Ego Pharmaceuticals, one of Australia’s leading skincare manufacturers, continues to push the boundaries of sustainability with investments in eco-friendly packaging. Lindy Hughson visited the company’s Braeside production facility and spoke to packaging leaders Simone Thomassen and Michaela Cooke.
Established in 1953 by Gerald and Rae Oppenheim, Ego has grown from its humble beginnings in Melbourne to a company that employs more than 700 people, produces over 120 products, and exports to more than 25 countries, including key markets in Asia, the Middle East, and the UK. Half of the company’s revenue now comes from exports, with popular brands such as QV, DermAid, SunSense, and Aqium leading the charge.
Making sustainability a strategic focus
Ego Pharmaceuticals has made sustainability a central pillar of its corporate strategy, particularly in its quest to achieve carbon neutrality across manufacturing operations by 2030. The company has implemented various initiatives to reduce energy and water consumption, increase reliance on renewable energy, and minimise waste destined for landfill.
Packaging is a significant component of Ego’s sustainability efforts, as exemplified by the recent refresh of the QV Face range. This project, which focused on enhancing the recyclability and sustainability of packaging, was spearheaded by Simone Thomassen, packaging projects & studio manager, and Michaela Cooke, senior packaging technologist. The success of this project was recognised with a Silver Award at the 2024 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards.
Reimagining QV Face
The QV brand, one of Ego’s most successful lines, has seen robust sales in both pharmacies and supermarkets across Australia. Recognising the need to align this flagship brand with their sustainability goals, the packaging team embarked on a comprehensive review of the QV Face range packaging.
The project’s centrepiece involved redesigning the packaging for two key products: QV Face Nurturing Night Cream and QV Face Hydrate and Renew Serum. The previous packaging for these products was predominantly non-recyclable, with the night cream housed in an acrylic jar with a metallic silver lid, and the serum in a complex airless pack.
Thomassen explains, “Our goal was to significantly improve the sustainability of the QV Face range packaging, while ensuring it remained appealing to consumers.”
For the night cream, the team’s solution was a dual-wall jar made from 100 per cent polypropylene (PP), replacing the previous acrylic jar. This new design retains a premium look and feel but is fully recyclable.
In the case of the QV Face Hydrate and Renew Serum, timing played a crucial role. The product had just been renamed (previously it was QV Face Rescue Gel), allowing for a complete packaging overhaul. The team opted for a low density polyethylene (LDPE) tube with an ophthalmic tip, which provided a more sustainable and functional packaging option compared to the previous pump-bottle pack.
All foiling and metallising decorations were removed from both products’ packaging and outer cartons, reducing the environmental impact. As Cooke notes, “The manufacture and use of foiling is associated with high waste, and aluminium closures generally have a larger environmental footprint than plastic closures.”
Enhancing recyclability
Ego Pharmaceuticals used the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Sustainable Development Guidelines to source alternative, more sustainable materials. The PREP (Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal) tool was instrumental in ensuring that the new packaging would be recyclable in Australia and New Zealand, allowing the entire QV Face range to carry the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL). This label helps consumers identify which parts of the packaging are recyclable and which should be disposed of in landfill.
Thomassen cites the example of the QV Face Gentle Cleanser bottles to illustrate how the PREP tool influences their material selection. The initial choice was a co-extruded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle with a soft-touch PP coating. However, the PREP tool indicated that this combination would not be recyclable due to the mix of materials. Working closely with its supplier, Plastic Packaging Industries, Ego was able to switch to a 100 per cent PP bottle, ensuring recyclability.
As a result of these changes, the overall recyclability of the QV Face range by weight increased from 50.2 per cent to 74.5 per cent, a 24.3 per cent improvement. This is expected to divert approximately 13 tonnes of packaging from landfill annually based on the amount of QV Face product delivered to the Australian market in FY22/23, with even higher savings anticipated globally, although these are difficult to quantify due to varying recycling processes in different countries.
The numbers stack up
Another focus of the packaging redesign was reducing the weight of the packaging. The new night cream jar and lid design achieved a 44 per cent weight reduction, cutting the pack-to-product ratio from 2.88g to 1.33g per gram of product. The serum packaging also saw significant weight reduction, with the new tube format weighing just 7g compared to the previous 27.5g bottle and pump. This resulted in a 74.5 per cent reduction in primary packaging weight and allowed the use of a lighter secondary carton.
Cooke highlights the business benefits of these changes, noting, “The weight reduction and change to the packaging format enabled us to increase the product volume per pack from 25g to 30g, improving the pack-to-product ratio from 1.44g to 0.46g of packaging per gram of product.” Additionally, the switch from bottle to tube improved pallet utilisation, with each pallet now capable of transporting an additional 98kg of product.
While a formal Life Cycle Assessment has not been conducted, the move away from acrylic to polypropylene is expected to lower manufacturing energy costs, as acrylic requires more energy to process due to its higher melting point. The reduction in packaging weight also decreases the energy needed for transportation from Ego’s Melbourne manufacturing facilities to distributors.
Targets in sight
Ego’s efforts in sustainable packaging are in line with the 2025 National Packaging Targets, which include objectives such as designing for recovery, optimising material efficiency, reducing product waste, eliminating hazardous materials, and designing for transport efficiency. The use of recycled cardboard in shipping cartons and the shift to more recyclable materials are significant steps towards these goals.
The company also prioritised accessibility in its packaging redesign, with the new QV Face serum tube featuring an ophthalmic tip for precise application, making the product easier to use for consumers.
Ego Pharmaceuticals’ commitment to sustainable packaging not only supports its environmental goals, but also makes good business sense. The packaging refresh has reinforced the QV Face range’s connection to the popular QV Body range, enhancing brand awareness and market positioning. The successful execution of the QV Face Refresh project, crowned with a PIDA win, demonstrates that sustainability and business objectives can be achieved simultaneously.
This article was first published in the September-October 2024 print issue of Packaging News, p34-35.
