CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--P&G-owned hair care brand Herbal Essences is producing the first-ever
mass hair care bottle design in North America that will make it easier
for vision impaired consumers to distinguish its shampoo and conditioner
products through the sense of touch. The newly enhanced package features
tactile indentations that will help differentiate the brand’s shampoos
from its conditioners in-shower given they share the same bottle shape,
alleviating in-shower confusion and helping consumers confidently
perform daily tasks.
Behind the initiative is creator Sumaira “Sam” Latif, P&G’s Special
Consultant for Inclusive Design, who has been with the Company for over
18 years and is herself blind. Latif’s unique perspective lit the spark
for the idea, which was refined by working with other individuals who
are vision impaired. In fact, they represent some of the 253 million
people worldwide or 23 million people in the US today who face the
challenges associated with vision impairment every day.
“Imagine the daily challenges, like choosing matching clothes in the
morning or simply taking a shower after a long day. As a blind person,
you must do these things using touch rather than sight. You don’t really
know which bottle the shampoo, conditioner, or soap is…you have to get
creative. I used to put an elastic band around shampoo or sellotape on
conditioner to remind me,” says Latif speaking from personal experience.
And as it relates to the bottle design, she says the intention was
clear: “It was important that we invent a feature, universally
recognizable tactile feature, which would work for people who haven’t
had the opportunity to learn braille.”
The production to create the new bottle feature was not a seamless one,
according to Latif. “While the solution might sound relatively simple,
we process hundreds of bottles a minute, so changing a manufacturing
process is complicated when you’re dealing with those kinds of
quantities.”
Shane Mays, Herbal Essences Packaging Engineer, and Latif became instant
friends working on this project together. “In my 15 years working at
P&G, I have never worked on a project with as much personal passion as
this one. I am so incredibly proud of what we are doing and the impact
we will have. This pride and passion was contagious across the entire
manufacturing team who worked together to make this possible on the fast
manufacturing lines,” expresses Mays.
Despite the technical solves needed, the Company’s collective passion
for the initiative is what pushed it through. Herbal Essences North
America Brand Manager, Lynn Hicks, states that not only did she feel it
was “the right thing to do,” but explains that there was a solid
business case behind this decision. “Making our products more accessible
can improve the experience for everyone. We want to be sure everyone can
experience the positive power of nature through Herbal Essences every
day. While we designed this tactile feature specifically for the
visually impaired, others, like seniors or kids, will also benefit from
this feature.”
Latif is excited to see how consumers respond saying, “Every time I pick
up this new bottle in the shower I smile. Knowing for the first time in
my life I can be so sure that its shampoo, that feels great, and I hope
others experience this same feeling.”
The shampoo bottles have four tactile vertical lines on the bottom of
the back label and the conditioner has two rows of dots on the bottom of
the back label. The features were purposely kept very simple and easy to
differentiate by touch. The brand hopes that once people learn about the
new tactile features, they will easily be able to tell their shampoo and
conditioner apart by touch.
Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
shares, “We are pleased to see an industry leader like P&G and its
Herbal Essences brand incorporate accessibility into the design of
packaging. This new tactile feature enhances our independence and shows
that the brand wants to truly serve all consumers. We hope other
manufacturers will take note of this effort and work with blind people
to find solutions that allow us to identify their products quickly and
independently.”
The new Herbal Essences packaging will be available on Herbal Essences
bio:renew shampoo and conditioner bottles beginning January 2019
everywhere that the brand’s hair care products are currently sold.
To learn more about this initiative, please visit HerbalEssences.com
or watch our visually descriptive video (link below) and share the news
on social media using #HerbalEssences and #WorldSightDay.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/6Vuta8iiQFE
About Herbal Essences
Herbal Essences was born into nature with a free spirit and a joyful
heart. Our bohemian roots still have the power to inspire young women
today with products that merge the best of nature with science. Because
there will always be women who aspire to a unique and authentic beauty
that can only come from a closeness to nature and a true sense of self.
Herbal is not about problems, but the freedom to immerse yourself in the
positive power of nature every day. Herbal believes in ingredients with
intent, packaging as items of beauty for her & the earth, colors found
in nature, irresistibly delicious fragrances, & formulas that are as
clean as possible without compromising the results women crave. And
Herbal hair? Herbal hair is hair that is healthy, undone, natural
looking and free - just like the women who choose it. Simply put, Herbal
Essences does beautiful things for your hair & your head. To learn more
about Herbal Essences visit www.herbalessences.com,
or follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/HerbalEssences,
Twitter: twitter.com/HerbalEssences
and Instagram: @herbalessences.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest
portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®,
Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®,
Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®,
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community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide.
Please visit http://www.pg.com for
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