Perfumes: Aptar to jump on the green bandwagon with screwable “La Petite” pump

At the Édition Spéciale by Luxe Pack show, Catherine Barucq, Director of the Study & Forecasting Division at Citeo (formerly known as Eco-Emballages), presented a very telling survey on luxury packaging. Among the 500 people asked the question, “What is luxury packaging for you?” 37% spontaneously answered “packaging reuse”. Consumers increasingly feel embarrassed with packaging in its end of life, because they have to throw it away. Today, what they see as waste embodies the harm done by our consumer society.

Given this context, would the screwable/unscrewable pump be the future of perfume? This technology is nothing new or revolutionary. When it was launched a few years ago, the screwable pump did not really seduce the market. Regulatory and sanitary constraints (some markets impose sealed pumps) and the fear of counterfeiting prevailed over the environmental dimension, which did not have as much impact back then.

If the 1992 Mugler Fountain long remained on its own in the refillable category, the concept is starting to leave sufficiently olfactory trails behind to convince other groups. 1.2 million Mugler perfume bottles are said to have been refilled in 2017 - a significant reduction of the product’s environmental impact. In 2018, the concept was reused by LVMH for the Louis Vuitton and Guerlain perfumes, and the list of prestigious brands keen on this principle cannot but get longer in 2020.

“Almost systematically, major brands ask us to create a version of their range with pumps that can be disassembled. The idea is either to make the bottle refillable, or to be able to separate the pump from the bottle, so that the product can be appropriately recycled. We have been working on new topics,” Aptar beauty+home Marketing & Development Director Patrick Bousquel recently told Premium Beauty News.

Just like its previous version, the screwable La Petite pump stands out with its invisible body, olfactory neutrality, and gentle handling, which offers consumers a sensorial gesture. It is available for two models: long-lasting and standard sprays. Its dimensions are close to crimp pumps, and the plastic fastener is coated with metal to avoid breakage and ensure a safe refill, says Aptar.