Rexam unveils new dispenser innovations

The launches include Prodigo, a dispensing technology that is based on the company's CleanPoint process, together with the neutral Nea lotion pumps - with each new dispenser being designed to meet the needs of specific niches. The Prodigo has been based on the company's airless pump technology, with the new product's exit tip lying at the heart of the new design. "In developing it we focused on performance in terms of cleanliness and neutrality, combined with greater shelf visibility,"​ said Virgine Lemeunier, product manager for Rexam Dispensing Systems. She went on to explain that the CleanPoint closure is activated by an abiturator. Once the cream has moved through this point in the pump, the abiturator slides closed to ensure the firm closure of the exit tip. This innovation should limit excessive deposits or leakages at the end of the dispensing process, meaning no dried cream deposits or clogging that will eventually clog the tip of the pump and impede the dispensing process. The new mechanism has been patent protected and has been adapted to the CleanPoint pump by providing wider internal channels to maintain optimal fluidity. Rexam claims that Prodigo also helps to enhance neutrality during the pumping process because the lotion does not come into contact with any metals parts during the dispensing, a ponit that is further enhanced by the fact that CleanPoint is an air-tight pump. Likewise, stressing the increasingly important issue of sustainability, Prodigo is also 100 per cent recyclable. Targeted as a means of building brands, the pump contains no elastomers and features a glass ball to protect against formula discolouration and incompatibility, while allowing lotions to flow freely without coming into contact with any metal. Evoking high-end packaging characteristics, the company says that its rigorous testing has proven the product is matched to the most viscous, sensitive and natural of skin care formulations. Moving on to the issue of shelf-appeal - what every personal care player is chasing right now - the company says that this issue was considered a top priority with the design of its Nea lotion pump. The product highlights on-shelf display because of both its simplicity and its design flexibility, something that is further underlined with a range of colours and transparent effects enabling manufacturers to customize the dispensing according to their specific needs. Although Rexam has been attacking the beauty packaging market with a series of new launches this year, the company will also be facing the challenge of spiraling costs, mainly associated with the continuing increase of crude oil, which last month hit $90 a barrel. As petroleum is a major constituent in plastics packaging, a number of leading packaging companies have already warned that their businesses are likely to be impacted by costs. Indeed, in February of this year Rexam announced that higher input costs would in turn bump up the price of products made with plastic and aluminium, a problem that is being further exacerbated by a weaker US dollar.