By looking at last year’s trends, experts have analyzed the future outlook for various segments of the global bath and body care market. Here are some of the major findings according to GCI Magazine:

• Although the global economy is showing signs of recovery, consumers will continue to be attracted by budget products.
• There was a marked decrease in footfall in specialty stores and department stores in 2009, which had a negative impact on sales of premium-priced bath and body care products.
• Globally, growth of liquid soap rose from 7% in 2008 to 13% in 2009, driven by consumer demand for products with anti-germ and antibacterial properties.
• The male body wash segment presents substantial growth opportunities and has proved to be relatively resilient to trading down.
• A major factor behind the decline in sales of anti-cellulite products was a lack of notable success stories in key Western markets.

How do your customers access your products? A recent article in GCI Magazine takes a look at the various channels for the beauty industry. While each channel has proven successful for different companies, consumers tend to use a variety of options. With mass, specialized and online retail options available, most women are using at least two avenues for their products; some are using all three. And most buyers look online to begin their information search. So are your customers looking up product information online but then buying the product at a brick and mortar location? Or are they trying out a hair product at a salon and purchasing online? These are keys to knowing how to get your message to the customer at key points in the buying continuum from research to purchase to use.

For more on how various companies have found success in specific channels, read the full article here!

Green Giant recently announced a promotion with FarmVille that will give buyers of actual Green Giant products Farm Cash to use on the number one application on Facebook for the last year. If you’re like me, you probably have no idea what this means and wish that you could simply stalk people’s real lives through your live feed rather than their latest computer game update. But I can’t deny the great marketing tactic considering the 65 million worldwide players and 20 million daily users of FarmVille. It’s a fitting partnership best explained by Green Giant’s president Jamie Strachan:

"The sense of accomplishment we feel when we harvest a Green Giant Fresh field, the importance of community, and the stewardship of our land are values that Green Giant has represented for more than 100 years," Strachan explained. "By rewarding customers with FarmVille Farm Cash, we can share our real-life farming experience and become a supportive part of their FarmVille online community."

Have you ever sat around with your girlfriends and debated on which Disney Princess you are? Our female audience may be the only ones who can identify with that, but how about choosing your inner Disney Villain? Coming in September, you will be able to show off that inner villain with MAC Cosmetics’ new line of Venomous Villains cosmetics line. It will include lipsticks, eye shadows, nail polish, blush, and beauty powder for evil characters Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, Snow White’s Evil Queen and Doctor Facilier at prices ranging from $12 to $30. 

“I’m sure every woman in the world has a little villain in her somewhere, whether she wants to admit it or not!” says James Gager, senior vice president and creative director of MAC Cosmetics, “It comes out from time to time in all of us. So I don’t think it will be too difficult to relate to at least one of these characters, if not all of them.”

My question is, where are Ursula, Cinderella’s step-mother and step-sisters, Jafar and Captain Hook? And just in case you were curious, Stacy is Tinkerbell and I’m Cinderella.

Just in time for summer, take a look at Forever Sunshine—the latest fragrance collection from Bath & Body Works. Key fragrance notes for the line include golden apricot, pink peonies and a hint of praline. The bright colors, sketched graphics and fun text plays perfectly to the young, hip crowd it is marketed to. This summer special still stands out from their recently redesigned signature collection.

When I came across a small image of Paco & Lola’s Raspberry Liqueur I thought I was looking at perfume packaging. The stylish, unique and feminine design took home several packaging awards at this year’s Los Angeles Wine & Spirit Awards. It took home gold for Overall Package, Special Boxed Set and Best of the Show; Container.

The wine packaging design follows suit, and both are reflected in the design of the company’s website. The company also brings the black and white polka dots everywhere they go, which just since the beginning of this year includes exhibits in Ireland, New York, Miami, and several cities in their home country of Spain.

Have you ever set out on an afternoon picnic with a bottle of wine only to have overlooked the need of a corkscrew? Unless you have some amazing MacGyver skills, you’re probably out of luck. However, if you’re in the Oregon area, you may be near a retail location to find Copa di Vino: individual glasses of wine ready for your on-the-go lifestyle. In practical terms the company has created packaging that now provides the same convenience as beer and pre-mixed drinks. And it wasn’t easy. Developing a seal without the heat or pressure that could damage the wine took quite a while. The 100% recycleable plastic container also features a resealable lid. The packaging has received considerable attention (including a silver DuPont award), and the company currently offers merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and pinot gris varietals.