Lablabo was the first company to launch an airless pouch dispenser on the market in 1996 and has since maintained its position at the forefront of the industry, developing ever more effective solutions and efficient packaging options. Claire takes time out with Webpackaging to give an in-depth look at the French company and how both pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies are benefiting from Lablabo's ethos of "innovation through continuous development".

Claire, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at Lablabo?

I joined Lablabo 11 years ago and I'm currently working as the Head of Sales and Marketing for the company so I'm in a position that has 2 interlinked purposes.

My role is to work on strategic projects and with our top 5 strategic customers so I'm actively involved with existing as well as new accounts. I manage the sales team and also the business strategy of the company. Internally at Lablabo, I focus on the advancement of new projects and development of the company from within.

One of the main features of my position is communication, both communication within the company and externally with customers and potential customers. For example, it is important for us to attend trade shows so that we can communicate directly with customers and because of the markets that we work in and the focus of the company, we go to 8 events per year distributed across Europe and the US — 4 of which have a cosmetic focus while the other 4 are pharma oriented.

I've also been the driving force behind our new website which was launched this spring. Lablabo has invested a lot in itself over the past few years: In 2013 we invested in a state of the art production site with a new building that includes a clean room environment, and it was time to reflect this investment in the company's web site too. The company has refreshed its communication strategy and the new web site now reflects this invigoration.

As a company Lablabo is flexible and adaptable, and the new-look website has been designed to portray that. We are known for our quality, innovation and our flexibility to adapt. Our products can be adapted to the needs of our customers, whether that be related to the formula, volume or something else. Our new site allows us to get input from customers, so that they are not perusing a catalog, but instead, see the technical advantages of our products and what we can achieve, adapting so that the product accomplishes what the customer needs.

Can you tell us more about your new web site?

The new site has 2 entry points, one for pharma and one for cosmetic customers. These are the markets in which we operate and our airless pouch dispensers work equally well in both, however, each market has different needs as they look for different things.

Each product therefore has to be promoted in a different way according to the market. Cosmetic customers want a specific look as well as quality. They want to know how the pack works to protect their formula. In the pharma market, customers want more technical information. So, we are showing the technical advantages of our products and what we can do and can then adapt according to what is needed.

The new site includes new tools for visitors to tell us what they want. They can tell us about their formula and requirements, and we can actively respond by showing them a product that will achieve this.

Lablabo was founded in 1971. How has the company developed in this time?

Lablabo was created as an offshoot of a pharma company which in 1971 needed a dispensing system. It was a single customer that required a special valve product.

Then, in 1996, we launched the first airless dispenser with a pouch onto the market. It was originally for a pharma customer and won a number of awards, and we have since developed upon this concept enhancing specific features of the packaging. Silhouette, for example, which was developed and released in 2002 to demonstrate that any outer or pouch shape could be developed, something that can't be done with other technologies, and that cemented Lablabo's entry into the cosmetic market which had begun just 2 years earlier when we saw that the industry could benefit from our product.

All Lablabo's airless pouch dispensers enforce and demonstrate different specific features from the original concept.

Our market share of work was 50/50, but this is now 60% pharma and 40% cosmetic. To this end we've also achieved 3 ISO certifications: 9001 for quality, 15378 for primary packaging for pharma products and 13485 for medicinal devices, so we have an equivalent to GMP compliance. When we built our new factory and consolidated our premises in 2013, it was very important for us to include a clean room environment that complied with ISO 8 which is equivalent to class D.

What products do you offer?

Lablabo is the specialist in airless pouch dispensers, and we also have valve products that we sell to some specific customers. Our valve products are aimed at the pharma industry and are mainly used for foam formulations. Our valve is one of the very few, if not the sole device, capable of precisely metering and dispensing foams.

How is your pharma technology also beneficial to cosmetic customers?

All features of Lablabo's packaging work for and are beneficial to cosmetic customers, but primarily they are interested in the increased protection for their formulas.

We have packaging that can dispense any viscosity of formula. Many companies cannot find a product that will dispense particularly viscous formula and we can always find a solution with our pump system.

It's also easy to fill. You don't need to vacuum the pouch so you can save money on the filling. This is a compelling benefit for smaller companies that don't want to or cannot invest in filling.

The other significant benefit of Lablabo's packaging for cosmetic companies is that it is efficient at protecting. Whether a formula is sensitive to light, or to oxygen, we have a solution.

Being in France, are your customers local or international?

We work significantly with international companies. A few of the brands that we work with include PharmaDerm, Decléor, Shiseido, Somatoline^®, VetPlus, Vétoquinol, genial htm™, Arkopharma, Liz Earle, Cattier, Medik8, Korff, Biosphere Swiss Cosmetics, Merck, Azur Pharma and many more.

Innovation and reactivity are at the heart of the company. How does this ethos affect Lablabo's work?

At Lablabo, we are always trying to find solutions which fit customers' needs, whilst we understand that needs can always change. People want more ever more effective solutions and functionality.

We are always keen to receive feedback from customers so that we can find out their goal - what do they want their airless packaging to achieve? We also do our own research and development on how to better our product. Our innovation is related to our continuous improvement and this is something that is deeply rooted at Lablablo.

Quality: Everything is quality and that is why we place great value on our certifications as we are always striving to achieve better than before. What can we do to make our product better? We look at protection, accuracy and functionality so that we are always one step ahead of the market. We were the first to develop this technology back in 1996 and it is important for us to maintain our position at the forefront.

Are you working on any new projects?

Yes, we're always working on new projects at Lablabo - but I can't tell you any more than that! You'll have to wait until our products are released!

So, when and where can customers see your latest projects?

It is mostly at industry trade shows where we announce our latest developments. We'll be exhibiting at LuxePack Monaco and CPhI Worldwide (Barcelona) later this year and at the beginning of 2017 we'll be at two events in Paris - PharmaPack and PCD. We're also regular exhibitors at CosmeticBusiness in Munich so visitors can see our latest projects and speak to us directly about their requirements at these events.

We also communicate directly with customers through our newsletters and web site - especially now that we have such an interactive new site. Of course, we also welcome any type of direct inquiry should a customer like to know more about our products!