process functions perfectly despite the sensitivity of the filling machines - and even though we lowered the board grammage compared with the previous generation. The non-stop runnability and grammage reduction make Korsnäs White a competitive alternative.

Fast changing market

The antibacterial care products are sold at chemists and department stores on the acne-care (antibacterial) shelf, and are described as effective and user-friendly, with both immediate and long-term healing effects. The target group is “young, attractive and price-sensitive”. “One obvious current trend is that young people, girls especially, are becoming conscious of their appearance at younger and younger ages,” says Sandra Lackinger. “Both the products and the marketing are designed with this age-group in mind.

The launch of the new line also implied heavy advertising investments in the mass media. A partnership with youth-oriented television channel VIVA, and advertisements in printed media, public events have been combined. Furthermore, a website dedicated to the brand and providing advice and help to young people was created.

Manhattan Clearface is developed and marketed by Stuttgart-based Dr Scheller Cosmetics AG. The company has over 400 employees and sales of some EUR 80 million annually. A majority of the company’s shares were sold to Russian cosmetics maker Kalina in 2005.