The skincare industry has seen major shifts in recent years, with more brands focusing on user experience and accessibility. It is no longer just about what’s inside the bottle, but how people interact with it in everyday life. Brands are now designing for a wide range of needs, from baby boomers with dexterity challenges to consumers seeking more inclusive and intuitive packaging. Alexander Kwapis, Global Head of Innovation at FusionPKG, has been leading this evolution. He helps brands create skincare experiences that are thoughtful, functional, and genuinely centered on the user.
Making Skincare Work for Everyone
Kwapis has noticed an important shift happening across the skincare industry. “A lot of brands are focusing on niche user experiences and also niche groups of people,” he explains. This goes well beyond the makeup industry’s push for diverse foundation shades. Skincare companies are starting to think about users with arthritis who struggle to open containers, or baby boomers who make up a huge portion of the market but often find products aren’t designed with them in mind. But it’s not just about specific populations. “Everyone wants something. No one wants a difficult time using something, no matter how dexterous you are,” Kwapis says. And when you think about it, he’s right. Why should anyone have to wrestle with packaging just to use a product they paid good money for?
Using Design to Tell Brand Stories
Brand storytelling has become much more sophisticated than simply choosing the right colors and fonts. “Brands are translating their DNA—the look and feel—more than ever,” says Alexander Kwapis. Companies that focus on natural ingredients are turning to materials like wood and glass to reinforce that message. Sustainability-focused brands are designing packaging that includes recycled content, making their values tangible from the moment someone picks up the product. Luxury brands have always understood the power of design, but now that thinking is spreading across the industry. Some are leaning into a futuristic look, using metallics and sleek finishes to highlight the science behind their formulations. Others are experimenting with digital integration, embedding RFID chips and connected features that blend physical packaging with the digital world.
Fixing Frustrating Packaging Issues
Sometimes the best innovations come from paying attention to everyday frustrations. Kwapis and his team recently tackled a common problem with squeezable skincare packages. “We noticed that a lot of packages that are squeezable have a control issue because you’re using really thin formulas, maybe a skincare oil or a serum. And these products are expensive, right? So they’re precious.” The issue was control. People want precision when using expensive serums, but traditional squeezable packages can be messy and unpredictable. The solution came from an unexpected source. His parent company, Aptar, makes valves for Heinz ketchup bottles. “We took that and we miniaturized it and put it into these skincare and sunscreen packages so that you have a very precise dosage.” The results speak for themselves. Brands such as Tatcha, Kate Somerville, and indie favorite Byoma have adopted this technology. It’s a simple change that eliminates the frustration many people experience with messy skincare packaging.
Connecting Smart Tech to Skincare
Kwapis sees the future heading toward smarter connections between digital tools and physical products. “I see more and more brands connecting the digital to the physical,” he notes. But this isn’t about gimmicky features or basic reminders to reorder products. He’s thinking bigger. Modern skincare formulas are “almost pharmaceutical” in their complexity, with clinical studies backing their effectiveness. Smart packaging could monitor actual usage patterns and remind users when they need to apply products, or even alert them to upcoming weather that might require extra sun protection.
This makes refillable packaging more meaningful too. “Instead of just refilling for refill’s sake, it’s actually because you’re making a true smart product where some of the parts you want to keep,” Kwapis explains. When the technology adds real value, consumers see the point of keeping the smart components and just replacing the formula. The goal isn’t to complicate skincare routines, but to make them more effective and less prone to human error. After all, most people forget to reapply sunscreen or skip steps in their routine when life gets busy.
Follow Alexander Kwapis on LinkedIn to explore how design can make skincare more human.
