The main characteristic of some of these skincare and make-up suppliers: an almost total integration! For many of them, their salvation depends on it. In these conditions, it is not surprising, while wandering in the aisles of the production sites, to visit one after the other, the workshop for the manufacturing of moulds, the workshop for injection machines, to then enter into the area dedicated to the manufacturing of formulas, followed by the one which is home to filling and conditioning machines. A strategy initiated a long time ago by some players, but that is promised to “pay off” today due to the growing demand for full service. At any rate, these industrialists do not seem to be bothered by the fact of needing to master several trades to be successful... “We are used to it, they say, and our independence and our flexibility are well worth the difficulties that may be paving the way to technological changes!”

Pinkpac: 100+ million units exported annually

“We are specialized in the packaging of nail polish”, explained Thomas Hwang, Commercial Director. “The company started in 1977 as a small humble factory supplying goods locally in Taiwan. Business grew progressively and operation expanded to China in the late 90s to satisfy different export needs. After all these years of interacting in this global market, we are convinced that the keys to successful results are the right products with the right pricing and the right timing. Our cumulative experiences in production and in a wide range of finishes, give us the ability to consistently deliver customized packaging to suit individual requirements. We strive to serve each and every customer like if it were our own business and deliver accordingly for a mutually beneficial and sustainable long term relationship, we aim to grow together with our customers, not just as a one-time partner.”

Pinkpac is the typical example of the Taiwanese company whom after several years of production in China, decided to relocate all of its production back to Taiwan for continuous improvement. “We are probably one of the very few nail polish packaging suppliers that focus packaging mainly for nail polish use, hence various customization technology available developed for this area. Our product portfolio consists of between three to four hundred different models, with two hundred readily available”. These are the company’s own design made available for standard production, but Pinkpac also works on customized shapes.

“We export 100+ million units annually worldwide and we continue to look after both mass market and also customized high end market to suit the different need. The latest technology developed for decoration is a new type of printing technique that has no limitation on print colours unlike conventional silk screen on cap, as long as it is a flat surface or slightly curved surface, we can print anything from a simple one colour logo to a portrait of Monalisa on cap. This brings infinite possibilities for decoration on cap and is visually very eye catching. This benefit we provide the customer is the result of the continuous development we focus on our products.”

Tonnie Cosmetics: Full integration

The Tonnie Cosmetics Company is a fine example of how successful the Taiwanese industry can be in this area. A company headquartered in Tainan City that employs a total of 600 people over two production sites, one in Tainan and the other in China. Main customer markets, in declining order, the United States (35%), Europe (30%) including England and Germany, followed by Middle East. The factory in Tainan, which is home to 48 injection machines, is fully integrated in terms of full service for make-up (it even has its own team of designers!), a sector which today accounts for 90% of the company’s revenues. Main investment planned this year (1 million dollars): to increase the number of assembly machines. The company mainly produces make-up compacts and palettes and lipsticks, but also a full range of make-up products. “We offer a complete range of make-up & skincare lines with superior quality at the most reasonable prices,” explained Jane Ko, Commercial Director. “We run complete production lines with consistent integrated operations, including formulation research, packaging design, component mould, filling, assembling, packing, etc. We are GMP and ISO22716:2007 (E) certified and our products comply with FDA, EEC and global regulations. Tonnie has its in house certified laboratory and we also have our strict Quality Control and contracted SGS inspections.”

Cosmety: Targeting overseas markets!

Another example of Taiwanese contract manufacturing in the particularly dynamic make-up packaging segment, the Cosmety Company aka Decorative Cosmetic Container Co. The firm was founded in 1982 by Yun Chang Su. It is based in Wuci Dist in Taichung City and has twenty injection machines. Turnover in 2014, 33 million dollars for a total staff of forty people. It has gone from strength to strength since it was established about 30 years ago. It passed the ISO 9001 international Quality Certification in December 2008.

The company is also highly integrated in tooling development, design, injection, manufacturing, and decoration of cosmetic packagings. “One of our particular strength,” explained Nathan Su, Production Director, “is that we have our in-house tooling department where our R&D team utilizes our customers’ samples or drawings to analyse, design, plan and manufacture the most efficient and precise mould structures. Also, our injection techniques have made us more flexible and helped our customers accelerate the launching of their products.”

“Since Cosmety’s inception, our production team has been in charge with coordinating finished mould development with product manufacturing. Our goal has always been to provide quality products to our customers at extremely competitive prices. Creativity and innovation are at the heart of our R&D department," added Jenny Wu from the commercial department. “Over the years, we have developed a range of compacts and jars. To benefit our customers, we offer a full pallet of testing equipment that our R&D team uses for each customer’s sample or drawing, to analyse, design, plan, and manufacture the most efficient and precise mould structure. Our R&D department not only possesses solid research capabilities, but also communicates clearly with customers on their market positioning and the design baseline from the very beginning. By researching, thinking and innovating continuously, we ensure each design meets both the needs of our customers and adds value to their goods.”

Main focus for the firm, be more open to US and European markets.

To be continued…