European Beauty Packaging Suppliers Navigate U.S. Import Tariffs

MONTE CARLO – U.S. tariffs were a prime talking point at the recent edition of Luxe Pack Monaco, where many European packaging suppliers said they’ve been hurt by the duties.

Luxury glassmaker Bormioli Luigi is one of many companies negatively impacted by U.S. import taxes, as some of its clients sell their finished products in the United States.

“The prices of perfume becomes very, very high,” said Cristina Scotti, events and communication specialist at the Italian supplier.

The U.S. tariffs impacting China, which stand at around 55 percent, are denting business, too, since some of Bormioli Luigi’s clients are based there.

“All the business chain is impacted,” said Scotti, who added company sales have slowed as customers are destocking. “Altogether, the result is lower business for us in this period.”

However, Bormioli Luigi remains optimistic, as it had lived through a similar tariff situation in 2009. The group believes this scenario will end, and that business will be up next year. 

“We continue to invest in machinery, as well as in research for new products and eco-friendly printing possibilities,” she said.

Among the novelties Bormioli Luigi showed was refillable lip gloss packaging made from two glass parts united by a plastic piece that’s easily removable for recycling.

The Spanish packaging supplier Envases said it has been hit by the 50 percent tariff imposed by the U.S. on aluminum imports.

“It is a real issue for us,” said Endika Albinarrate, managing director of the company. “Exporting empty bottles is still quite expensive. The transportation is expensive, so our volumes in the U.S. are small and of very high-end products.”

He qualified the tariff’s impact is linked to the packaging’s weight and the quantity of aluminum used – and not to the value that a company like Envases adds to the packaging.

“Our customers in the U.S. are still buying from us,” Albinarrate said, adding Evanses’ perspective remains positive in the United States. “We believe we will continue growing in the U.S.”

The company presented Alowood, aluminum packaging with a wood-inspired finish, and holographic stamping.

The U.S.’s 15 percent tariffs on European imports has affected Spain’s luxury cosmetics dropper-maker Virospack, too.

“So we try to renegotiate again with our clients there, reducing margins,” said Verena Fiori, marketing director at the company. “But of course, it’s a hard moment. You’re looking for ways – like local production-acquisition in the United States and new markets.” 

Those include Asia, where there is a large pool of consumers for luxury brands. Virospack has not increased its prices yet.

The company showcased its dropper technology, which is especially in demand today due to the rise of serums and highly targeted skin and hair care products needing specific delivery systems.

“You can make different tips, and the pipettes, as well,” said Fiori, adding the caps and bottles may be decorated to a customer’s specifications – colors and finishes included. The company highlighted push-button and syringe-like options, too.

One packaging executive said the biggest impact of the recent tariffs took place about two months ago, when many brands slowed their orders to wait and see what would happen. However, the tax levels in effect today are manageable, he said.

Numerous cosmetics brands are mainly buying packaging to be filled in Europe or South Korea. So, in the end, they’re not being taxed on raw materials or finished goods from other countries or geographic zones, which command higher tariffs upon U.S. entry.

The executive said manufacturing prices are so low in China, compared with western markets, that even with the 55 percent tariffs producers cannot find less expensive options.

Not every European packaging company has been hard pressed by U.S. tariffs.

“Interestingly, we have profited from the tariff situation,” said Bakic’s chief executive officer Dominic Bakic, who explained that since April, American clients are looking more for European packaging supply chains. “We have seen a positive shift for us.”

The phenomenon has added to the growth that Bakic, a German supplier that has its own manufacturing in Germany and China, has been experiencing overall.

“The reorder business is lower than in last years, but we have a very strong new business pipeline, and the U.S. market added to that, actually,” Bakic said. “We’re seeing a nice growth this year and will next year.”

Bakic has a highly flexible supply chain. 

“Although we are a manufacturer, sometimes we go into a local market and we look for partners that supply to us,” he said. “So, we are not dependent only on manufacturing out of Europe in the U.S. We can take molds, as well, from Europe and bring them to audited suppliers in the U.S. in order to avoid tariffs.”

Bakic’s agility is well-appreciated by many customers, the executive added. “We’re reinventing the supply chain to help the clients,” Bakic explained.

The company has ramped up innovation, especially for standard lines. “There’s a great market for custom packaging, even for smaller brands,” he said. Those want to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace.

At Luxe Pack, the company highlighted two body mist sprayers – one that ejects a fine mist, for a luxurious product application, and another with a continuous mist.

HCT’s business is also growing in 2025 on-year, according to Denis Maurin, global president of sales and innovation at the supplier. Part of what bolsters the business is HCT’s work with smaller, fast-growing brands. 

“We are really excited to be able to not slow down on innovation and everything we do to support brands,” he said. 

HCT showcased cosmetic stick-related innovation, for sun care, skin care and body care, for instance. “This is a really growing category, so we invested a lot of effort,” Maurin said.

The company further continued innovating on sustainable, easy-to-evacuate dispensing solutions. It created a one-piece, mono material LDPE tube, called the Eco Tube, that can be shaped  and is currently available in a 30-ml. version.

Sustainability remained a big focal point at Luxe Pack Monaco, which ran from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in the Grimaldi Forum and drew more than 10,400 attendees.

Natural paper-maker Gmund introduced Gmund Manteco.

“The concept is: We are converting fabric into paper – 100 percent paper based on cotton,” said Maximilian Huber, director of brand experience at the German company. The cotton is composed of two components, cotton linters from the cotton plant that’s not used in the textile industry and cotton side stream from yarn production.

“We take this and transform it into a high-quality input for making paper,” Huber said. That is soft and tactile, almost feltlike.

“It’s a new material,” he continued. Its colors align with those used for the recycled wool made by Italy’s Manteco.

The paper can create a perfume’s outer box, for instance. Huber said the novelty was garnering good attention at the trade show.

“People are very much into seeking naturality with an emotion,” he said. “This is soul.”

Cloud Beauty presented Sludge, a premium packaging material made of more than 70 percent from upcycled Taiwan reservoir mud, with the rest from polypropylene.

“Our first aim is to help people in the industry or brands switch to a new material without suffering from investing in a new mold,” explained Judy Wu, managing director of Cloud Beauty.

Guangzhou Devi Co. Ltd. showed its floral-recycled eco-friendly perfume bottle caps. These were made from unsold roses, lavender and forget-me-nots from China’s Yunnan province. The dried flowers are pressed, then stuck together with biodegradable Pu’er tea adhesive. This allows for the flowers to retain at least 88 percent of their odor for two to three months.